By Michael Newman, ILXCTF.com Editor

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Glen Ellyn – It was no one individual that could be credited for Glenbard West’s first conference championship since 2011. It took a team to win the WSC-Silver Championship on Saturday afternoon. The Hilltoppers battled Downers Grove North down to the final event winning the team title with 122 points. Downers Grove North was next with 109 points.

“You did this. You all did this,” Coach Kelly Hass told her team after the meet. “I am so proud the way that you fought for this.”

It came down to the final three events for Glenbard West to secure the team title. The first was the 1600 Meter Run where freshman Katelynne Hart completed a distance double by running 4:50.26 to set a conference record while teammate Lindsey Payne ran a seasonal best 5:02.82 to finish fourth behind Hinsdale Central’s Reilly Revord (4:58.98) and Lyons Township’s Sarah Barcelona (4:59.92). It took them from being tied with Downers Grove North at 93 points to a 107-93 point lead.

Earlier in the meet, Hart and Payne took the first two spots in the 3200 Meter Run. Hart ran an outdoor seasonal best of 10:21.62 to win the event and break he conference record by 11 seconds. Payne followed in 10:43.98. Both times were great considering the wind was causing havoc for the runners.

In the 200 Meter Dash, Glenbard West needed points badly to offset the points that Downers Grove North sprinting duo of Kimberly Brent and Faith LaMantia would give their team. They were seeded second and third in the event behind Proviso West’s Tanayea Kimbrough. Glenbard West junior Chloe Arduino was even with LaMantia in the final 10-meters of the race. A final surge gave Ardunio third just two hundredths of a second ahead of LaMantia. It also gave Glenbard West a nine-point edge (114-105) ahead of Downers Grove North heading into the final event.

All Glenbard West needed to do was score points in the 1600 Meter Relay to secure the team title. They did just that and then some. Lyons Township pulled away on the second leg of the race and put themselves into position to win the race. The Lions did just that crossing the line first (3:59.58). It was then a battle for second. Hart was asked to come back and run the event because the Glenbard West coaches knew that they needed every point they could get. The 200 secured the team win. This was just for security. Hart received the baton in second and held off Proviso West (4:04.07) and Downers Grove North (4:05.89) as Hart ran a 59.8 split to give Glenbard West second (4:04.07).

“I backed off in the second mile in the 3200 Meter Run because it was such a windy day,” Hart said. “I felt really good throughout the 1600. I was super pleased with my time. Mrs. Hass asked me to run the relay. I felt better after the 1600. Everybody ran so well in that race.”

“I was actually freaking out during that relay,” Payne added. “I knew how close we were on points. I was running back and forth cheering them on. Winning as a team feels better than winning any individual race. Here is something that you can’t explain sharing this with your teammates. It’s just amazing.”

What could have been the turnaround point for Glenbard West could have been the 800 Meter Run. In the 3200 Meter Relay, Glenbard West had the top seed time but did not have their best race. They were in sixth when Janie Nabholz received the baton. It would have been tough for Nabholz to get close to Lyons Township who was in fifth. Coaches told her to take it easy in that final 800 of the relay. She had her mind set on a fast open 800. Saving that energy paid off when she stepped to the line.

Emma Moravec of Downers Grove North pushed the pace for most of the race with Nabholz and Hinsdale Central’s Bella Pisani close as they entered the final lap of the race. Moravec and Nabholz broke away on the backstretch from Pisani. Entering the final 100-meters, it looked like Moravec had the race. A surge by Nabholz pushed her pass the Downers North senior in the final 50-meters. Nabholz ran a personal best of 2:15.50 to win the race just ahead of Moravec (2:16.06) and Pisani (2:18.80).

“I was pretty much behind Moravec most of the race,” Nabholz said. “In the end, I just had it in me.”

Meet Notes

There were many double winners in this meet. It started in the horizontal jumps where Isabel Maletich of Downers Grove North was in complete control. H senior jumped 18-0.5 in the first round of the Long Jump. That is all she needed to win the event as she passed on her final four attempts. Rachael Rowe of Oak Park-River Forest was the closest as she finished second (17-3.5).  It was closer in the Triple Jump. Maletich jumped 36-2.5 in the first round to give her the lead. Her 36-10 jump in Round 5 secured the win ahead of Oak Park-River Forest’s Passion Worsham (35-10.25).

Proviso West’s Tanayea Kimbrough proved she was the top sprinter in the conference with a pair of wins. She pulled away from the pack at 50-meters to win the 100 Meter Dash. The story was the same in the 200 Meter Dash as Kimbrough ran 25.69 to win the event by more than half a second ahead of Downers Grove North’s Kimberly Brent.

If Kimbrough was the individual star in the sprints, the team in the sprints to watch is ever improving Downers Grove North as they swept the sprint relays. The quartet of LaMantia, Brent, Keside Olekanma, and Celeste Bonga captured the 400 Meter Relay (49.80) just seven hundredths of a second ahead of Proviso West (49.87). The 800 Meter Relay was fast as Downers Grove North ran the ninth fastest time in the state (1:43.25) to win the event ahead of Proviso West (1:44.36, IL #11).

Hinsdale Central is the defending 3A champion in the 3200 Meter Relay and had not put their entire lineup together until this meet. They showed they are ready for defense of the title. The Red Devilettes ran 9:20.23 (IL #3) to win the event behind the 2:15.9 anchor split by Reilly Revord.

Lyons Township’s Sonia Slusarczyk was the queen of the hurdles on this day. The junior easily won the 100 Hurdles (15.84) ahead of Oak Park’s Passion Worsham (16.52). Slusarczyk was even more dominating in the 300 Hurdles as she ran 46.48 to win by more than a second ahead of Proviso West’s Tarshan Kimbrough (47.91).