Richwoods sprinter is the fastest in Peoria; Morton makes quick work of sectional

PEORIA — The apple didn't fall far from the tree with Darrin Dussett, the son of a national and world champion track star who grew up learning how Newton's Laws apply to the science of running.

"There's three of them, I've heard about them all my life from dad," said Dussett, the Richwoods junior.

"1. Every object in a state of uniform motion will remain in that state of motion unless an external force acts on it.

"2. Force equals mass times acceleration.

"3. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."

IHSA girls track and field: Here are 9 Peoria-area girls athletes that can win IHSA state titles

And with that knowledge — and some DNA — in hand, Dussett is the fastest runner in the Peoria area, with a 10.96-second effort in the 100-meter dash last weekend at the Big 12 Boys Conference Championships.

He ran hurt on Wednesday at the IHSA boys Class 2A Dunlap Sectional — he says he has a minor problem in the back of his right leg, near his knee — but won the 100 in :11.11, holding off Morton senior Carl Whitaker by :00.09.

Dussett made up enough ground on the anchor leg of the 4x100 relay to get Richwoods across the line in second place at :42.99.

And he blazed to a first-place finish in the 200, crossing in :22.43.

On to the state finals next weekend.

Why he runs

Dussett started in track when he was 5 years old. Later, he told his father he wanted to learn how to play football.

"He said, 'OK, let's go put in the work,' " Dussett said. "Track was a way to help me prepare and get better at football, get faster on the field."

The Richwoods cornerback has a football offer from Olivet Nazarene, and interest from some other schools.

More: Peoria runner has 92 track championships, nine records. Now his son is at Richwoods

"I'm so motivated to play college football, and everything I do in track helps me, I enjoy it and see the value in it," he said. "When I ran that (:10.96) last week I was so excited. It's rewarding. I can see the progress."

That 100 time ranks 22nd among IHSA Class 2A runners this season, but is tops among all Peoria-area sprinters.And it's actually not his best event.

"I'm really a 200 guy who also runs the 100," Dussett said. "I'm stronger at the 200."

Dussett ran a personal-best :22.14 in the 200 at the Big 12 meet last weekend. It ranks as the 12th-best 200 time in IHSA Class 2A this season. And like his 100, it's the fastest time in the Peoria area.

The track family tree

Dussett's father, Antwan, qualified for the Olympic Trials in 2000 with a :45.9 time in the 400 dash.

He won a World Masters Indoor championship in 2019 at Torun, Poland, running with an age 35 division 4x200 relay team that finished in 1:31.34. In 2017, he won the World Masters Indoors championship 400 dash at Daegu, South Korea, running it in :49.44 while also taking a silver medal in the 200.

Those are some of the most recent of his 92 state, U.S. regional, U.S. national, world regional, and world indoor and outdoor championships in the 100, 200, 400 dashes and 4x100 and 4x400 relays. He is the 10-time USA Masters Outdoor national champion in the 400, and the nine-time USA Masters Indoor national champion in the 400. USA Track & Field has named Antwan Dussett an all-American 20 times in the 400 in its Masters Division, and 18 times in the 200.

State bound: Peoria-area girls track athletes who advanced to the 2023 IHSA state finals

He has set nine World or American records in dashes and relays, and has held American records in two of them: The indoor 400, which he set at :49.32 at age 40 in 2016 at Albuquerque; and the indoor 200, which he set at :21.67 at age 35 in 2011 at Albuquerque.

"I have him in the 200," Darrin Dussett said. "At least, if we raced I think it would be me."

And the 400? "He won't race me in the 400," Dussett said, grinning. "He says I'm too slow for him."

Morton finds track karma

A year ago, Morton was unable to qualify its relay teams in the Metamora Sectional, narrowly missing on the 4x100.

But Wednesday, Luke Schaff and Carl Whitaker, who were part of that 2022 frustration, came back to run the final two legs and deliver a first-place finish in the 4x100.

Micah Wong and Nyamedze Maison teamed up with them to get across in :42.49, a half-second better than runnerup Richwoods. It ranks as the fifth-best time statewide in Class 2A.

Who's going to state? Peoria-area boys track athletes who advanced from IHSA sectionals

"We're actually six deep, it's amazing," Morton track coach Marshall Tucker said. "To have these four together, and see them progress like this, it's just terrific."

Wong came over from the Morton baseball team, and now leads off on the relay.

"We've had two different (combinations) break the school record, and they've done it multiple times," Tucker said. "And our 4x200 broke a 42-year-old school record."

That was a 1:29.60 outing at the Streak Invitational in Galesburg on April 11. The Potters re-set that record again on Wednesday when they blew away the 4x200 field for a first-place finish in 1:29.28, more than two seconds ahead of runnerup Metamora.

Both of Morton's relay efforts Wednesday were the fastest times by a Peoria area team this season.

Honor roll: Here are the top times, distances for Peoria-area high school track and field in 2023

Crossing the finish line

• Morton, which lost the sectional by one point last year, won the IHSA Class 2A Dunlap Sectional by more than 40 points over Metamora. Richwoods was third.

• Richwoods senior Zenon Rule won the pole vault and 110 hurdles on Wednesday. On Thursday afternoon he will have a college signing ceremony at Richwoods. That choice was foreshadowed at the sectionals as he walked around the infield wearing an Indiana State warmup top. "I'm signing with the Sycamores," Rule said. "I'm so excited about it. Great program, an opportunity to compete as a decathlon athlete. It's everything I was looking for, and I can't wait to get there."

• Metamora basketball state championship team member Drew Tucker won the high jump at 6 feet, 4 3/4 inches.

• Chillicothe senior David Russell won the discus in 171 feet, 31/3 inches. He won the shot put in 57-9 3/4.

• Morton junior Josh Weeks won the 3200 in a personal-best 9:45.62. Teammate Christian Harris won the 1600 in 4:33.25.

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 Twitter @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Fastest man in Peoria swept sprints in IHSA Class 2A Dunlap Sectional