ROCHELLE — Jonny Bearrows motioned his arms to start a slow clap as he stood near the end of the runway during the long jump finals at the IHSA 2A Rochelle Sectional on Wednesday.

It was the third and final attempt of the evening for Bearrows, who had one last chance to leap far enough to earn his spot in the IHSA State Championship meet. With a full head of steam, Bearrows sprinted down the runway and soared from the take-off board, achieving a mark of 6.60 meters (21 feet 7 ¾ inches) to surpass the qualifying standard and punch his ticket to state. It was the second-longest jump of the season for Bearrows, who took second in the event.

“It’s a big accomplishment,” said Bearrows, a junior who now has his eyes set on the school record of 22 feet 2 inches (6.76 meter) set by Malek Shaabneh in 2012. “It felt pretty solid and it would’ve been nice to get a PR, but it was hard today with the weather. I was very nervous, but it felt good. I’ve improved my air mechanics and my overall speed down the runway. I’m hoping to get the school record down at state because I was four inches short with my PR this season.”

A first-time qualifier, Bearrows was one of four Hubs to clinch their tickets to the state meet, which will be held at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston next weekend. Senior Jack Tilton also became a first-time qualifier on Wednesday, finishing second with a clearance of 1.90 meters (6 feet 2 ¾ inches) in the high jump. It was a rewarding feeling for Tilton, who fell just inches short of qualifying for the state meet during both his sophomore and junior seasons. 

“I messed up two years in a row and the first thing I said to myself when I got over the bar was, ‘Thank God I didn’t mess it up this year,’” Tilton said. “I didn’t do as well as I wished today, but it was a good day overall and I can’t complain much. My goal was not to think about it and I knew that I should be able to get over 6-2 pretty easily. It’s a great feeling and I can’t wait for the chance to get another medal around my neck. It would be a great way to end my season.”

Junior Andrew Nuyen returned as a sectional pole vault champion from last season and was able to defend his title on Wednesday, winning the event with a clearance of 4.33 meters (14 feet 2 ½ inches) to qualify for the state meet once again. Nuyen, who medaled in third at the IHSA state meet last season, said his previous experience at state will bode well for his return.

“As long as I qualified for state, I didn’t really care how I did today,” Nuyen said. “I’m glad that I made it and it feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders. It’s been a long season and I’m just hoping to have fun at state and get a medal. The experience will help this time around because I’m used to the pressure and I thought that pressure got to me a little bit at the opening heights last year. The more I continued, the better I got and hopefully this year, there will be none.”

Sophomore Hunter Bivins rounded out the state-qualifying foursome at the sectional meet, clocking in at 41.56 seconds to take second place in the 300-meter hurdles. Bivins, who was Rochelle’s lone qualifier in the running events on Wednesday, broke the school’s fresh-soph record at the Ogle County Championship earlier this month. As Bivins cleared the final hurdle of his heat, the sophomore raised his hands above his head in celebration of his achievement.

“Coming into this season, qualifying for state was one of my biggest goals,” Bivins said. “I really wanted to shoot for that and the fresh-soph record. I’m looking forward to going down to the blue track. We’ve done a lot of hard workouts this year and it’s all paying off now. My overall speed and endurance have improved and I’ve been able to keep my speed up. I think that if I can clean up my hurdles with less reach and stuttering, then I’ll definitely get under 41 seconds.”

Rochelle finished fourth out of 16 schools with 68.5 points in the meet. Junior Caden Goodwin led the Hubs in the triple jump, taking fourth with a distance of 12.49 meters. Sophomore Jaden Martina and freshman Zachary Johnson stepped up as well, with Johnson clearing 1.67 meters for sixth in the high jump and Martina recording a mark of 6.02 meters for sixth in the long jump.

The Hubs finished fourth in the 800-meter relay (Jaden Martina, Aaron DeClerck, Justin DeClerck and German Albertson) with a time of 1:37.30 and sixth in the 1600-meter relay (Caden Goodwin, Pedro Rosales, Nathan Rosas and Hunter Bivins) with a time of 3:35.45. Rochelle opened the meet with a seventh-place finish in the 3200-meter relay (Elijah Mayen, Pedro Rosales, Declan McGee and Chris Hickey), crossing the finish line with a time of 8:49.18.

Junior Wyatt Worthington brought home a fifth-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles (16.40 seconds) and a seventh-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles (44.48 seconds). Hunter Bivins added a PR in the 110-meter hurdles, taking sixth in 16.40 seconds. Freshman Tyler Johnson led Rochelle in the distance events, finishing fifth with a time of 10:17.40 in the 3200-meter run. Senior Richard Pierce clocked in at 11.41 seconds for seventh in the 100-meter dash.