MOOSEHEART, IL, May 18 - Basheeba Mays will finish her Mooseheart track-and-field career at the site she wanted to - Eastern Illinois University's O'Brien Stadium, in the Illinois Class A State Meet.

Mays, a senior, triple-jumped 33'-1 ½" at the Rockford Christian Class A Sectional, and placed second to Genoa-Kingston's Richelle Johnson. Her jump qualified her for her second consecutive state meet. Mays is the only Mooseheart qualifier for the state meet, male or female.

"Of course it feels great," Mays said. "This year, I'm hoping to break my own record at state by jumping a 34 feet. This was my goal, to go back to state as a senior."

Mays has also qualified for the state meet in the triple jump as a junior. She reached 31'-6 ½" in preliminaries and did not advance to the finals.

Mays said the setup at the Rockford sectional meet made reaching great distances difficult.

"It was really complicated," Mays said. "They didn't have a (take-off) board. We had to make a board out of chalk. We tried it with tape, and tape wasn't working. But we got it done."

Mooseheart's Commencement Exercises take place at 9 a.m.on Saturday. Fortunately, the track competition for Class A athletes takes place Thursday and Friday, with preliminaries on Thursday. Should Mays advance to the finals, those take place on Friday, allowing her to return to graduate with her class on Saturday.

"Hopefully if I stay for finals, I can come back for Saturday and I can graduate from Mooseheart," Mays said.

May Events at Mooseheart

• May 20: Mooseheart Honors and Awards Program, Fieldhouse, 9:30 a.m.
  
  
• May 22: Mooseheart Fifth Grade Promotion, Sheraton Hotel Ballroom, 301 E. North Water St., Chicago, 2 p.m.
  
  
• May 22-27: 2009 International Convention, Loyal Order of Moose and Women of the Moose, Chicago.
  
  
• May 23: Mooseheart High School Graduation, at Fieldhouse, 9 a.m., followed by conferral of the College of Regents Degree of the Women of the Moose, 11 a.m. at the Fieldhouse, and conferral of the Pilgrim Degree of the Loyal Order of Moose, noon at the House of God.