Illinois HS Track and Field Week Highlights - March 19, 2024

 

By Michael Newman

 

Here are highlights of conference meets and some invitational meets taking place from Monday, March 11 to Sunday, March 17.

 

Conference Meets

 

Saturday/Sunday

 

Chicago Public League Championships: held at Dr. Conrad Worrill Track at Gately Park – Logic West and Parrish Hartley Jr. picked up two individual wins to help Kenwood wins the Boys City title with 109 points. Whitney Young finished second (85 points) followed by Lane Tech (69 points) and Payton Prep (68 points). West started his day by clearing 6-7.5 (IL #6) in winning the High Jump. West came back on the track to run 50.17 (IL #11) to win the 400 Meter Dash. Parrish Hartley Jr.’s day started as he jumped 23-0.75 to win the Long Jump. Kenwood sept both sprints. Hartley Jr. ran 7.03 to win the 60 Meter Dash with teammate  Armond Boulware running 7.06 to finish second. The order changed in the 200 Meter Dash as Boulware ran 21.97 (IL #2) to edge Hartley Jr. (21.98, IL #3) for the win. Boulware anchored Kenwood’s team to the win in the 4x200m Relay (1:31.04).  Payton Prep ran 3:30.02 to win the 4x400m Relay ahead of Kenwood (3:30.14) and Lane Tech (3:30.83). It was close in the 4x800m Relay with the first three teams all within a second. Whitney Young claimed the win (8:03.00) finishing ahead of Payton Prep (8:03.57) and Lane Tech (8:03.97) who finished second and third.

 

Whitney Young dominated the Girls section of the championship. The Lady Dolphins scored 128.5 to easily win the Girls City Championship with Lane Tech (77 points) and Kenwood (66.5 points) finishing second and third. Angelina Bullocks of Whitney Young was the queen of the sprints in this meet. Bullocks tied for the fastest time in the state running 7.51 for the title with Mariyah Robinson of Simeon running 7.57 to finish second. Bullocks repeated in the 200 Meter Dash. Her 24.49 time is the fastest in the state. Robinson again finished second (25.17). Robinson did get her title in the 400 Meter Dash running 57.49 (IL #2) to win ahead of Kayla Riepe of Whitney Young (58.13, IL #6) and Harmony Brown of Kenwood (58.49, IL #10). Sophie Mullins of Lane Tech ran 2:18.85 (IL #11) to win the 800 Meter Run.

 

DuKane Boys Indoor Championships: held at Batavia HS – Wheaton-Warrenville South was in command of the team lead what it seemed as most of the meet. The Tigers ended up winning the team title with 126 points. Batavia (116.5 points), Lake Park (81.5 points), and St. Charles North (77 points) were the next three teams in this eight team conference. Da’jion Riley of Wheaton-Warrenville South ended his indoor season undefeated in the 55 Meter Dash. Riley ran 6.45 to claim the conference crown with Ayodele Bateye of St. Charles North finishing second (6.54). Amari Williams of Wheaton-Warrenville South ran 7.92 (IL #9) to win the 55 Meter Hurdles. Williams and Riley were part of the Tigers’ quartet that ran 1:33.46 to win the 4x200m Relay just ahead of Batavia (1:33.92). It was a tight four runner race in the 3200 Meter Run. Josiah Narayanan of Wheaton-Warrenville South came home with the win (9:28.80) finishing ahead of Francesco Benelli of Batavia (9:32.92), Aiden Noel of WW South (9:35.20), and Jed Wilson of St. Charles East (9:39.79). Greyson Ellensohn of St. Charles East ran an indoor personal best of 4:24.85 to win the 1600 Meter Run less than a second ahead of Aidan Murphy of Wheaton North (4:25.61). Narayanan (4:27.38) and Noel (4:29.71) finished third and fourth. Nathan McLoughlin of St. Charles North cleared a personal best of 15-4 (IL #10) to win the Pole Vault. Warren Cooper of Geneva cleared 14-8 to finish second.

 

GCAC Championships: Held at Dr. Conrad Worrill Track at Gately Park – St. Ignatius College Prep edged Loyola Academy 130-122 in winning the conference team title. Annika Swan helped the Wolfpack win the team title winning two individual events. Swan ran 2:15.39 (IL #5) to win the 800 Meter Run. Gabrielle Walker of DePaul College Prep ran 2:17.82 (IL #10) to finish second. Walker came right back to run 58.76 to win the 400 Meter Dash. Swan’s second win came when she ran 5:06.51 to win the 1600 Meter Run ahead of Emily Stecky of DePaul College Prep (5:11.74) and Vivian Wyller of Rosary (5:12.35). Swan anchored her team to second place in the 4x400m Relay (4:14.85) behind race winner Loyola Academy (4:11.19). Maliyah Miller of St. Ignatius College Prep also won two events running a personal best (7.84) to win the 60 Meter Dash and ran 25.98 to win the 200 Meter Dash.

