Illinois Prep Top Times, the successor to Timely Times, will go into operation this fall with the cross country season. The newsletter will be edited out of Naperville by John Perry (boys) and Mike Stine (girls).
Despite the rain-shortened meet, this year`s Keebler Invitational will be seen on Nickelodeon, the cable television network, on July 7 and 11. The show was locally produced by KRT productions of Woodfield.
In the last two years, Reno`s Kamy Keshmiri, the national prep record-holder, has been beaten once in the discus, and that was by 1 inch. ”I threw 192-2 and he did 192-3,” Keshmiri recalled. Keshmiri, who can throw the discus farther than some can loft a frisbee, will retire his high school weight of 1.6 kilograms and concentrate on perfecting his technique in the adult 2-kilo shot. He still holds the prep record of 177-0 in the heavier discus. Coaching Kamy was his father, Joe, who competed for Iran in the Olympic Games and said his son ”almost gave me a heart attack” because he wasn`t throwing the discus well. Keshmiri was behind Dwight Johnson of Tempe, Ariz., for half his six throws before going 204-9, 214-11 and 217-2 for his final efforts. . . . Keebler officials, recognizing Keshmiri`s ability, widened the discus field and even warned fans in the stands at York High School to be alert.
Neither of Illinois` top two 1,600-meter runners–Len Sitko of Notre Dame nor Matt Kendall of Glenbrook North–nor Jason Pyrah of Willard, Mo., were around when nine milers asked meet officials to stage an exhibition race after most of the rain had stopped. ”I saw Pyrah warm up and pal around with some of the other runners,” said Carlin Nalley, the clerk of the course. ”But when the rain came and he was told the meet was over, he left.” Pyrah entered with the best four-lap time in the nation this year, a 4:04.2 run last week in the Golden West Invitational.
Andrew Cameron of Paterson, N.J., said he was surprised how much strength he had left in the final stages of the 300 intermediate hurdles. Cameron, who won the race, decided it was probably because he`s used to the 400 hurdles. Good thinking by the West Point-bound lad.
Steeplechase winner Michael Hedgecock of Wantagh, N.Y., likes the event, he claims, ”because I`m in the middle of everything. I don`t have great speed at either the 800 or the mile. I`m going to South Carolina, and I think the steeplechase is going to be my specialty there.” This was only his third steeplechase of the season.
The 100 meters turned into a duel between a couple of kids from Mississippi, with Ricky Huell of Meridian beating Corey Pryor of Jackson. ”It was so close, I couldn`t tell I had won until I crossed the finish line,” said Huell, who will enroll at Mississippi State next fall. ”This is the first time I had run in two weeks, and just looking at the field I really didn`t know what to expect.”
Keshmiri was named the top field-event performer at the meet banquet Saturday night. No award was presented to a runner. ”There just wasn`t that much criteria this year because of all the races washed out,” said Neal Robinson, the invitations chairman.
Basketball
Peoria Manual, guided by David Booth`s 26 points slipped past Simeon 61-58 Sunday to win the second annual Morris Shootout. Ricky Morgan`s drive with 2 minutes 45 seconds left gave Manual a 59-58 lead. Simeon led 35-30 at halftime. The triumph was the fifth in two days of competition for the Rams, who have reached the Class AA quarterfinals the last two years. . . . Manual reached Sunday`s title game with victories over St. Francis de Sales (61-53)
and defending champ King (51-46 in the semifinals). Simeon stopped East St. Louis Lincoln 84-68 and South Shore 64-58. . . . In the title game, Alfred Redmond led Simeon with 18 points, and Cody Butler added 15. . . . Manual coach Dick Van Scyoc said he was ”pleased with the way the kids looked, especially Booth, who may be one of the top players in the country.”
. . . Reuben Norris is busy filling the last two spots on the 10-member team that will represent Chicago in the annual Boston Shootout tournament Thursday through Saturday. He has selected Simeon`s Deon Butler, Keith Stallings and Leonard Langdon of Dunbar, Joe Daughrity and Tremell Murphy of Crane, Julian`s Marlon Maxey, Robeson`s Donnell Thomas and Lindblom`s Rashaun Calhoun from tryouts being conducted at Avalon Park. Antwon Harmon of Hyde Park, Scott Fowler of South Shore, Mark Bradley of Simeon, Melvon Foster of Harper and Edgar Ward of St. Francis de Sales are competing for the last two spots. The team will compete against squads from New York, Washington, Detroit, Atlanta, Dallas and Oakland as well as Boston. Chicago teams won titles in 1973 behind Rickey Green and Bo Ellis and in 1978 behind Mark Aguirre and have finished second on four occasions in 12 years of competition in the tournament.
In the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association girls` all-star games Saturday at Illinois Central College in East Peoria, Class AA South beat Class AA North 65-63 and Class A North beat Class A South 79-65. Peoria Manual`s Micah Bingeman was the South MVP in the Class AA game after scoring 9 points;
teammate Nadine VanDeKerckhare of Geneseo added 11. York`s Natalie Perrino was the North MVP with 16 points. In the Class A game, North MVP Katy Hulin of Cambridge had 16 points and 5 rebounds and South MVP Shannon Fulton of Hamilton had 12.
Joe Cook of Lincoln sank a rebound shot at the buzzer to give Illinois a 101-99 come-from-behind victory over Minnesota in the opening game of the Midwest Classic all-star basketball series for graduating high school seniors Sunday in Iowa City. Cook`s basket capped a furious rally that brought Illinois back from a 25-point deficit in the final 10 1/2 minutes. University of Iowa recruit Rodell Davis of Thornton led Illinois with a game-high 26 points, including the basket that gave his team its first lead with less than a minute to play. Cook and Bill Reid of Rock Island scored 16 apiece. Cook, who`ll play at Duke next season, had 14 points in the second half, including 11 in the final 6 1/2 minutes. In the second game, Robert Johnson of Des Moines shook off early foul trouble to score 10 second-half points, including the go-ahead free throws with less than two minutes to play, to help the Iowa all-stars beat Wisconsin 93-89.
After four games, the top scorer in the North Section of the Adidas Summer League at St. Benedict is King`s Jamie Brandon, who will be a sophomore next season. Brandon is averaging 25.7 points a game. Fellow sophomore Johnny Selvie is averaging 22 for King. Evanston junior-to-be Juvon McGarry is scoring 23.3 a game.
