Junior Malcolm Taylor heads to the finish line Saturday in the Class A 400-meter state championship race at Eastern Illinois University's O'Brien Stadium. Taylor finished as the IHSA state runner-up with a time of 49.74 seconds. He joins Warren Goodell as the highest-placing boys state track medalist in Uni history. Goodell was the state runner-up in the 880-yard run in 1941. Sophomore Ben Asmus of Heymouth won Saturday's race with a time of 49.11 seconds. In the span of just one week, Taylor vs. Asmus developed into one of the most compelling rivalries in Class A track. They competed against each other in the Monticello sectional on May 16, with Taylor winning the 400 title by just two-tenths of a second (49.20 - 49.40). Then a week later, running in separate state prelim heats on Friday, Taylor and Asmus tied each other (50.03) for the fastest time in Class A. Taylor was the only Uni athlete to compete in the Saturday finals. At the Friday prelims, senior Frankie McFarland (shot put, discus throw) and the 4x800 relay team (junior Isaac Chambers, senior Austin Rundus, senior Jacob Olshansky, and Taylor) competed but did not advance.
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