 

Nagel Saylor Indoor Invitational (MSL): Held at North Central College – Prospect repeated as Girls League Championships on Saturday scoring 133 points. Barrington finished second (102 points) ahead of Hersey (65 points), and Fremd (60 points). Charlotte Deines led the Lady Knights with two individual wins. Deines jumped 17-10.25 to win the Long Jump and also ran 25.32 to win the 200 Meter Dash. Barrington won a close 4x800m Relay (9:41.59, IL #9) finishing ahead of Hersey (9:42.38, IL #12) and Prospect (9:43.74). It was also close in the 3200 Meter Run. Veronica Znajda of Prospect ran 10:39.50 (IL #3) to win just ahead of Mia Sirois of Barrington (10:42.76). Znajda came back to finish second in the 400 Meter Dash with a 1:00.39 time. Hazel Nadal of Rolling Meadows ran 1:00.19 to win the event. Scout Storms of Barrington ran 4:59.40 (IL #6) to win the 1600 Meter Run. Meg Peterson of Prospect ran 5:09.29 to finish second. Barrington swept the first two spots in the 800 Meter Run. Abby Lewis ran 2:20.60 for the win with teammate Kaleigh Burns running 2:21.78 to finish second.

 

Barrington won the Boys team title with 98.5 points. Hersey and Fremd tied for second (80 points) with Prospect scoring 77 points to finish fourth. Arman Lepuzanovic of Rolling Meadows was one of two athletes that won multiple events in this meet. Lepuzanovic jumped 22-3.75 to win the Long Jump with Carson Grove of Hersey jumping 21-9.75 to finish second. The Rolling Meadows sophomore came back to run 6.58 for a close win in the 55 Meter Dash ahead of Marquan Brewster of Fremd (6.60) and Noah Lewandowski of Barrington (6.61). Brewster came back to win the 200 Meter Dash (22.68) ahead of Micah Hall of Barrington (22.87) and Lepuzanovic (22.92). Hall earlier in the meet ran 49.97 (IL #7) to win the 400 Meter Dash with teammate Adam Lyon finishing second (51.51).

 

Liam Naughton of Hersey picked up win in two distance events. The Hersey senior ran 1:57.89 for the win by over two seconds. John Peterson of Prospect was Naughton’s closest competition running 2:00.41 to finish second. Naughton came back to run a personal best of 4:21.49 to win the 1600 Meter Run with Alex Krieg of Palatine finishing second (4:22.26) followed by Fremd’s Rory Gaan (4:24.24) and Jack Jennings (4:26.26). Gaan ran an electrifying race at the beginning of the meet in the 3200 Meter Run. Gaan ran 9:11.33 (IL #4) to win the race with Carter Hayes of Palatine also under 9:20 finishing second with a 9:19.15 time (IL #9). Hersey swept the first two spots in the Shot Put. Will Nolan had a put of 59-11.25 (IL #3) to win the event with his teammate Logan Farrell with a 55-9.25 (IL #9) to finish second.

 

NIC-10 Indoor Championships: held at Hononegah HS – Rockford Guilford swept both the Boys and Girls team titles in this conference meet. Guilford scored 116 points just ahead of Belvidere North (110 points). Rockton Hononegah finished third (106 points). Jaidyn Nguyen of Rockford Guilford ran 6.98 to win the 60 Meter Dash. Guilford swept the top spots in the 200 Meter Dash as Messiah Tilson ran 22.71 to win the event with Nguyen running 23.08 to finish second. Nguyen also cleared 6-3 to win the High Jump. Coen Lee of Hononegah was a double winner running 8.62 in the 60 Meter Hurdles and the n running 25.97 to win the rarely run 200 Meter Hurdles.

 

Guilford scored 140 points to win the girls title ahead of Hononegah (115 points). Essence Horton-Graves of Auburn ran 7.90 to win the 60 Meter Dash with Ta’Leiah McElroy of Freeport (7.92) and Zariah Burnett of Guilford (7.92) finishing second and third. Hononegah ran 9:50.04 to win the 4x800m Relay to win the race by 24 seconds.

 

Southwest Prairie Conference Girls: Held at Lewis University – Plainfield North edged Minooka 97-90.5 for the Girls Conference Championship. Joliet West (83 points) and Oswego East (70 points) finished third and fourth. Tania Miller of Romeoville had a great afternoon at Lewis University with two great races in the sprints. Miller tied for the fastest time in the state with her 7.13 clocking winning the 55 Meter Dash with Courtney McDonald running 7.16 (IL #3) to finish second. Miller came back to run 25.43 to win the 200 Meter Dash. Natalie Nahs of Minooka ran 2:20.95 to win the 800 Meter Run ahead of Janelissa Oceguera of Joliet West (2:21.12) and Elise Czarniewski of Plainfield North (2:23.33). Oceguera came back to run 59.44 to win the 400 Meter Dash. Briyah Beatty of Plainfield East finished second (59.57). Plainfield North took home wins in the two long distance events in this meet. Emann Hussain dominated in the 3200 Meter Run running a personal best of 11:47.38 to win by 12 seconds ahead of Taya Gummerson of Minooka (11:59.58). North placed 1-3 in the 1600 Meter Run. Marlie Czarniewski ran 5:19.43 for the win with Maya Ledesma of Minooka (5:22.87) and Kaitlyn Ward (5:25.67) finishing second and third.

