Mattoon’s Davee takes 2nd, 3rd in distance runs at EIU Indoor invite; Cook wins shot

Story and photos by Chet Piotrowski

Mattoon’s Brock Davee led the Green Wave track team to a top 10 showing at the 2022 EIU High School Indoor Track & Field Meet at Eastern Illinois University Saturday afternoon by taking second in 1,600-meter run and a third place finish in the 3,200.

Green Wave’s Maya Cook, meanwhile, took first in the shot put with heave of 39 feet, 3 inches.

Davee posted a time of 4 minutes, 39.98 seconds in the 1,600 and 10:20.72 minutes in the 3,200. Paxton-Buckley-Loda’s Ryder James captured first in both races.

“Ryder is really good,” Davee said. “I’ll give him that. He’s going to Missouri. He’s great.”

Charleston’s Jacob Flight leaps in the air during his third attempt at in the triple jump during the 2022 EIU H.S. Indoor Track and Field Meet at Eastern Illinois University Saturday afternoon. Flight capture fourth place overall with a jump of 38’6″.
Charleston’s Blake Homann competes in heat 1 of the 1600-meter run during the 2022 EIU H.S. Indoor Track and Field Meet at Eastern Illinois University Saturday afternoon. Homann finished 59th.
Mattoon’s Andy Karpus makes an attempt in the triple jump during the 2022 EIU H.S. Indoor Track and Field Meet at Eastern Illinois University Saturday afternoon. Karpus fouled on each attempt.

Davee said he can definitely improve on his times just three meets into the four-meet indoor season.

“I think there’s room to improve on,” he said. “I probably should have waited to take the lead maybe a lap or lap and half later. Maybe a lap later and see how I would have done there. Other than that, there’s not much to change considering I ran the two-mile earlier and didn’t run my best. Coach told me, ‘Great runners have short memories. So I put that in the back of my head and did that with this mile.”

Davee was on James’ heels in the 1,600 for almost five laps before passing the PBL runner on the fourth turn. James took his lead back a lap later on the smaller, roughly 200-meter ovals.

“I’m a bit of a bigger distance runner than most people,” Davee said. “I have a lot more body weight on me. It’s harder to go through the turns. I just have to try to get my steps down so I don’t slam into the rail. It’s not a big change other than that. Just have to keep up with everybody.”

Davee said running indoors is a mental challenge because the tracks are half the length of outdoor ones.

“Times are faster outside,” he said. “It grinds on your mind. It’s a mental challenge. Doing this outdoors is easier, for sure.”

He said his main goal is to go state at the end of May.

“Hopefully, I can bring a few of my buddies with me,” Davee said. “We can go in a relay maybe. That’s one of our biggest goals. The most fun goal as a team. We just have to keep practicing. I think we have the tools to do it to qualify on time for sure. Whole bunch of guys are motivated at practice, I can tell. They want this.”

Davee said he’s going to focus on the 1600-meter run and the 4×800-meter relay. If he could compete in 3200-meter run, he would. But, he said: “That’s a lot.”

Sam Bradbury finished third in the shot put with a throw of 43 feet, 9 inches. The 4×800-meter relay team consisting of Sam Ferrar, Quincy Hamilton, Trent Hettinger, and Jackson Whalin finished third with a time of 8:55.60.

Charleston’s Wyatt Shrader led the Trojans with a third-place finish in the triple jump with a leap of 20 feet, 9 inches.