Five from Arcola qualify for IESA Class 2A state track meet

By Editor | May 12, 2026 |

By Mike Monahan

ASSUMPTION – On a perfect Saturday in the IESA Class 2A 16-team seventh and eighth grade boys and girls sectional five Arcola student-athletes qualified for the state track meet Friday and Saturday at East Peoria’s EastSide Centre in three events. In the seventh grade boys, Aiden Lugo, a sixth grader, qualified by winning the 1,600 with a time of 5:28.11, winning by .78 over the second place runner.

On the girls side Anna Becerra, an eighth grader ran a season-best 28.21 in the 200, good for third place. She qualified because she was under the state qualifying time of 28.4. Becerra also qualified for state as part of the sprint medley which is in its first year and consists of two 200’s, one 400 and one 800. Their time was 5:07.42, good for second place.The top two times qualified in the medley because it is the first year of it and there are no qualifying standards. Others in the relay are Bella Cooper, Harper Cox and Taylor Conn. It was their season-best time.

Lugo will run Friday about 4:45 p.m.,while Becerra will run the 200 on Saturday at 12:35 p.m. The sprint medley is at 1:15 approximately on Friday.

A total of one seventh grade boy, one eighth grade boy, four seventh grade girls and two eighth grade boys had their season-best performances.

Lugo’s best 1,600 is 5:25.81,which was April 25 in the Arcola Invitational.

Team-wise the eighth grade girls had the top finish, earning fourth place with 55 points.

IESA Class 2A Sectional

Saturday at Assumption

Top eight earned a ribbon

Boys seventh grade team scores: 1. Effingham St. Anthony 87; 2 Altamont 81; 3. Casey-Westfield 61; 4. Central A&M 51; 5. Cumberland 50; 6. Brownstown/St. Elmo 45; 7. Paris Crestwood 38; 8. Arthur Lovington Atwood Hammond 36; 9. Stewardson-Strasburg 30; 10. Arcola 28.5; 11. Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City 20.5; 12. Tie, Tri-County, North Clay 18; 14. Cerro Gordo/Bement 14; 15. South Central 5; 16. Meridian 3

(Arcola top eight individual and relays)

100: 7. Rigoberto Leal 13.58

400: 8. Jase Lebetter 1:06.30*

800: 6. Aiden Lugo 2:39.81

1,600: 1. Lugo 5:28.11 !

4×100: 3. Christian Moreno, Dominic Leal, Ledbetter, Rigoberto Leal 56.60

Sprint medley (200, 200, 400, 800) 4. Rigoberto Leal, Moreno, Ledbetter, Lugo 4:48.62

High jump: 7. Ledbetter 4-3 1/4

!-state qualifier

Boys eighth grade team scores: 1. Stewardson-Strasburg 114; 2. Efiingham St. Anthony 55; 3. Altamont 53; 4. Cumberland 46; 5. Brownstown/St. Elmo 44; 6. Paris Crestwood 39; 7. ALAH 38; 8. South Central 29; 9. Tie, Casey-Westfield, Tri-County, North Clay 27; 12. CH/BC 25; 13. Central A&M 19; 14. Arcola 14; 15. Meridian 13; 16. CGB 2

400: 5 Mauricio Silguero 1:03.13*

4×100: 5. Brandon Hudson, Mark Lira, Silguero, Emmanuel Fuentes 53.62

Sprint medley (200, 200, 400, 800) 3. Hudson, Lira, Fuentes, Silguero 4:33.15

*-season best

Girls seventh grade team scores: 1. Cumberland 68.5; 2. Paris Crestwood 65; 3. Effingham St. Anthony 61; 4. Altamont 49; 5. Brownstown/St. Elmo 47; 6. Arcola 40.5; 7. Stewardson-Strasburg 40; 8. Meridian 39; 9. Central A&M 35; 10. South Central 27.5; 11. ALAH 24; 12. CH/BC 23; 13. C-W 18; 14. Tie, CGB, Tri-County 17; 16. North Clay 7.5

200: 7. Lindsay Perez-Cortez 30.52*

800: 3. Callie Karcher 2:44.88*; 7. Zuri Diaz 2:56.44*

1,600: 2. Karcher 6:02.57*

4×100: 5. Kimberly Roberts, Perez-Cortez, Kiara Montano, Angela Helmick 1:00.06

4×200: 4. Rosangel Zarate, Lyla Gisinger, Luna Delira, Daphne Gaona Rios 2:18.05

4×400: 7. Amelia Bumgarner, Vanessa Gomez, Bryauna Hudson, Daphne Gauna-Rios 5:27.87

Sprint medley (200, 200, 400, 800) 3. Roberts, Perez-Cortez, Gomez, Karcher 5:04.44

High jump: 5. Diaz 4-2 ¾; 7. Karcher 4-0 1/2

*season best

Girls eighth grade team scores: 1. Tri-County 72; 2. Altamont 65; 3. Effingham St. Anthony 64; 4. Arcola 55; 5. Meridian 46; 6. ALAH 45; 7. Tie, CGB, Cumberland 42; 9. Tie, C-W, CH/BC 32; 11. North Clay 23; 12. Paris Crestwood 12; 13. Brownstown/St. Elmo 10; 14. Central A&M 7; 15. Stewardson-Strasburg 4; 16. South Central 3

200: 3. Anna Becerra 28.21*!

400: 2. Harper Cox 1:07.48

800: 7. Taylor Conn 3:02.75; 8. Bella Cooper 3:05.29

1,600: 6. Cooper 7:00.70

100 hurdles: 3. Addi Bloemker 20.36*

4×100: 3. Bloemker, Beccera, Cox, Choe McMillan 57.62

4×200: 7. Bostyn Wesch, Alexia Vazquez, Vanesa Medina, Myers 2:20.27

4×400: 5. Helmick, Ramona Myers, Cox, Conn 5:17.59

Sprint medley (200, 200, 400, 800) 2. Beccera, Cooper, Cox, Conn 5:07.42*!!

Long jump: 3. Becerra 14-3 ¼

Shot put: 7. Sophia Wilson 24-7 ¼

Discus: 8. Wilson 64-6