O’Fallon a surprise on top of DyeStat Illinois inaugural relay ratings

By Michael Newman

Before you start sending me e-mails on why O’Fallon is on top and not another school, let me explain how the DyeStat Illinois relay ratings work. It is not a subjective process and it is not based on championships that a school may have earned. It is based off of the TFX ratings, as of June 16, on the four relays that are contested at the Illinois State Track & Field Meet. In 2A & 3A and the overall ratings, I took the top 50 relays per event. For 1A, I took the top 30 relays.

So why is O’Fallon the top rated girls relay school for 2013?

O’Fallon did not have a relay that had a top 5 time out of all the classes in Illinois. But all four of their relays were rated between 6 and 10. That consistency in all four gave them the edge.

Runner-up St. Charles East had the fastest relay in the 4x4 and were rated in the top 10 in the 4x1 and 4x8 but their 4x2 relay was rated 39^th time wise.

It is even more remarkable for third place school Lincoln-Way East. Yes, they won state championships in 3A in the 4x1 and 4x2 and placed 3^rd in the 4x4. Those three alone should put them on top. But we are looking at all four relays. Their 4x8 had the 49^th fastest time in the 4x8.

In the overall category, Carbondale was the highest rated 2A school finishing fourth. Springfield Southeast finished nine points behind in fifth. Erie-Prophetstown was the first 1A school finishing in 16^th.

O’Fallon also was rated first in Class 3A but with the subtraction of the other classes, the margin between them and St. Charles East was only two points. Lincoln-Way East was only 10 points behind in third. Rock Island and Homewood-Flossmoor finished fourth and fifth.

Even though Carbondale and Springfield Southeast were rated higher in the overall ratings, it is East St. Louis-Senior that captured the top honors in 2A. The Lady Flyers scored no lower than thirteenth in any of the 2A relays. The key for the win for East St. Louis-Senior is that either Carbondale or Springfield Southeast scored in the 4 x 8.

The top 30 relays were only scored in 1A making the outcome very interesting. Erie-Prophetstown was rated in the top 3 in the three sprint relays. Their tenth fastest time in the 4x8 was enough to hold off Carthage Illini West by one point. All of Illini West’s four relays were rated in the top 5. 1A team champion Moweaqua Central A&M finished third 15 points behind Illini West.