CHARLESTON — Salt Fork boys track coach Philip Surpernant has seen his team bring home state trophies in the last two IHSA Class 1A State Track and Field Meets at O’Brien Field in Charleston.

On Saturday, the Storm did it again, claiming the Class 1A state title along with Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City, as the two programs finished with 44 points.

But how Salt Fork got to it’s second state title in four years, the Storm also won the title in 2019, was a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

“There were so many times that it was in the bag and there were so many times it seemed like the worst case scenario was happening,’’ said Surprenant.

The highest of highs for the Storm came in the discus finals when junior Garrett Taylor uncorked a personal record throw of 55.12 meters or 180 feet, 10 inches to claim his second straight title in the event.

“My goal all year was to get 180 feet,’’ said Taylor, who celebrated wildly after hearing the official distance. “I finally did it and I was so excited. I knew I could do it, but to hear it said over the intercom (by the officials) was awesome.’’

Taylor thanked many people for his accomplishment, including Salt Fork coach Herb Wilkins and his older brother, Payton Taylor, a state medalist in 2019.

“My coach Herb (Wilkins) wasn’t able to make it here today. He had some medical issues. I love doing everything for him,’’ Taylor said. “He is always out there everyday, no matter what the situation, he is out there to make sure I’m getting better as well as everyone else.

“I think he is the greatest field coach in Illinois.’’

And it was a little extra work that Garrett put in on a rainy Friday with Payton that he thought made the difference as he went from 154 feet, 9 inches on Thursday to 180-10 on Saturday.

“I went out and threw a little. We just tweaked some stuff. I just felt that a lot more fundamental after my workout,’’ he said. “And it all clicked on that second throw in the finals.’’

Taylor, who also finished third in the shot put, had taken the lead with his first throw in the finals but that second throw virtually sealed the title as Auburn’s Jacob Rollins finished second with a toss of 52.01 meters or 170 feet, 7.75 inches.

With Taylor’s victory in the discus, Salt Fork had jumped up to 29 team points, while Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City had 26 after a first by Daniel Lucas in the shot put and a pair of second place finishes from Jadon Robertson in the high jump and the long jump.

The Storm had a chance to maintain the lead as junior Nathan Kirby was getting into the blocks for the finals of the 110 meter hurdles against Robertson, who was the defending state champion.

But, Kirby clipped the third hurdle and as he was falling to the track, he took out the fourth hurdle. He got up and finished the race, but IHSA officials disqualified him for knocking over a hurdle. Robertson won the event giving the Bobcats a 36-29 lead over the Storm

“I had just hugged Garrett at the discus, ran over here and go in the stands and then it was immediately the lowest point in the day,’’ Surprenant said.

Kirby admitted that he knocked down a hurdle, but said that he was just trying to brace his fall.

“If I would have known that they were going to disqualify me for that, I would have just fell to the ground,’’ he said. “That one point would have been the difference between tying for the title with Cowden-Herrick and winning it outright.’’

But that unfortunate incident for Kirby and taking second in the 400-meter relay, after being seeded first, seemingly re-energized the Storm.

“I got them together and told them the situation,’’ Surprenant said. “Credit to these guys for regrouping.’’

Salt Fork and Kirby bounced back to take second in the 800-meter relay. The Storm was also second in the 400-meter relay earlier in the meet.

“We wanted to get a first in one of those two relays,’’ said Salt Fork junior Ben Jessup, noting that the Storm didn’t have a consistent lineup until the final weeks of the season. “We only ran this way a couple times at the end of the season. It’s really rewarding to get a pair of state medals.’’

Jessup, Kirby and Ethan McLain were all part of successful relay teams last year for the Storm. Brysen Vasquez was the newcomer to the group and he took over as the leadoff runner.

“It felt good to show what I could do,’’ he said. “I’m one of the fastest runners and I enjoyed the pressure of running first.

“We would have rather gotten first in both races, but getting second in both is still pretty good.’’

With the second-place finish in the 800 relay, the Storm had retaken the team lead 37-36 over the Bobcats until Robertson took second in the 300 hurdles and Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City was back in front 44-37.

Salt Fork still had one finalist left to compete.

Kirby needed to finish first or second to give the Storm an outright title, a third would tie them with the Bobcats, while a fourth or lower would leave Salt Fork in second place.

“I knew it was on me,’’ Kirby said. “I was really upset about the hurdles and not winning either one of the relays. I just knew I had to pick it up in the 200.’’

Coming out of the blocks, Kirby appeared to be about fourth with 100 meters to go. He wasn’t able to catch Tony Phillips of Kankakee Bishop McNamara or Tyreke Fortney of Peru St. Bede, but Kirby beat Alex Girardin of Liberty by four-hundredths of a second to take third.

“We had everything today,’’ Kirby said. “We had some disappointments that could have made a difference, but we also had some really great performances like Taylor in the discus and Dylan Diaz in the triple jump that allowed us to be state champs.’’

Diaz finished sixth in the triple jump after coming into the state meet seeded 11th.

“This was a lot better than last year when I got 24th,’’ he said. “I felt really great this weekend and I had five personal best jumps between the semifinals and the finals.’’

And as the Storm were getting their state trophy, the public address announcer at O’Brien Field noted that Salt Fork is known for its girls track program, albeit the boys have been first (2019), second (2021) and first (2022) in the last three state meets held by the IHSA. The 2020 state meet was canceled because of COVID-19.

So coach Surprenant, what is going to take for the Storm boys to get a little credit?

“I guess come back and do it again next year,’’ he said.

Which is highly possible as all seven athletes that scored for Salt Fork on Saturday will be back next year.