 

Southwest Suburban Conference Girls: Held at Olivet Nazarene – It came down to the final four events to decide who would win the girls team title. Homewood-Flossmoor scored 120.5 for the conference title with Lincoln-Way East scoring 110 points. Sandburg scored 82 points to finish third. Kristyn Johnson of Bolingbrook was the only multiple event winner in this meet. Johnson ran 7.71 to win the 60 Meter Dash with Kyra Hayden of Lincoln-Way East (7.97), Mary-Kathleen Stalling of Homewood-Flossmoor (7.99), and Aria Henry of Lincoln-Way East (8.01) finished second through fourth. Johnson came back to run 25.18 (IL #8) to win the 200 Meter Dash. Hayden had a busy day for the Griffins with her 60 Meter Dash result. Hayden finished second in the 200 Meter Dash (25.80), won the 60 Meter Hurdles (9,15), and was part of the team’s quartet that ran 1:45.90, finished third in the 4x200m Relay behind event winner Homewood-Flossmoor (1:44.39) and Bolingbrook (1:45.25). Alaina Steele of Lincoln-Way East ran 58.30 (IL #9) to win the 400 Meter Dash. Sydney Fontaine of Lockport ran 58.86 to finish second. Steele was also part of East’s quartet that ran 4:07.06 that won the 4x400m Relay.

 

Three of the five winners in the field events came from Homewood-Flossmoor. Jaloni Wiley had a 39-2 out in winning the Shot Put. London Jarrett cleared 5-1 to win the High Jump. Jasmen Walker jumped 35-10.25 to win the Triple Jump. Brea Counihan of Lincoln-Way Central ran 11:07.85 to win the 3200 Meter Run ahead of Lindsey Gerhardstein of Sandburg (11:11.17). Mia Forystek of Lincoln-Way Central ran 5:20.75 to win the 1600 Meter Run.

 

Upstate Eight Boys: Held at Glenbard South HS – Host Glenbard South was in charge of this meet that took place on a 160m track. The Raiders scored 135 points to win the title ahead of Glenbard East (109 points) and South Elgin (79 points). Glenbard South took the first two places in two of the three distance events. Jaden Frederick ran 9:41.18 to win the 3200 Meter Run with Tom Jochum running 9:45.77 finishing second. Cole Tupper of Elgin ran 9:51.53 to finish third. Tim Jochum ran 4:29.48 for the win with Frederick running 4:30.70 to finish second. Tupper finished third (4:34.33).

 

Friday

 

CCL Indoor: Held at Dr. Conrad Worrill Track at Gately Park – Loyola Academy overwhelmed the rest of the field scoring 115.5 points to win the League Title. St. Laurence finished second (71 points) ahead of DePaul College Prep (63 points) and Aurora Central Catholic (60.5 points). It was the depth that the Ramblers had to get the win done as they had 3 individual winners in this meet. Enoch Appiah-Kubi jumped 47-1.75 to win the Triple Jump. Nicholas Arogundade ran a personal best of 8.41 (IL #12) to win the 60 Meter Hurdles. Loyola went 1-2 in the 400 Meter Dash as John Thomas Kurtzweil ran 50.48 ahead of teammate Miles Lyons (51.10). There were two multiple individual winners in this meet. Harley Rizzs of St. Laurence won the 60 Meter Dash running 6.93 (IL #2 tie). David Coffey of De La Salle ran 6.95 (IL #7) to finish second. Quintin Williams of St. Laurence (6.96) to finish third. Rizzs came back to run 21.98 (IL #3 tie) to win the 200 Meter Dash with Arogundade running 22.18 to finish second.

 

Patrick Hilby of Aurora Central Catholic had a big night in this meet a week after winning the 80 Meter Run National championship. Hilby left Gately Park with two individual wins along with being a part of a winning relay. Hilby took it easy in the 800 Meter Run running 2:00.40 for the win ahead of John Daffenberg of Marmion Academy (2:01.48). Hilby let his lethal kick do his talking in the 1600 Meter Run. His time of 4:26.84 was less than a second ahead of Luis Flores of St. Laurence (4:27.48). Hilby anchored Aurora Central Catholic to the win in the 4x400m Relay with a 3:26.48 (IL #4) finishing ahead of DePaul Catholic Prep (3:29.15, IL #7). Aurora Central Catholic also ran 8:12.29 to win the 4x800m Relay. Marmion Academy ran 8:13.03 to finish second. Flores before his finish in the 1600 Meter Run was part of a good 3200 Meter Run where the top four finishers all ran under 9:30. Flores ran 9:23.80 for the win ahead of Matthew Conroy of St. Ignatius College Prep (9:27.12), Nathaniel McKillop of Fenwick (9:27.53), and Gavin O’Connor of Brother Rice (9:28.52).

 

CSL-North Boys: Held at Maine East HS – Highland Park scored 139 points to win the league divisional title outdistancing Maine East (93 points) and Niles West (89 points). Nate Wehner of Highland Park ran 9:44.88 to win the 3200 Meter Run and winning by 28 seconds on this 160-meter track. Nicholas Purnell jumped 20-0.25 in winning the Long Jump.

 

CSL-South Boys: Held at Evanston Township HS – Glenbrook South won the South divisional title scoring 142 points. New Trier (127 points0 and Evanston Township (98 points) finished second and third. Jake Johnson of Glenbrook South was the meet’s only double winner. Johnson jumped 21-7.5 to win the Long Jump with teammate Tyrone Cotton jumping 21-2.25 to finish second. Johnson jumped 41-6.5 in winning the Triple Jump.

