Madalyn Marx Dashes to Victory in 400 Meters, Sets School Record at IHSA Class 2A State Championship
By FRED KRONER
Mahomet-Seymour sophomore Madalyn Marx outsprinted two competitors in the final 15 meters on Saturday (May 18) and won the IHSA state championship in the Class 2A 400-meter dash at Eastern Illinois University, in Charleston.
Marx’s time was a school-record 56.11 seconds. She surged past the runner-up, who was timed in 56.18 seconds, at the finish line.
Marx’s previous best time in the race was 56.55 achieved last summer at Eugene, Ore.
The victory completes a sweep of the event for Marx, who won the unofficial 400-meter indoor state title in Bloomington in March with a 57.55 clocking.
She had a strategy for the outdoor race which worked to perfection.
“I go out hard the first 120 meters (around the curve) and stride out in the backstretch,” she said. “With 150 meters left, I give it all I have left.”
She never dropped below third place in the finals, but at her furthest, trailed the leader by approximately 10 meters.
“I was a little scared,” she said. “I was pretty far behind. It’s awesome to know I can do this, especially as a sophomore.”
Coming down the straight-away, Marx was in Lane 6 and saw the race co-leaders in front of her, in lanes 5 and 7.
“It was definitely a fight for them,” she said. “They were focused on each other and I was able to go past them.”
The runner-up, Leah Smith from Chicago South Shore, was timed in 56.18. The third-place runner, Galesburg’s Syriah Boyd (who had the quickest qualifying time) came in at 56.37.
Marx’s performance at state was a virtual repeat from 2023. As a freshman, she was seventh going into the final curve and came all the way back to finish as the Class 2A state runner-up.
Marx’s week ended much better than it started.
On the Monday four days before state, she had a flareup of a right foot injury that had previously limited her participation in the Apollo Conference meet.
An X-ray revealed nothing wrong and she received a green light to compete.
“Monday, we had a good workout, but Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, I rested and iced a lot,” Marx said. “(Coach Ben) Hankes had us do minimal stuff.”
Five of the nine M-S entries in the finals at the state meet scored points on Saturday, helping the school to a sixth-place finish with 32 points.
The M-S headliner was Marx, who had the second-best qualifying time in the 400 meters (57.27 seconds).
She didn’t mind that position.
“I like not being seeded first,” Marx said. “That gives me less pressure.”
M-S junior Kara Carney was the No. 6 qualifier in the 300-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 46.65 seconds. She came back on the second day with a 46.94 time and captured sixth place.
The other Bulldog individual qualifier for the finals was junior Kelsie Fuoss. She finished tied for third at state in the pole vault (with a personal-best 10 feet, 7 inches) after being one of the 13 competitors to hit the automatic qualifying height of 10 feet, 2 inches on Friday to reach the finals.
Two M-S relays also moved on into the second day of competition.
The 1,600-meter foursome of Evelyn Hillard, Lauren Burr, Anniston Huff and Carney posted the No. 3 times in the prelims, winning their heat race in 4:01.63.
With Marx substituting into the lineup for Huff in the finals, M-S cut 6.49 seconds and posted a school-record time of 3:55.14. The relay ended in second place.
The foursome shattered the M-S record (3:59.49) in the event that had stood since 2010.
Also making the finals was the Bulldogs’ 800-meter relay, which had the seventh-best qualifying time (1:44.43). Sharing the baton were Carney, Huff, Hillard and Burr.
In the finals, they clocked 1:44.16 and wound up in sixth place.
A total of 71 schools scored points in the Class 2A portion of the three-class competition.
Four M-S state qualifiers did not get past the semifinals, including Marx, who opted not to run the 200 meters in order to save wear and tear on her feet, allowing her to focus on the individual 400-meter race and two relays.
Marx, and the other state medalists riding the team bus back from Charleston on Saturday, received a police escort as they came up Rt. 47 and headed to the high school.
“We are all really close, and that was nice,” she said.
Marx then enjoyed a celebratory meal with her family at the Mahomet restaurant of her choice, Breaking Taco.
She will take a short break from training before rejoining the Champaign-based Vipers Track Club. She will have one meet in early June at Kankakee before leaving June 12 for the nationals, at Eugene, Ore., where she will again focus on the 400 meters.
Senior Ava Boyd concluded an injury-plagued season with a 22nd-place finish in the 1,600 meters (5:21.87).
After placing fourth at state in the same event as a junior, Boyd had high expectations for her senior season before a gluteal strain prevented her from running for six weeks.
Boyd returned to action for the sectional.
She never lost focus on the postseason as she diligently worked out on a bike to maintain fitness.
“I was pretty determined to never give up on a goal,” Boyd said. “The injury couldn’t hold me back from going to state.
“I was proud that I made the state prelims. I’m happy I made it that far. I’m able to take that as a big win.”
The University of Illinois recruit learned a lesson this spring.
“You can work hard and prepare,” Boyd said, “but the unimaginable can still happen. It’s the first injury I’ve had to deal with.”
Boyd estimates that she is about “90 percent” recovered. She plans to take two weeks off from running in order to be 100 percent by the time she arrives on campus in the fall.
The Bulldogs’ 400-meter relay was a near-miss for a berth in the finals.
Nine schools advanced their relays to the second day. M-S finished in 10th place (school-record 49.02 seconds), just .16 behind No. 9 qualifier Troy Triad.
The relay featured Carney, Burr, Hillard and Marx.
The previous school record in the event was 49.93, posted in 2005.
M-S’ 3,200-meter relay ended in 19th place (10:05.54) at state. The unit consisted of Chloe Bundren, Emma Frazier, Taylor Mills and Huff.
Across the board, Bulldog athletes bettered their times from sectionals in eight of eight state events in which they competed.
