IESA Headlines

2023 IESA Class 3A/4A State Track and Field Meet Preview

For the 22nd year, the EastSide Centre in East Peoria will host the Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) Class 1A/2A State Final Track and Field Meet. Over 2,800 athletes will participate in the two-day meet this Friday and Saturday (May 19-20). East Peoria Robein, in conjunction with many local schools, serves as the host school.

The IESA state series in boys track and field began in 1932 and the girls state series began in 1972. This will be the 90th year IESA has conducted a state track meet for boys and the 49th year for the girls state meet. This is the second year of the four class system. A total of 584 member schools entered the 2023 state series. There are 292 schools in Class 3A/4A and nearly 267 of those schools will be represented at this year's state meet. The sectional qualifying meets were held last Saturday, May 13. The following link will list all qualifiers:

https://www.iesa.org/activities/tr/qualifiers_State_3A4A.asp?Year=2023

There are 14 events in each of the four classes in each class (7th grade girls; 7th grade boys; 8th grade girls; 8th grade boys). There will be a grand total of 56 events in each class. Field event competition begins Friday at 11:00 a.m. In the field events, the preliminaries and finals are conducted on the same day that the respective event is held. Some field events are held on Friday and some are held on Saturday. The running events get under way Friday at 1:15 p.m. with the preliminaries of the hurdle event followed by the 100 M dash preliminaries, then the 400 m dash, the 1600-meter run and the finals of the hurdles and 100 m dash. Only the hurdle event and the 100-meter dash are held with preliminary heats. The individual winner of each heat will advance to the finals and the next fastest times (based on the number of heats to get to 8 total participants) will advance to the finals. For all other running events, timed finals are the format. The best times from all the heats or sections in a respective running event determine final places in that event.

Competition on Saturday begins at 9:00 a.m. Running events will then resume with the 4 x 200 relay and run continuously throughout the day. After the conclusion of the 4 x 200 relay, then the 4 x 100 relay will be held, followed by the 200 meter dash; the 800 meter run and then the 4 x 400 meter relay. A short lunch break is scheduled after the 200 meter dash. Field events that are not held on Friday will also get started at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday and will also continue throughout the day. The event is expected to conclude around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. The complete time schedule for the weekend is available at the following link:

Results will be updated continuously throughout the weekend and all final results should be available by 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening, weather permitting, on the IESA home page www.iesa.org. Final results for all events that are concluded on Friday will be available Friday evening.

Single-session tickets will be on sale at the stadium each day. There will be two options for purchasing tickets. One option will be a digital ticket through GoFan or a cash option is available at the admissions gate. Tickets are priced at $12.00 for adults and $6.00 for students K-8 and seniors. Gates open to the general public at 9:30 a.m. Friday and at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. Fans are given a wristband to wear that allows patrons to exit and re-enter. The wristband must be worn at all times.

https://www.iesa.org/activities/tr/IESA-TR_Schedule.pdf

Gates for the competitors and teams will open at 9:00 a.m. on Friday and 7:00 a.m. on Saturday. The Parade of Athletes will take place on Friday at 10:15 a.m. and at 8:20 a.m. on Saturday. The parade is a chance for the competitors to walk the track with their team amidst applause, music, and cheers from coaches, parents, family, and fans. At the conclusion of the Parade of Champions, the Athlete Oath will be read by four athletes who will be competing in this year's meet.

On Friday, Duke Mays, from Johnsburg and Saumira Ankoor, from Springfield Grant will read the Athlete Oath.

On Saturday, Will Gentle from Maroa-Forsyth and McKenna Mefford, from Pekin Broadmoor will read the Athlete Oath.

All athletes who place 1-8 in their respective event will be recognized on the infield after the conclusion of their event. The time schedule has periods built into it for presentation of the medals to the individuals and relay team members.

Fans are encouraged to visit the FanZone icon on the IESA home page for information that spectators should know regarding the meet.

Should weather impact the meet, any rescheduling that might be needed will be posted on the IESA website.

For more information, please contact IESA Executive Director and Track and Field Administrator Nicole Schaefbauer, nicole@iesa.org.