 

DuKane Conference Girls: Held at Batavia HS – Host Batavia was the Girls Conference champion scoring 139.5 points. Geneva (88.5 points) and Wheaton-Warrenville South (74 points) finished second and third. Marley Andelman of St. Charles East was the only double individual winner in this meet. Andelman ran a personal best of 2:17.66 (IL #9) to win the 800 Meter Run ahead of Sarah Hahn of Geneva (2:20.66) and Jenna Bachara of Wheaton-Warrenville South (2:22.60). Andelman ran her second personal best of the evening in the 1600 Meter Run. Andelman ran 5:09.99 for the win edging Nicole Poglitsch of Wheaton-Warrenville South (5:10.35). Poglitsch also had a successful meet anchoring her team to wins in the 4x800m Relay (10:09.44) and the 4x400m Relay (4:11.80) finishing just ahead of Batavia (4:12.57). Alyssa Flotte of Geneva ran 7.31 to win the 55 Meter Dash with Batavia’s Isabelle Taylor (7.38) and Elizabeth Wende (7.46). Taylor ran 25.99 to win the 200 Meter Dash as her teammate Wende finished second (26.46). Wende was the only runner under 60-seconds running 59.53 to win the 400 Meter Dash.

 

DuPage Valley Boys: Held at North Central College – One of the closest meets of the past week. Naperville Central edged Neuqua Valley 164.5-164 for the team title with Naperville North scoring 68.5 points in finishing third. The meet came down to the 4x400m Relay to decide the team champion. Naperville Central ran 3:28.71 to claim the win just ahead of Neuqua Valley (3:29.21, IL #8). Neuqua Valley in this meet swept the first two places in the 60 Meter Dash. Sophomore Daniel Robinson ran an electrifying 6.93 (IL #2 tie) to claim the win with teammate Alexander Knight running 7.06 to finish second. Robinson also jumped 22-7.75 (IL #11) to win the Long Jump. Braylen Anderson of DeKalb won the 200 Meter Dash (22.27, IL #8) with Robinson finishing second (22.72). Edward Mason of Neuqua Valley ran 50.59 to edge Bode Smith of Naperville Central (50.71) to win the 400 Meter Dash. Neuqua Valley ran 1:31.83 (IL #11) to win the 4x200 Meter Relay.

 

Zac Close of Neuqua Valley almost lapped the field in running 9:18.73 to win the 3200 Meter Run ahead of Naperville Central’s Nick Kamp (9:46.08) and Tyler Browning (9:57.07). Five runners were under 4:30 in the 1600 Meter Run. Austin Brown of Metea Valley ran 4:23.11 for the win with Jack Graham of Naperville Central (4:25.27) and Jacob Barraza of DeKalb (4:25.66) finishing second and third. Close ran 4:28.59 to finish fourth just ahead of Zach Self of Waubonsie Valley (4:28.89). Naperville Central went 1-2 in the 800 Meter Run as Patrick Clune ran 1:58.58 to win with Julian Brozek finishing second (1:59.74).

 

Fox Valley Conference Girls: Held at Burlington Central HS – Huntley overwhelmed the rest of the field scoring 139 points in winning the team title. Hampshire was the closest team to Huntley as they scored 96.5 points to finish second. Dominique Johnson once again dominated the horizontal jumps giving Huntley two individual wins. Johnson jumped 18-6.5 to win the Long Jump winning the event by two feet. Johnson also jumped 40-0 to win the Triple Jump. Hudson Szymonik of Hampshire ran a personal best of 11:25.98 to win the 3200 Meter Run by 40 seconds. Skyler Balzer of McHenry ran 5:20.54 to win the 1600 Meter Run. Szymonik ran 5:27.04 to finish second.

 

Heart of Illinois Indoor: Held at Shirk Center – Eureka claimed the Girls team title easily with 156.75 points. El Paso-Gridley was the next closest school scoring 98 points. Aubrey Phillips of El Paso-Gridley was a double winner jumping 16-8.75 to win the Long Jump and clearing 5-3 to win the High Jump. Colfax-Ridgeview edged Eureka 112-101 for the Boys Team title.

 

NLCC Indoor Championships: Held at Lakes Community Fieldhouse – Grayslake Central was just too much in winning the Boys team title with 177 points. Antioch was the closest team scoring 69 points. Trey Sato of Grayslake Central had the performance of the meet running a new personal best of 1:53.68 (IL #3) to win the 800 Meter Run. Sato came back to run 4:27.54 to win the 1600 Meter Run with Jackson Summy of Lakes (4:34.01 and Daniel Campos of Round Lake (4:34.47). Sato also anchored Grayslake Central to the win in the 4x400m Relay (3:31.90) winning by 10 seconds. Sean Mullin was another double winner for Grayslake Central running 8.37 to win the 60 Meter Hurdles and clearing 14-5.5 in winning the Pole Vault.

