BLOOMINGTON - With an eye towards this weekend's state meet, Bloomington High School's track team switched its sprint relay lineups Tuesday in the 24th annual Pantagraph Honor Roll Meet. | Photo Gallery

The changes were no drag on the Purple Raiders, who made the oval at Fred Carlton Field into a drag strip by sweeping the 400-, 800- and 1,600-meter relays, the 800 in a Pantagraph area all-time best and the 1,600 in a meet record.

"I guess that proves we've got a lot of depth," said junior sensation Tyler Sipes, the state meet's top seed in the 300 intermediate hurdles. "There are a lot of people we could throw in there."

BHS threw caution to the wind in the 800 relay with a time of 1 minute, 28.5 seconds, breaking the area and meet record of 1:28.8 it set last year.

The stick went from Brandon Kimmich to Sipes to Marcus McGee to Darian Davis. The Raiders were paced for a lap and a half by Normal Community's star-crossed foursome, who dropped the baton as they did in the sectional.

Kimmich had a theory about why this meet brings out the best in BHS.

"I think there's not much pressure any more," he said. "We just go out there and relax."

Sipes came back with a career best split of 50.0 in the 1,600 relay, which ran 3:23.0 to break Pontiac's 1998 meet record of 3:23.9. Ben Nathan led off in 50.3. Tim Williams (52.3) and Justin Bocot (50.4) handled the final two legs.

Sipes called it a good state-meet tune-up.

"I needed that," he said.

Mahomet-Seymour's Jason Seaman needed do-or-die pressure to match his state-leading sectional shot put best of 60 feet, 8½ inches. Lacking that, he settled for a meet record 57-11 ahead of reigning Class A state champion Josh Brent of Central Catholic (52-8).

"The excitement and the adrenalin that goes with sectionals is hard to match," said Seaman, who also won the discus at 165-11. The old record of 57-6½ was set by Tri-Valley's Allen Bradd in 1994.

BHS' Davis defended his 200 title in a season best 22.1 after earlier anchoring the 400 relay (43.1), which included Kimmich, Greg Patton and McGee.

"I actually took it out pretty hard," said Davis after the 200.

Patton, a sophomore, proved hard to beat in the 400 (50.6).

"I got out so good, I didn't have anybody to run with that second curve," he said.

NCHS, which won five of the 18 events to match BHS, got a school record 39.7 from 300 intermediate hurdle champion Austin Kull.

"It's the perfect way to end the season," he said.

Maxim Bakana of NCHS, who defended his triple jump title (46-1¼), hopes he is saving perfection for the state meet.

"I don't have as many issues (technique wise) as I had earlier this year," he noted.

Teammate Blain Peckmann topped out earlier than he hoped in the pole vault, but he won at 14-10 and had one good try at a school record 15-7.

"I'm hitting the bar on the way up," said Peckmann, who needed to move the standards back. "I know my standards on my other poles, but this pole is still kind of new for me."

Winning the 100 was nothing new for Alex Martin of NCHS, whose 10.8 career best matched his winning time of 2006.

"It was one of those days where you feel there is nothing that can stop you," he said.

David VanderLaan of NCHS won his final prep 1,600 in 4:37.8.

"I'm kind of disappointed with where I placed in the 800 (fifth in 2:02.2)," he said, "but I feel real redemption after the mile."

University High sophomore Ikechi Nnamani high jumped a career best 6-4 to edge defending champion Cody Seiler of El Paso-Gridley by two inches.

"I think my form is improving," said Nnamani, brother of Olympic volleyball player Ogonna Nnamani.

Normal West had a ball winning the 3,200 relay (8:07.5) with Reid Basting (2:00.6), Steve Ross (2:03.4), Brant Basting (2:03.7) and Jonny Kaufmann (2:00.0).

Pontiac won the long jump for the third straight year as Andy Bauman bounded a season best 21-8.

"The way that I landed," he said, "I just felt it was out there."

Heyworth's Zach Bowling felt exhausted after winning the 800 in a school record 1:59.5 ahead of Lexington's Alex Tanney (1:59.9) and U High's Deonte VanHook (2:00.1).

"I've only done this the last four meets because I wasn't doing so hot in the mile," Bowling said. "I thought I'd give this a try."

Pontiac junior Michael Lee notched the biggest win of his career by using a 64-second last lap to clock 10:23.3 in the 3,200.

Normal West sophomore Troy Walls won the 110 high hurdles in a career best 15.2.

"From the start, I could tell it would be a good race," he said.