Altamont’s Veteto and Vandalia’s Brown Both in Top 3 of Preseason Track and Field Rankings

Despite the winter season still in full effect, the track season is underway in the State as official practices were allowed to begin one week ago and indoor meets are allowed to begin next Monday. Illinois Running News has been releasing its preseason rankings for events across all three classes over the last several weeks and last week it moved from the running events to field events and two area athletes are among those named are among the top 3 in the preseason rankings of their top events. In the Boys Pole Vault, Altamont senior Jacob Veteto is ranked at #2 in Class 1A. Veteto finished fourth at last year’s Illinois Top Times Indoor Championships and was expected to be a medalist at the IHSA State Finals in May before a hand injury kept him out of Sectionals and ended his season. Veteto sits behind Riley Hogan of Champaign St. Thomas More in the rankings as last year’s 1A State Champion Isaiah Whitaker of Bloomington Central Catholic moves up to Class 2A this year. In the Girls Shot Put preseason rankings, Vandalia senior Hannah Brown is ranked at #3 in Class 1A. Brown finished fourth in last year’s IHSA State Finals. She sits behind last year’s runner-up Makayla Gajewski of Nashville and third place finisher Zion Young of Maroa Forsyth on the Class 1A list. Brown has steadily moved up in the event each year in high school, placing 13^th her freshman year before making the podium her sophomore year taking 9^th place and then moving into the Top 4 last season.