Alton's Cassius Havis sets goals high for upcoming track and field season

ELSAH – Alton's Cassius Havis just missed out on a group of runners who topped the 800-meter record in Friday night's Tiger Indoor Invitational track meet hosted by Edwardsville at Principia College's Crafton Center.

Havis finished fourth in the race, turning in a time of 1:59.56, just missing out of the previous mark set the year before by O'Fallon's Chris Conrad of 1:59.02; the three runners ahead of him, including Edwardsville's Franky Romano, topped Conrad's previous mark.

“I was glad I went under two (minutes),” Havis, a sophomore, said. “I did it last week and it was nice to do it again; the (4x400 relay, which had Havis running the third leg of the race) was a good workout.

“I'm very excited to see what I can do outdoor since I'm under two already; I just have to see how much more I can get under.”

As far as goals Havis has set for himself for the outdoor season, “I want to get under 1:57 in the 800 and then in the 1,600, I want to break 4:30,” Havis said.

As always, the goal is to reach the IHSA Class 3A state track meet in Charleston Memorial Day weekend. “That's the goal,” Havis said. “I just lifted and went outside and ran a couple of miles,” Havis said of his winter preparations for the outdoor season.

The Redbirds' outdoor season opener comes at 3:30 p.m. March 23 at Edwardsville's Southwestern Illinois Relays at the EHS Winston Brown Complex.

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