 

Southwest Prairie Conference Boys: Held at Lewis University – Plainfield North won the Boys Conference title scoring 95 points. It was a close battle for second with West Aurora having the edge (69 points) ahead of Plainfield South (66 points) and Minooka (64 points). The performance of the night came in the High Jump. Kewon Marshall, a junior from West Aurora, cleared a state leading 6-10.75 for a new personal best and new meet record. Marshall is currently ranked #8 indoors in the United States. Minooka’s Nate George was a double winner in the sprints. The senior ran 6.47 (IL #4) to win the 55 Meter Dash ahead of Azariah-Henry Bolls of Romeoville (6.52, IL #8 tie). George came back to win the 200 Meter Dash (22.69) with Bolls ahead finishing second (23.04). Dontrell Young of Oswego picked up another win in the 400 Meter Dash this season running 50.54 finishing just ahead of Easton Miller of Plainfield North (50.70). Young was part of Oswego’s team that ran 1:32.69 to win the 4x200m Relay just ahead of Plainfield North (1:33.40). Miller was part of Plainfield North’s quartet that ran 3:29.45 to win the 4x400m Relay by almost four seconds ahead of Joliet West. Azuriah Sylvester unleashed a 47-1.75 jump (IL #5 tie) to win the Triple Jump.

 

There were some great distance races in this meet as usual. Plainfield South’s Camyn Viger and Dylan Maloney finished 1-2 in both the 3200 Meter Run and the 1600 Meter Run. The two runners came in together separated by just one hundredth of a second. Viger claimed the win in 9:12.97 with Maloney at 9:12.98 (IL #5). Sean Heetland of West Aurora ran 9:23.76 to finish third. Viger came back to run 4:18.09 (IL #6) to win the 1600 Meter Run with Maloney running 4:20.39 to finish second. Quinn Davis of Plainfield North ran 4:22.09 to finish third. Four runners finished under two-minutes in the 800 Meter Run. Owen Stahl of Plainfield North ran 1:57.92 to win the race. Joaquin DeAlba of Plainfield South (1:58.99), Owen Horeni of Yorkville (1:59.35), and Gavin Borger of Plainfield North (1:59.49) were close behind. Minooka ran a season’s best of 8:07.12 to win the 4x800m Relay finishing ahead of Plainfield North (8:12.18) and Plainfield South (8:17.91).

 

Southwest Suburban Boys: Held at Olivet Nazarene – Lincoln-Way East edged Homewood-Flossmoor 114-107 to win the Boys Conference title. Bolingbrook was a distant third scoring 62 points. Dedrick Richardson Jr. led the Griffins winning two individual events. Richardson Jr. jumped 22-6.5 to win the Long Jump. He came back to jump a personal best of 44-9.75 to win the Triple Jump. Nelson Speaks of Homewood-Flossmoor ran 50.10 (IL #10) to win the 400 Meter Dash ahead of Terence Jackson Jr. of Bolingbrook (50.34). Homewood-Flossmoor won two of the three relays held in this meet. The Vikings ran 1:30.88 (IL #3) to win the 4x200m Relay ahead of Lincoln-Way East (1:32.07). HF came back to run 3:28.08 (IL #6) in winning the 4x400m Relay by eight seconds. Sandburg was dominant in winning the 4x800m Relay in 8:06.38 (IL #12). Six runners finished under two-minutes in the 800 Meter Run. Nolan Lamoureux of Lockport Township ran another great race with a winning time of 1:56.85 (IL #12). John Hockenberry of Homewood-Flossmoor (1:58.6) and Jeremiah Lanum of Bradley-Bourbonnais (1:58.61) finished second and third.

 

Upstate Eight Girls: Held at Glenbard East HS – Glenbard East won their conference title on their home track scoring 113 points. Bartlett was closest to the Rams scoring 67 points. Kali Waller of West Chicago was one of two athletes that won multiple titles. Waller jumped an indoor personal best of 17-10.50 to win the Long Jump. She also swept the sprints running 7.39 to win the 55 Meter Dash and also ran 26.72 to win the 200 Meter Dash. Sophie Baumert of Streamwood also captured a pair of wins in the 800 Meter Run (2:29.83) and the 1600 Meter Run (5:34.30). Her win in that race was less than a second ahead of Alessandra Gregory of Bartlett (5:35.29).

 

WSC-Gold Girls: Held at Morton West HS – Downers Grove South repeated as Girls Divisional champion scoring 136.9 points. Willowbrook (108.4 points) and Hinsdale South (107 points) finished second and third. Kennedy Ruff of Hinsdale South picked up wins in the 55 Meter Hurdles (9.08) and the 300 Meter Dash (43.19). Amelie Ojeda of Willowbrook ran 2:25.18 to win the 800 Meter Run with Sophie Ring of Downers Grove South running 2:26.85 to finish second. Ojeda came back to run 5:22.90 to win the 1600 Meter Run winning by 25 seconds ahead of Ring.

 

WSC-Silver Boys: Held at Joe Newton Fieldhouse, York – Meet Recap

 

WSC-Silver Girls: Held at Proviso West HS – Downers Grove North won the Silver Division title with 133 points. York scored 109 points to finish second ahead of Oak park-River Forest (84 points) and Hinsdale Central (75 points). Elaine Paul of York was the big winner on the night winning three individual events. Paul cleared 11-0 to win the Pole Vault. She swept two of the sprint events. Paul ran 7.17 (IL #4 tie) to win the 55 Meter Dash ahead of Zari Dorris of Hinsdale Central (7.43). Paul ran 25.91 to win the 200 Meter Dash with teammate Morgan Navarre finishing second (26.59). Navarre won twice on the track. She ran 41.97 to win the 300 Meter Dash winning by more than a second ahead of Emily Wittmer of Downers Grove North. Navarre edged Isabella Brauc of Oak Park-River Forest to win the 400 Meter Dash (1:00.25 – 1:00.95)

