CHARLESTON — Senior Malcolm Taylor has qualified for Saturday's IHSA Class 1A state championship race in the 400-meter dash.

The defending state runner-up was one of nine sprinters who made the cut in Thursday's semifinals at Eastern Illinois University's O'Brien Field.

Taylor ran the third-fastest time out of 38 competitors, all of whom had advanced from last week's sectionals. He won his seven-man heat in 50.30 seconds. That was slower than his sectional-winning time of 49.51 seconds, but no one at prelims broke the 50-second barrier.

Defending state champion Ben Asmus of Heyworth clocked the fastest prelim time with a mark of 50.14, followed by Zebo Zebe of Tolono Unity (50.17). Taylor, Asmus, and Zebe ran in separate heats.

Senior Isaac Chambers also ran on Thursday but did not advance to finals. He recorded a personal-best of 51.53 to finish 16th overall.

The 400 finals are scheduled to begin at 2:55 p.m., with 1A sprinters going first, followed by 2A and 3A finalists.

One other Uni athlete, sophomore Albert Anastasio, will compete on Saturday. Anastasio qualified in the 3,200 run. No prelims are held in that event, so every two-miler who advanced from sectionals will run in the finals.

Anastasio's race is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. He ran the 29th-fastest time (10:13.42) out of 40 state qualifiers. The No. 1 seed, senior Sean Smith of Winnebago, finished in 9:44.54.

At last year's 400 prelims, Taylor and Asmus tied for the fastest time out of 36 runners (50.03). At the finals, Asmus edged Taylor 49.11-49.74.

This is the first year that the IHSA has divided schools into three classes for track and field. Because of the new alignment, 1A schools had their prelims on Thursday instead of the usual Friday.

All three classes will compete in finals Saturday.

IHSA Class 1A 400-Meter Prelim Results at a Glance

• Heat 1 Preliminaries
  1. Nick Blakey (Sr.), St. Joseph (S.J.-Ogden) 50.36*
  2. Wes Ertmer (Sr.), Lena (L.-Winslow) 50.49*
  3. Jake Lytle (Jr.), Amboy (Coop) 50.60*
  4. Martin Lamar (Sr.), Melrose Park (Walther Lutheran) 51.05
  5. Isaac Chambers (Sr.), Urbana (University) 51.53
  6. Ian VanAntwerp (Sr.), Kewanee (Wethersfield) (Coop) 52.96
  7. Josh Giltner (Sr.), Metropolis (Massac County) 53.12

• Heat 2 Preliminaries
  1. Ben Asmus (Jr.), Heyworth 50.14*
  2. Brett Eandi (Jr.), Rochester 51.13
  3. Mike Gallagher (Jr.), Rockford (Lutheran) 51.34
  4. Mike Yeoman (Sr.), Pearl City 52.23
  5. Andy Supergan (Sr.), Seneca 52.39
  6. Dan Kapolnek (Sr.), Champaign (St. Thomas More) 53.41
  7. Jared Spivey (Jr.), Kewanee (Wethersfield) (Coop) 54.37
  8. Tim Moore (Jr.), Fairfield (Coop) 54.89

• Heat 3 Preliminaries
  1. Zebo Zebe (Sr.), Tolono (Unity) 50.17*
  2. Trevor Unzicker (Jr.), Fisher 50.55*
  3. Kurtis Wujek (Sr.), Mendota 51.41
  4. Austin Goldstein (Sr.), Altamont 51.44
  5. Jonathan Moos (Sr.), Williamsville 51.84
  6. Kyle Johnson (So.), Poplar Grove (North Boone) 53.61
  7. Drew Willenborg (Jr.), Effingham (St. Anthony) 55.08
  8. Ryan Brummet (Sr.), Port Byron (Riverdale) 55.82

• Heat 4 Preliminaries
  1. Malcolm Taylor (Sr.), Urbana (University) 50.30*
  2. Dylan Melody (Sr.), Aurora (A. Christian) 51.28
  3. Cody Boarman (Jr.), Neoga 51.93
  4. Reggie Hughes (Sr.), Melrose Park (Walther Lutheran) 52.10
  5. Zach Fieber (So.), Nashville 52.33
  6. Kennen Hutchinson (Jr.), Orion 52.53
  7. Codey Martin (Sr.), Mt. Olive 53.88

• Heat 5 Preliminaries
  1. Corey Hammon (Jr.), Glasford (Illini Bluffs) 50.56*
  2. Jordan Thomas (Sr.), Oregon 50.59*
  3. Ryan Jefferson (Jr.), Winchester (Coop) 51.99
  4. Kolton Kempel (Sr.), Lena (L.-Winslow) 52.18
  5. Karson Hoffman (So.), DuQuoin (H.S.) 52.88
  6. Patrick Thomas (Sr.), Macomb 53.04
  7. Frank Schmitz (Sr.), Pana (H.S.) 53.90
  8. Zach Elliott (Sr.), Litchfield 57.96

* Qualified for Saturday's finals