Oak Park and River Forest seniors Brian Jackson and Jonathan Sibley-Diggs performed extremely well Friday to reach event finals at the Class 3A boys track and field state meet.
They finished even better Saturday.
Jackson anchored the 4 x 400-meter relay with juniors Keyante Johnson and Michael Degnan and sophomore Kelden Jones with an all-state second (3:16.18) in a school-record time for the second day in a row.
The Huskies were edged for the championship by Belleville West (3:15.04) and the 45.78 anchor split by senior Morquez Bulliner, who earlier won the 400 (47.20). Jackson’s 47.90 split would have finished fourth in the individual 400 finals.
“I was in about third place but I pulled through in the last 100 meters because (I thought), ‘This is my last race. This is my senior year,’” said Jackson, who will run at DePaul. “I wanted to make the best out of it and didn’t want to let my teammates down.”
Sibley-Diggs’ huge personal record of 18.12 meters/59 feet-5 1/2 inches in shot put earned an all-state sixth after being the 12th and last qualifier for finals. Sibley-Diggs also was an all-state ninth in discus (51.03m/167-5).
“I threw some throws (in shot) I haven’t thrown. Discus didn’t go as planned but I’m still happy with the results becoming all-state,” Sibley-Diggs said. “Definitely being with the team was probably the best part (of state) but the PR was up there.”
The Huskies’ five top-nine, all-state performances tied for 10th as a team (20 points), the fourth straight top-10 finish for the 2024 3A state co-champions.
Johnson was sixth in the 400 (48.74) after a personal-best 48.26 in prelims. In the high jump finals, junior Addis Wilson was seventh (1.98m/6-6) and senior Malik Griffee was 10th (1.93m/6-4).
“If you told me this would be a top-10 team at the beginning of the season, even halfway through indoors, I would have said you were crazy,” OPRF coach Tim Hasso said. “The kids showed up, even the events that didn’t advance (to finals). Those (4 x 400) kids were eyeballing a state championship. When you run into a buzz saw like (Bulliner), it is what it is. Places are places. But when your kids run their very best all season long at that moment, that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”
The 4 x 400 was fueled by 3:17.16 in prelims, the third-fastest qualifying time that broke the 3:19.92 school record from 2015. Even a key injury to sophomore Moses Espinosa wouldn’t deny their goals.
“We talked in (the warmup) tent, we’re going to do 3:16, and then the next day we went 3:16,” Johnson said. “We knew what it took to win and it was a big accomplishment.”
Jackson overcame late-season injuries that kept him from his 400 potential. He was 17th in prelims (48.80) but then split in the 57s for the relay.
“My teammate Keyante was able to push me. I was able to push my teammates,” Jackson said. “We gained a lot of confidence. Before the (4 x 400 Saturday) we had a prayer that we were going to do well.”
Sibley-Diggs joins 2024 graduate and shot state champion Kaden Garland as the Huskies’ only all-staters in both throws at the same state meet. Sibley-Diggs plans to walk on at Illinois State.
“When I saw I was seeded 12th (making shot finals), I looked at coach (Ty Garland, Kaden’s father) and was just so happy I made finals,” Sibley-Diggs said.
On his first throw Saturday, Sibley-Diggs’ 59-5 1/2 easily passed his 57-1 previous best from indoors as a junior. He followed with a 57-5.
“Everything was perfect (on the PR). I looked at the video,” Sibley-Diggs said. “It all finally clicked, the PR I had been waiting for a year and a half now. That’s the best place to do it, too.”
Johnson enjoyed a breakthrough first track season. He’s often praised Jackson for accelerating his progress.
“There was a lot of competition and it really pushed me. I knocked almost a second and a half on my season-best in the 400 so I think that speaks for itself,” Johnson said.
Other state competitors were seniors Emilio Nery (29th in 200, 22.45) and Jaylen Runnels (34th in 100, 11.29), sophomore Gavin Lazewski (28th, 3.95m/12-11 1/2) and junior Kevin Wangerow (32nd, 3.80m/12-5 1/2) in pole vault and the 4 x 100 relay of Jones, Johnson, Nery and Runnels (20th in season-best 41.99).
“This is going to go down as one of my favorite teams. To perform on the biggest stages, sectionals and state, just a gritty group,” Hasso said.
In 2A, Fenwick state competitors were senior Cameron Garrett in the 200 (23rd, 22.81) and 100 (31st, 11.13), junior Dillon Noble in the 300 intermediate hurdles (30th, 46.12) and 110 high hurdles (35th, personal-best 17.49), junior Adrien Dubois (22nd in 400, personal-best 50.93), the 4 x 100 of Garrett, junior Noah Diaz, sophomore Landon Johnson and Dubois (31st, 43.89) and 4 x 800 of junior Burke Burns, senior James Kieswetter, sophomore Wolfie Bergetz and senior Jason Garza (33rd, season-best 8:32.52).