 

Ava Gilley of Downers Grove North finished off her fantastic indoor season with a personal best in the 800 Meter Run. The junior ran 2:13.12 (IL #4) winning by eight seconds ahead of Lily Hodneland of Hinsdale Central (2:21.18) and Mackenzie Gilbert of Glenbard West (2:21.24). Gilbert anchored Glenbard West to the win in the 4x800m Relay with a 9:31.42 time (IL #6). Downers Grove North, with Gilley in the quartet, ran 9:39.63 to finish second. Gilley was part of the quartet in the 4x400m Relay that ran 4:06.90 for the win. Downers Grove North swept the top two spots in the other distance races. Audrey Casten ran 11:07.62 to win the 3200 Meter Run with McKenzie Willard (11:11.85) and Julianne Melby of Lyons Township (11:21.44). The top three finishers ran personal bests in that distance. Sarah Paul pulled away to run 5:07.89 to win the 160 Meter Run with teammate Sydney Hnatiuk running 5:16.91to finish second. Alexa Novak of Glenbard West was close finishing third (5:17.21).

 

Thursday

 

CSL-North Girls: Held at Niles West HS – Vernon Hills won the North Divisional title with 122 points. Niles West scored 102 points to finish second. The Cougars win were aided by 1-2 finishes in the 800 Meter Run and 1600 Meter Run. Anna Lester ran 2:24.27 to win the 800 Meter Run with teammate Estella Ollinger running 2:26.80 to finish second. Lester came back to run 5:24.25 to win the 1600 Meter Run. Lester won by 30 seconds ahead of teammate Emma Fricano (5:54.10). Niles West’s Carissa Uy was a double winner in the horizontal jumps and won three events overall. Uy had a 17-10.50 best to win the Long Jump. She came back to jump 34-7.25 to win the Triple Jump with teammate Kitana Forsythe finishing second (33-8.25). Uy also ran 6.84 to win the 50 Meter Dash.

 

CSL-South Girls: Held at Glenbrook North HS – New Trier won the team title with 176 points with Maine South at 129 points. Traditional South power Evanston Township opted to run in Wisconsin and did not compete on the Varsity level. Gabriella Manzano led the Trevians winning four events. Manzano won the Long Jump (17-5.5) and the Triple Jump (36-7. Manzano then took to the track winning the 50 Meter Dash (6.95) and the 200 Meter Dash (27.12).

 

DuPage Valley Conference Girls: Held at North Central College – This meet actually opened up the conference weekend with some great performances throughout. The depth of Naperville Central paid off as they held off Neuqua Valley 140.5-129.5 for the conference title. Metea Valley was the next closest school finishing third with 67 points just ahead of Naperville North (66 points). The star of the night was Zawadi Brown of Neuqua Valley who ended up winning all four events that she competed in. Brown started in the Long Jump. She had a personal best of 18-9.25 (IL #3) with her teammate Olivia Dalson jumping 18-4 (IL #8) to finish second. Brown’s first race on the track was spectacular in the 55 Meter Dash. Brown ran a state lead tying 7.13 for the win. Kyla Harris of Metea Valley was closest to Brown running 7.27 (IL #10) to finish second. Brown was dominant in the 400 Meter Dash running 58.03 (IL #5) for the win. Lola Satre-Morales of Naperville Central (1:00.41) and Dalson (1:01.44) finished second and third. Brown’s final race resulted in a win in the 200 Meter Dash (25.11) with Harris finishing second (25.54).

 

Brooke Sawatzky of Naperville Central was one of the stars for her team. Sawatzky ran 8.62 (IL #9) in winning the 55 Meter Dash. Sawatzky also finished third in the Long Jump (18-2, IL #10), second in the Triple Jump (37-11.5, IL #7) behind the 38-6.25 (IL #5) jump of Gabi Karvelis from Neuqua Valley, and then Sawatzky finished third in the 200 Meter Dash.

 

Emma Berres of Naperville North had a big evening competing in four events. She broke the race open in the 4x800m Relay with a 2:16 split on the third leg to help Naperville North win the race in 9:42.45 (IL #13). Berres exploded away from the race pack in the final lap of the 800 Meter Run to run 2:17.59 (IL #8) to win ahead of Satre-Morales (2:19.33). Berres came right back to finish fourth in the 400 Meter Dash. Berres was also a part of North’s 4x400m Relay that finished second (4:12.67) behind race winner Naperville Central (4:11.32).

 

The top four runners in the 3200 Meter Run all finished under 11:06. Liv Phillips of Naperville Central pulled away from the pack running 10:41.70 for the win. Shania Tandon of Naperville North ran a personal best of 11:02.21 (IL #12) to finish second. Ava Hendren of Naperville Central ran an indoor seasonal best of 11:02.72 (IL #13) to finish third. Rianna Tandon of Naperville North ran a personal best of 11:05.38 (IL #14) to finish fourth. The finish in the 1600 Meter Run was dramatic as Phillips ran 5:07.16 to edge Julie Piot of Naperville North (5:07.95) for the win. Elizabeth Hall of Neuqua Valley, who earlier finished third in the 800 Meter Run, ran 5:11.30 to finish third.

