Made it by that much: Rigg’s victory by .02 seconds gives Panthers title in home track meet

CAMP POINT, Ill. — Curtis Rigg was on the right side of a photo finish this time, and it proved to be the deciding factor in the Central-Southeastern boys track and field team capturing a title at their home invite.

Rigg, a junior sprinter and long jumper, lost to Macomb’s Kylan McMillan by .01 seconds in the 100 meter dash at the Quincy Invitational on April 5.

“I was right there,” Rigg said after that race.

It wasn’t the same competitor on Friday, but Rigg earned a measure of revenge nonetheless. He edged out South Fulton’s Avery Fawcett by .02 to win the 100 meters at the CSE Invitational, scoring 10 points to Fawcett’s eight. The Panthers only defeated Winchester West Central by one point, meaning those .02 seconds were the difference between a first- and second-place finish for the Panthers.

“There are a lot of different metrics that are important, so everyone’s place was important today,” Panthers coach Brad Dixon said.

Rigg’s finish was the most nail-biting and possibly the most important of the day.

“I felt really good in the 100,” Rigg said. “I didn’t die out like I’ve done in previous meets.”

Rigg did his part in other events, too. He set a personal record with a long jump of 20 feet, 8 inches, second only to West Hancock’s Nolan Gooding. 

“That felt really good,” Rigg said of his long jump performance. “I actually listened to my coach, and it worked out.”

The chain link fence surrounding the football field and track at Central High School provided Rigg an aim point of sorts to help him post his best jump to date.

“He was telling me to look straight out and jump into that fence over there. Angle yourself to jump into that fence,” Rigg said. “It’s like a visual marker of the trajectory.”

Rigg also finished third to Fawcett and Gooding in the 200 meters, both of whom set PRs, and was part of the Panthers’ 4×100 relay team that finished second to Winchester West Central by .70 seconds.

Panthers freshman Kale Niekamp finished third to South Fulton’s Kaden and Riley Foglesong in the 110 meter hurdles and set a PR of 44.34 seconds to finish second in the 300 meter hurdles, .23 seconds behind Winchester West Central’s Dallas Surratt.

The Panthers put forth strong showings in the field events, as well. Evan Walker set a PR of 47 feet, 6.5 inches to win the shot put by more than 4 feet over Brown County’s Cooper Adcox. Brayden Hummer won the discus with a throw of 137 feet, 6 inches, and Tatum Eicken finished second in the triple jump.

Brown County finished third in the team standings with 88 points, followed by West Hancock in fifth, Quincy JV in sixth, Liberty in seventh, Payson Seymour in eighth, Western in ninth, and Mendon Unity in 10th.