Supreme Muhammad and potent Winnebago highlight Rockford-area success in indoor track
The Rockford area is poised to make some noise once again in the sprints as the end of this indoor track and field season approaches, and as things move outside and we get to see who turns it up a notch.
And Winnebago's Supreme Muhammad looks like he will once again be right out front of it all.
Muhammad, now a senior and a five-time outdoor state medalist, took first in the Class 1A 200-meter dash at both the indoor and outdoor state track meets last year, and he placed second in the 100 dash last year at outdoor state. This year, he's looking (and clocking) even faster.
"I feel like I'm even faster now than I was last year, and I'm only going to get faster and faster," Muhammad said. "It's already been a good year, but there's so much to come. This is the fastest I've ever been, and I want to use it."
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As of this week, Muhammad is the only Rockford-area track athlete with a No. 1 ranking through the indoor season on athletic.net, other than his teammate and fellow sprint-relay partner Brandon Wiggan. Muhammad is ranked at the top with his time of 21.89 on March 2 in the 200-meter dash. Wiggan is ranked No. 1 in the state with a triple jump of 43-feet-10 1/2 on March 9 at the Hononegah Indoor Classic.
Muhammad did a lot of work in the offseason, and all the way up until the high school indoor campaign kicked in, with the Rockford FIRE track and field program run by the Rockford Park District. In fact, he ran a 6.85 in the 60 dash in a December meet with the FIRE, and that time stands as the fastest in all of Illinois for any high school-age athlete over the past year.
He's clearly poised for a big high school season.
"There are some great sprinters around here, but he's a pretty special one, that's for sure," Winnebago head coach Joe Erb said. "Supreme is not just one of the best sprinters in the area, but he's one of the best in the entire state. It's been really impressive to watch him grow as a sprinter."
Winnnebago's 4x100 relay team, led by Muhammad, is currently ranked No. 1 in the state in 1A as well, with a time of 1:32.15 from March 2. The 4x400 relay crew is ranked ninth in 1A with a time of 3:42.88, and while it's not a sprint relay, Winnebago's 4x800 relay team is ranked No. 4 in 1A at 8:47.88. On that same note, Winnebago's Nicolai Martino has the fourth fastest time in 1A in both the 1,600 run (4:27.68) and in the 3,200 run (9:41.85).
This is obviously a sprinter to watch this season, big time. And a team to watch as well.
"I'm not only really excited for this season for myself, but I want to see what this team can do, too," Muhammad said. "To win state in the 100 and 200, and to win state as a team at the same time, that would just be amazing. Amazing."
Who else is ranked?
Here are some of the other Rockford-area boys track and field athletes who head into the end of the indoor portion of the campaign with top-ranked performances. They are all in Class 1A: Gage Dunker (Lena-Winslow), No. 2 in the shot put at 50-9 3/4; Rockford Christian's 4x800 relay team, No. 2 at 8:29.68; Tristen Alexander (Dakota), third in the long jump at 21-5 1/2; Rockford Christian's 4x400 relay team, No. 4 in 3:38.36; Weston Forward (Rockford Christian), No. 4 in the 3,200 run in 9:41.85; Andrew Kurien (Rockford Christian), No. 4 in the 800 at 2:00.56; Evyn Carreno (Oregon), No. 7 in the shot put at 46-11; Even White (Rockford Christian), No. 9 in the 800 at 2:02.56; Tim Starwalt (Byron), No. 10 in the 1,600 run at 4:35.35.
What's coming up
The Byron Indoor Classic and the boys and girls NIC-10 indoor championships (at Hononegah) will be held on Saturday, and then the Illinois Top Times Indoor Championships will take place on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington on March 22-23. From there, the outdoor campaign will commence all across the state.
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a wide variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears to youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star, and for over 30 years all together.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Winnebago's Supreme Muhammad, other Rockford locals off to great start
