Travis Hoffman and Ty Clark Medal at IHSA Class 2A State Track Meet
By Fred Kroner
Mahomet-Seymour juniors Travis Hoffman and Ty Clark both earned medals in the IHSA boys’ Class 2A state track and field meet on Saturday (May 25) at Eastern Illinois University, in Charleston.
Hoffman was the top M-S placer, taking fifth in the 300-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 39.64 seconds, which ranks fourth on the all-time M-S leaders’ list. He had the ninth – and final – qualifying time with a mark of 40.26 in the preliminary round on Friday (May 24).
Clark captured a state medal for the second year in a row.
He tied for eighth in the pole vault (13 feet, 5 inches). As a sophomore Clark took ninth at state.
On Friday, Clark cleared the mandatory height of 13 feet, 5 inches and was one of 15 individuals to advance to the finals. All 15 cleared the same first-day height.
After clearing 14 feet, 3 ¼ inches earlier in the year, Clark stands 12th on the all-time M-S leaders’ list.
Hoffman’s performance in the hurdles caps a 16-month run in the event. He took up hurdling in February, 2023.
“Coach (Jason) Franklin asked me if I wanted to and I said, ‘Sure,’” Hoffman said. “I thought I could do it for a few meets and it could be fun. I didn’t have any expectations.”
The distance was appealing because he had trained to be a 200- and 400-meter runner.
“The 300 is right in between,” Hoffman said.
Right in between, but with a series of obstacles on the track.
“Coach Franklin likes to call them eight little blips in the race,” Hoffman said.
He took to the event from the outset.
“In my first meet outdoors (as a sophomore), I won and thought, ‘Maybe I should do this,’” Hoffman said.
The 5-foot-10 Hoffman hasn’t looked back, winning Apollo Conference titles this spring as a junior in both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles races. Now he owns a state medal. His best time in the 110-high hurdles (16.18 seconds) is 20th on the all-time M-S leaders’ list.
Though he squeaked into the 300-meter state finals and earned the last state qualifying berth, Hoffman wasn’t displeased with his preliminary race.
“It was my second-best time,” he said. “I wasn’t thrilled, but it wasn’t a bad performance.”
He was in fourth place after two of the four Friday preliminary heats and had to watch two more heats to see if he would be knocked out of the top nine.
With the final qualifying time, he was assigned to Lane 1, what some would perceive as a disadvantage, for the championship race.
It didn’t bother Hoffman.
“I like Lane 1,” he said. “I can see everyone ahead of me and am more motivated to catch them.”
His career-best time came with a caveat: He knew he could have done even better.
“I was happy with the time, but my steps were very off,” Hoffman said. “There were one or two (hurdles) I should have gone over with the other leg. There was stuff I could have improved.”
A hip-flexor, which bothered Hoffman periodically during the season, was not a factor at state.
“I was about 98 percent (at full strength),” he said. “If you’re training hard, you’re never really 100 percent.”
After a short break, Hoffman will return to the track for training. He will focus on much more than the hurdles.
“I would like to do the decathlon in college,” Hoffman said. “I have a lot to learn.”
He has no experience with the javelin or the shot put and has just thrown the discus once. He hasn’t done any high jumping or pole vaulting since he was a freshman. He also is a novice at the 1,500-meter distance.
Also on Saturday, the Bulldogs had two entries in the 3,200-meter race, which did not have a preliminary round.
Henry McMurry finished 28th in 10:03.39 and teammate Kaleb Kasper ended 42nd in 10:49.57.
M-S totaled 6 ½ points at state and ended in a tie for 39th place. A total of 76 schools scored points at state in Class 2A.
The Bulldogs had eight other state participants besides Hoffman and Clark.
Jayvon Irwin placed 20th in the 200 meters (22.39 second) and 25th in the 100 meters (10.97 seconds), recording his second-best time ever in both of the sprint races.
M-S had two competitors in the 1,600 meters. Ethan Ramirez ended in 40th place (4:44.88) and Auggie Gaudio wound up in 44th place (4:56.85).
The Bulldogs’ other individual state-meet participant was long jumper Ryken Kirby. He landed in 18th place with a leap of 20 feet, 3 inches.
All four M-S relays finished among the top 30 at state.
The 1,600-meter grouping of Alex O’Brian, Kaden Jackson, Lukas Carey and Parker Wilkins were clocked in 3:33.82 and finished 28th.
The 400-meter foursome of Hoffman, Irwin, Kirby and O’Brian came in 29th with a time of 43.93 seconds.
Earlier in the year that relay posted a 43.26-second time, which is fifth on the all-time M-S leaders’ list.
Also ending in 29th at state was the 3,200-meter relay. Sharing the baton in the eight-lap race were Jackson, Carey, Lukas Nykaza and Ramirez. Their cumulative time was 8:29.60.
The Bulldogs’ 800-meter unit of Steffen Kellner, O’Brian, Dylan Smith and Kirby took 30th place with a time of 1:34.99.