 

SSC-Red Boys: Held at Argo Community HS – It was close in this meet with the first three teams separated by eight points. Eisenhower edged Shepard 89-88 for the conference title. Evergreen Park scored 81 points to finish third. Shepard’s Troy Myers and Zion Coles finished 1-2 in the 55 Meter Dash. Both were timed at 6.71 seconds. AJ Abrams of Eisenhower jumped 21-9.50 to win the Long Jump.

 

WSC-Gold Boys: Held at Proviso West HS – Downers Grove South repeated as Gold Division champions in this conference scoring 167 points. Willowbrook (126 points) and Morton Township (104 points) finished second and third. Amari Alexander of Hinsdale South swept the sprints and was also a part of a winning relay for the Hornets. Alexander stormed to a personal best of 6.52 (IL #8) to win the 55 Meter Dash with Chris Williams of Downers Grove South finishing second (6.74). Alexander also ran 23.58 to edge Jaylin Miller of Willowbrook (23.67) to win the 200 Meter Dash. Alexander was part of the Hinsdale South quartet that ran 1:35.78 to win the 4x200m Relay ahead of Willowbrook (1:37.01). It was an easy win for the top athlete in the state in the Shot Put Jaiden Gary of Proviso East. Gary had a 59-3.75 best to win the event winning by more than 14-feet.

 

Alexander Rodriguez of Morton Township was a double winner in the distance events. The sophomore ran 9:37.74 to win the 3200 Meter Run ahead of sophomore teammate Orlando Sandoval (9:41.00). Rodriguez doubled back to run 4:28.43 to win the 1600 Meter Run with Josh Poeschel of Downers Grove South running 4:29.73 to finish second.

 

Tuesday

 

Big 12 Boys: Held at Shirk Center – Normal Community West edged crosstown rival Normal Community 105-94 to win the Boys Conference title. There were three multiple event winners in this meet. Davari Boyd of Danville jumped 20-6.5 to edge DaShaun Allen of Bloomington (20-5.75) in winning the Long Jump. Boyd jumped 42-4.75 to win the Triple Jump. Darrin Dussett of Peoria Richwoods was a double champion running 7.09 to win the 60 Meter Dash and 22.91 to win the 200 Meter Dash with Dane Whitaker of Normal Community running 23.00 to finish second. Lucian Bright of Champaign Central ran 1:59.47 to win the 800 Meter Run with his teammate Jakob Riley running 2:00.23 to finish second. Bright ran 4:34.86 to edge AJ Ince of Normal Community (4:35.86) to win the 1600 Meter Run. Ince earlier opened with a 2:00.9 split to help Normal Community to run 8:08.83 to win the 4x800m Relay. Their margin of victory was over 47 seconds.

 

Fox Valley Conference Boys: Held at Huntley HS – Obliterated might be the best word to use for Huntley in their Boys Conference team win. The Red Raiders scored 148 points for the win with Jacobs (48 points), Crystal Lake Central (47 points), and Burlington Central (46 points). Huntley won 9 of the 15 scored Varsity events. Huntley’s Zach Rysavy won both the Long Jump (21-7) and the Triple Jump (45-0.25). Dominic Giuseffi edged his teammate Vinny Costa 7.07-7.08 to win the 60 Meter Dash. Terrion Spencer of Dundee-Crown ran 7.09 to finish third. Giuseffi came back to run 23.36 to win the 200 Meter Dash. Matthew Andreano of Jacobs ran a personal best of 1:57.30 to win the 800 Meter Dash ahead of Jameson Tenopir of Cary-Grove (1:58.74) and Doug Martin of McHenry (1:58.97). Will Gelon of Prairie Ridge ran 4:23.06 to win the 1600 Meter Run ahead of Tommy Nitz of Huntley (4:26.69).

 

Monday

 

Big 12 Girls: Held at Shirk Center – Ali Ince won the national title in the 800 Meter Run at the New Balance Indoor Nationals. The next day she was on a plane back to the Shirk Center to help her team win the Girls Conference title. Normal Community scored 115 points for the team win ahead of Peoria Richwoods (76 points) and Normal West (73 points). Ince ran in two relays and an individual events. Ince moved towards the end to run 5:18.85 to win the 1600 Meter Run ahead of Julie Bach of Normal West (5:23.67). Bach ran 11:33.17 earlier to win the 3200 Meter Run with her teammate Renee Warren finishing second (11:37.95). Ince ran a 2:25.7 split to help Normal Community win the 4x800m Relay (10:25.75). Ince closed the meet with a 58.88 anchor split to help Normal Community run 4:06.81 to win the 4x400m Relay.

 

Invitationals

 

Gene Armer Invitational: held at the U of I Armory – Marion’s all-senior quartet of Mekye Lomax, Hayden Lees, Dylon Nalley, and Cade Parks ran an indoor school record of 8:02.37 (IL #5) to win the 4x800m Relay to start the meet. Morton (8:08.57) and Mascoutah (8:15.65) finished second and third. Tashon Crockarell of Triad ran 6.97 (IL #11) to win the 60 Meter Dash. Jayon Morrow of Kankakee ran 50.48 to win the Boys 400 Meter Dash by almost a second ahead of Collin Chalupa of Bloom Township (51.45). Tuscola’s Josiah Hortin ran 1:57.76 too win the 800 Meter Run ahead of Jakob Riley of Champaign Central (1:59.30) and Drew Twyman of Triad (1:59.80). Noah Gilmore of Robinson cleared 6-9.5 (IL #2) to win the High Jump.

