It's time to announce the 2023-2024 Rockford Register Star All-Area boys track and field team, led by the best of the best: the track MVP and the field MVP.
With Winnebago winning the IHSA Class 1A team championship, led by two-time sprint champion Supreme Muhammad, and plenty of other stars stepping it up down the stretch, there are lots of deserving nominees. But only one runner and one field athlete can earn the top spots, and then 10 others will fill up the rest of the squad.
So here is this year's 12-person All-Area Team for boys track and field, led off by the track and the field MVPs:
Supreme Muhammad, Winnebago's Track Athlete of the Year
Muhammad was on a tear all season long, especially down the stretch, when he won both the 100- and 200-meter dash state championships in Class 1A and also led both sprint relay teams to second-place finishes.
In the 100 dash, Muhammad owned the field with a 10.72. Later in the day, the Winnebago senior won his second 200-meter dash state title in a row with a time of 21.51, this one coming in blowout fashion. He also anchored the 4x200 relay crew to a runner-up finish in 1:28.20 and lifted the 4x100 relay team to a second-place finish in 42.51.
"At these things, anything can happen," Muhammad said. "But I got it done."
More track and field:Here is the Rockford Register Star's Girls Athlete of the Year
Gage Dunker, Lena-Winslow's Field Athlete of the Year
Le-Win's Dunker took second in the shot put with a put of 53 feet, 3 inches, leading the way for a powerful Le-Win team that placed seventh in the final 1A team standings. Dunker was a senior and helped pave the way for his freshman brother Gannon Dunker, who placed 12th.
Tristen Alexander, Dakota jumper
Dakota's Tristen Alexander finished with a bang, climbing into contention late in the season and eventually taking sixth in the 1A state long jump with a flight of 21-5.
Mechai Docket-Lewis, East sprinter
Docket-Lewis was one of the top sprinters in the NIC-10 and in the area, and he made it to state in three events. While he didn't medal in the sprints, he joined Christopher Tolliver, Javius Catlin and Jayden Green to take seventh in the 3A 4x200.
Weston Forward, Rockford Christian runner
Forward placed ninth in the 1A 3,200 run in 9:48.64 and also sparked Rockford Christian's 4x800 relay team to a runner-up finish in 7:58.82.
Rasheed Johnson, Boylan sprinter
Boylan's Johnson barely lost at the finish line and took second in the 2A 100-dash final with a 10.67. He also placed ninth in the 200 despite pulling a hamstring.
Nicolai Martino, Winnebago runner
Martino finished third in the 3,200 run with a PR but turned it around quickly and nearly came all the way back in the 1A 1,600 run, finishing second in 4:18.13, another PR.
Andrew Nuyen, Rochelle vaulter
Rochelle's best vaulter ever, Andrew Nuyen, tied for third in the 2A pole vault with a make at 14-7 1/4. Earlier in the season, he set the pole vault record that had stood for 41 years at Rochelle.
Alec Schlichting, Lena-Winslow sprinter
Lena-Winslow's Schlichting took seventh in the 1A 100 dash in 11.09 and led the Panthers' 4x100 relay team that got third as well.
Jake Schumacher, Lena-Winslow hurdler
Schumacher took seventh in the 110 high hurdles with his best time of 15.51 and also took ninth in the 300 intermediate hurdles at 43.17.
Messiah Tilson, Guilford sprinter
Tilson placed fourth in the 3A 200 dash at 21.60, and he took sixth in the 100 dash with his best time ever, a 10.71. Just a sophomore this past season, Tilson hauled in three NIC-10 titles along the way and he was the only one from the NIC-10 to qualify for state in four events.
Brandon Wiggan, Winnebago runner and jumper
Wiggan joined Muhammad and Mitchel Cunningham and Eden Trotter-Krahn in the sprint relays. He also soared 44-5 1/4 to take fourth in the 1A triple jump.
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star.
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