For the 19th consecutive year, some of the finest elementary school athletes in Illinois will descend upon East Peoria as the EastSide Centre will host the Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) Class AA State Final Track and Field Meet.
Almost 2,700 athletes will participate in the two-day meet this Friday and Saturday (May 18-19). East Peoria Central District No. 86 serves as the host school.
The IESA state series in boys track and field began in 1932 and the girls state series started in 1972. This will be the 87th year for the boys and the 47th year for girls state meet. A total of 573 member schools entered the 2018 state series. There are 286 schools in Class AA and 260 of those schools will be represented at this year’s state meet. The sectional qualifying meets were held last Saturday, May 12.
The following link will list all qualifiers: https://www.iesa.org/activities/tr/qualifiers_State_AA.asp?Year=2018
There are 14 events in each of the four classes (7th grade girls; 7th grade boys; 8th grade girls; 8th grade boys). There will be a grand total of 56 events. Field event competition begins Friday at 11 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 400 m dash, the 1600 meter run and the preliminaries of the 100 m dash.
Only the hurdle event and the 100-meter dash are held with preliminaries.
New for 2018: The hurdles and 100 are run in just a preliminaries and a finals format. In previous years, the hurdles and 100 were run in a preliminary, semifinals and finals format. The semifinals in these two events have been eliminated. 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 on Saturday. For all other running events, timed finals is 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 a.m. with the finals of the hurdles followed immediately by the finals of the 100 meter dash. Those eight races should be completed by 9:30. 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. 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: https://www.iesa.org/activities/tr/IESA-TR_Schedule.pdf
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. Tickets are priced at $8.00 for adults and $4.00 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.
Gates for the competitors and teams will open at 9 a.m. on Friday and 7 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.
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 Associate Executive Director and Track and Field Administrator Nicole Schaefbauer, nicole@iesa.org.