 

In the Girls Meet, Naomi-Bey Osborne of Kankakee had a big day winning all three sprint events. The junior started by running 7.73 (IL #8 tie) to win the 60 Meter Dash. The junior came back to run 59.32 to win the 400 Meter Dash. Her day ended when she ran 25.08  (IL #4) to win the 200 Meter Dash with Lia Patterson of Tuscola running 25.79 to finish second. Patterson earlier ran 9.09 (IL #6) to edge Jamison Love (9.16, IL #7) to win the 60 Meter Hurdles. Kate Foltz of Tuscola ran 5:13.98 to win the 1600 Meter Run. Sophie Krueger of Morton finished second (5:17.75). Na’Kyrah Brooks of Kankakee jumped 18-4.75 (IL #6) in winning the Long Jump.

 

Bloomington Girls Indoor Invitational: Held at Shirk Center – Ali Ince of Normal Community ran a different race than the ones she normally takes part in. Ince pulled away to run 11:01.65 (IL #10) to win the 3200 Meter Run ahead of Natalie Bierbaum of Normal University (11:12.16) and Julie Bach of Normal West (11:15.79). Ince at the end of the meet anchored Normal Community to a win in the 4x400m Relay (4:06.45) ahead of Washington (4:19.32) and Edwardsville (4:20.08). Jayne Hermann of Washington ran 2:23.69 to win the 800 Meter Run. All-American Zoe Carter of Normal University ran 5:03.35 (IL #11) to win the 1600 Meter Run with Sophia Ramirez of Washington running 5:06.04 to finish second. Kayda Austin of Cahokia swept the sprints running 7.84 to win the 60 Meter Dash and 25.95 to win the 200 Meter Dash.

 

Silver Streak Last Chance: Held at Monmouth College – Isaiah Hill of Elmwood ran 4:26.34 to win the 1600 Meter Run ahead of Elijah Teefey of Pleasant Plains (4:34.19) and Dominic Cantarini of Galesburg (4:37.35). Cantarini earlier in the meet ran 9:54.13 to win the 3200 Meter Run. Ranaisha Howard-Dunigan of Limestone ran 7.73 (IL #8 tie) to win the Girls 60 Meter Dash ahead of Syriah Boyd of Galesburg (7.83). Boyd took the advantage in the 200 Meter Dash running 25.40 (IL #12) for the win with Howard-Dunigan running 25.58 to finish second. Howard Dunigan’s second win of the meet was when she ran 1:00.65 to win the 400 Meter Dash.

 

Reed-Custer Comet Classic Invitational – Grace Mullin of Chicago Christian looked strong in winning the Girls 800 Meter Run with a 2:19.77 time (IL #20). It is the third fastest Class 1A time in the state in this event. Kyla Babb of Westmont ran 2:26.85 to finish second. Babb came back to run 5:26.45 to win the 1600 Meter Run.

 

Raptor Girls Last Chance Invitational: Held at Rich Township HS – Kyla Moxley of Shepard ran a personal best of 9.18 (IL #9) to win the 60 Meter Hurdles. Motley won three events in total in this meet. She jumped a personal best of 18-8 (IL #4) to win the Long Jump. Motley also cleared 4-9.75 to win the High Jump.

 

Sterling Warrior Invitational: Held at Westwood Sports Complex – Dale Johnson of Sterling had a close finish in the 1600 Meter Run. His time of 4:26.76 won the race by less than a second ahead of Ian Regur of Rock Island. Johnson was also a part of Sterling’s winning quartets in the 4x800m Relay (8:13.24) and 4x400m Relay (3:34.86 in a photo finish with Sycamore who also had the same time.

 

Joel Popenfoose ABC Invitational: Held at Huntley HS – The best distance race of the night in this meet was in the 1600 Meter Run. David Valkanov of Kaneland ran 4:21.47 for the win with Matthew Andreano of Jacobs finishing second (4:21.92). Connor Straus of Lake Zurich was a double winner jumping 21-4.25 to win the Long Jump and having a 43-3.75 mark to win the Triple Jump. Tommy Nitz of Huntley stepped down a distance running 1:59.74 to win the 809 Meter Run with Evan Nosek of Kaneland running 2:00.25 to finish second.

 

Southwest Illinois Relays: Held at Principia College – Three relay events dominated this meet on three levels. Katelyn Lehnen was busy running in two of the three Chatham-Glenwood quartets. Lehnen was part of the Titans’ quartet that ran 1:46.04 to win the 4x200m Relay ahead of O’Fallon (1:47.55). Glenwood dominated the 4x400m Relay running 4:06.09 (IL #9) to win by 17 seconds. Lehnen ran a 56.2 anchor leg. Glenwood swept the Girls relay events running 9:53.42 to win the 4x800m Relay. Glenwood won two of the three Boys relays running 1:33.31 to win the 4x200m Relay ahead of O’Fallon (1:33.64) and Cahokia (1:34.00). Less than a second separated the first three teams in the 4x800m Relay. Chatham-Glenwood barely took the win (8:17.74) ahead of Edwardsville (8:17.77), and Mt. Vernon (8:18.22). Cahokia broke the Glenwood sweep running 3:33.94 to win the 4x400m Relay.