Raising the bar: Metamora basketball player advances to IHSA state track meet in four events

GALESBURG — Nick Walker leaped over the high jump bar and landed in the IHSA state finals field Thursday in the Class 2A boys track and field Galesburg Sectional.

The Metamora senior turned his vertical leap on the basketball court into a sectional high jump championship, while also showing the horizontal chops to go the distance to a third-place finish and state-qualifying performance in the long jump.

"I look at the results from (around the state) and where I stand, probably too much," said the 6-foot-3 senior. "But it matters to me. I wanted to get to state in as many events as possible, compete for a medal. That's the goal for all of this."

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Walker also helped Metamora's 4x200- and 4x400-meter relays qualify for state with second- (1:30.50) and third-place finishes (3:26.71), on which he ran the second leg and lead leg, respectively.

Morton had a huge night, too, following its first-ever sectional championship last season with its first-ever repeat Thursday, piling up 144 points.

Leaping to state conclusions

Walker won a state high jump championship in seventh grade. He credits Metamora assistant coach Denise Urycki for his rapid development in the event.

"I jumped 5-foot-3 before I met her," he said. "Then she started working with me between meets in seventh grade, and four days later I jumped 5-7. She's been helping me ever since."

Now a senior in his last shot at a state medal, Walker's personal record high jump of 6-6 this season stands as the seventh-best in the state in Class 2A. He turned in that effort in his Mid-Illini Conference championship high jump last week.

Family, a basketball teammate, and bloody noses

Walker is the son of Jennifer and Troy Walker, mom an employee at PNC and dad at Caterpillar. Both were track athletes back in the day. He has a brother, Jacob, who is a junior at Metamora.

And Walker confesses his fun fact is: "I get bloody noses almost every day. No idea why."

Walker has always been fascinated by high jump athletes.

"I grew up watching tapes of high jumpers, especially Mutaz Essa Barsham," said Walker, referring to the Qatar athlete who is the current Olympic champion in the high jump. "I watched video of him almost break the world record. He has incredible arch and bend to his back."

He watched someone else a little closer to home, too. Walker played with Drew Tucker on Metamora's state championship and state runner-up basketball teams. Tucker won a Class 2A state title in the high jump last season, an event he has continued with Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in 2024.

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There is a bit of Tucker in Walker's approach, as he stands 10 strides away from the bar, rocking and hopping in place before starting his approach.

"I've been watching Tucker since sixth grade, competing against him, studying him," Walker said. "That stuff before I start my approach, I got that from him. It's what he does. I copied it and I've never changed it.

"Drew was a great athlete at Metamora, a friend and teammate."

The final prep days, and a college future

Walker says he likes sprinters, too, and likes to watch Noah Lyles, a six-time world champion in the 200 who won a bronze medal for America in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics."It's just fun to watch him run," Walker said.

The Metamora senior is fun to watch, too. He started with track in sixth grade and basketball in fourth grade. He earned a spot on the Redbirds powerhouse hoops varsity team as a sophomore.

"Basketball actually helps my high jump, helps my strength and conditioning," Walker said. "And track helps my basketball, my focus and precision. They are a different kind of jumping. High jump is a very carefully planned thing, 10 steps, focused, head in right position, push through the curve, arch your back … Jumping in basketball is completely spontaneous, a reaction."

Now he has only a few more days left in his prep career as the IHSA state finals loom next weekend at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

After that?

"It's on to Illinois Wesleyan," Walker said. "I'm going to do track there. I want to make sure I finish this here in the right way."

How Morton earned a repeat

Morton won its first-ever sectional championship last season. On Thursday, the Potters delivered their first-ever repeat.

They piled up 144 points, while Galesburg trailed in second with 116 and Metamora was third with 93. Limestone tied for fifth at 40, Notre Dame was seventh at 36, while Illinois Valley Central (10th), Canton (11th) and East Peoria (15th) followed.

"Last year was historic, our first time (sectional boys track championship) in school history," Morton coach Marshall Tucker said. "But to win two, back-to-back now, is pretty special. They run for each other, compete for each other. They just don't want to let anyone down."

And they nearly ran the table, qualifying for state in every track event but the 110 hurdles, which narrowly missed (Andrew McLauchlan finished third by only 0.32).

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"We knew we were going to be very successful on the track events," Tucker said. "We got a pole vault (Calvin Leman, 12-8.75) in from the field events, too.

"This senior group returned a lot of the nucleus from last year's championship team. They got a taste of it last year at state and now they get to go back."

Finish line

Manual boys track coach Harvey Burnett was on hand with his team, and looked terrific after winning a bout with cancer last winter. "I wish our team was healthier," he said. "We have so many kids with injuries." … Galesburg won the 4x400 relay in 3:24.37, the 18th fastest time in the state this season. … Morton's 4x800 relay won in 7:51.85, the third-fastest time in the state and 76th in the nation this season. … The Potters' 4x200 relay won in 1:28.63, the 10th-fastest result in the state. … Limestone jumper Kamar Sanders won the long jump at 22 feet, 9 inches, the 26th best effort in all Illinois classes this season.

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Metamora basketball player qualifies for four events at IHSA state track meet