Salt Fork boys' track and field aiming for more state success

All the Salt Fork boys’ track and field team has done this decade is bring state trophies back to Catlin. Big ones, too. The Storm are vying for its third consecutive Class 1A state title later this month and fourth top-two finish since 2021 when the IHSA state meet takes place May 23-25 at O’Brien Stadium on the Eastern Illinois University campus in Charleston. Before Salt Fork gets its postseason going on May 17 when it hosts a 17-team sectional, Sports Editor Matt Daniels caught up with coach Phil Surprenant about all the success the Storm are used to experiencing:

How do you and the guys handle the outside expectations?

With success definitely comes pressure to maintain the status quo, and I think our guys over the years have handled the pressure extremely well in some very stressful situations.

This year, the expectation to be successful has never wavered and while we are a much different team, we have some holdovers from last year that were state qualifiers and contributors, but for the most part are sophomores and juniors stepping up for the first time.

As a coach, I try to put them in as many of those high-pressure situations as possible during the season to prepare them for the postseason. We have continued to get better all year long, and I know that the guys want to continue the tradition of teams before them having success and are looking forward to showing they are capable of it.

The other thing is to keep things loose and fun at practice and meets. Track is a long season and meets are a long night, so it’s OK to keep it fun as long as they are capable of locking in when it is time. They have proven capable of that.

Who are some athletes of yours to watch when the postseason gets underway in a few weeks?

We have quite a few relays and athletes that have a chance at making state. Brysen Vasquez has been our most consistent contributor for points all year. He has been a huge part of four All-State relays the last two years and now, as a senior, it is his turn to shine in the individual events. His top events are the 200 and 400 where he is on the cusp of breaking former Storm star, and now hurdle coach, Caine Wilson’s record in both events. He is looking at scoring high at the state level in both events.

Ty Smoot is having a stellar season in the 800 individually and looking at leading his 3,200 relay to a state berth, as well. He has been hovering around the 2-minute, 2-seconds mark for the last week or so and is looking for a breakout under two minutes to give him a chance to get to Saturday at state.

Maddax Stine is our thrower who returned with a lot of pressure this year. He finished 10th at state as a freshman in the discus last year and is still looking to hit his stride. He kind of hit a road bump around this time last year and then turned it around the last few weeks of the season to finish on a high note. He threw a four-foot personal record in the shot put of 48 feet, 8 inches on Monday. He will look to continue to piggyback off that performance over the next few weeks. He will absolutely have a chance to make it to Saturday in both events if he is on his A game.

Finally, a wild card that we have is sophomore Ian Church. He is a sprinter, but his specialty has become the 300 hurdles. He is running about six seconds faster than last year in that event. If he can put a full race together, look out for him to potentially make some noise at the state level.

What would it mean if you’re able to bring another state trophy

back to Salt Fork in late May?

Winning a state trophy, especially the big one, is an unforgettable feeling and creates so many moments and memories that I have been able to share with my family and the teams forever.

Doing it four years in a row is just so uncommon, and I have felt so fortunate to have been able to lead four incredible teams with kids who were hungry to never be satisfied. Winning another state trophy would just continue to cement this program as one of the best in the state.

There are so many incredible teams in the state and area, Tuscola and Ridgeview to name a few, that are absolutely loaded with talent this year that are looking for a trophy of their own. I know our kids will go out and perform to the best of their abilities and lay it all out on the line to see what we can do.

More than anything, I want to get as many kids to state in as many events as possible to give them that experience of competing with the best of the best in the state.