Prospect Girls, York Boys & Girls take advantage or sun at Oregon Relays; rainy weather causes havoc with first weekend of outdoor meets

By Michael Newman

Some teams in Illinois had their meets cancelled this weekend from early April wins. There were some teams that took spring break to recoup from the indoor season while athletes headed sound to catch some rays. Three squads took the opportunity to heat west to the Oregon Relays held at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon. This was the third trip to this meet for York and Prospect Girls teams. This was the first time for York Boys teams to make the trip out to Eugene.

All three teams came away with some noteworthy performances.

There were three performances in the two Freshman 2 Mile Run that stood out. Karlin Janowski of York finished second last fall in the Class 3A Girls State XC Championships last November. Janowski made a step forward finishing fourth overall of the Girls 2 Mile times in 11:11.81. She passed through 3200 meters in 11:08.75. Samantha Lobacz of Prospect was also in the race finishing eighth (11:26.41) passing 3200 meters at 11:22.91.

Both Patrick Hill and Michael Gurgone of York hit their school’s record books with great races in the Boys 2 Mile Run. Both runners stayed towards the front throughout the eight laps around Hayward Field earning them both personal bests. Hill ran 9:33.43 to finish sixth overall. Gurgone ran 9:46.33 with a 12th place finish.

Hill’s 3200 time of 9:30.02 moved him to #4 on a legendary list of great York distance runners with Donald Sage (9:15.21 in 1997), Charlie Kern Jr. (9:28.88 in 2015), and Alex Mimlitz (9:29.24 in 2010). Gurgone’s 3200 time of 9:42.81 lands him #8 on York’s list.

Both teams showed well in the sprint events especially in the 4x100 Meter Relay. York won the opening heat of the Boys 4x1 led off by a strong lead leg from Burno Massei and good handoffs to Henry Duda, Danny Karnatz, and Cole Hunter gave them the second fastest time in qualifying in 42.12. The same quartet ran 42.24 to finish fourth in the finals.

Prospect, we know, has a strong sprint squad. The Lady Knights showed that in the Girls 4x100 Meter Relay. The quartet of Amina Hadziahmetovic, Anna Niebrugge, Samantha Skowronski, and Nikki Niebrugge ran an electrifying 47.01 to win their preliminary heat. York also made the finals running 48.40 to qualify for the finals. Prospect came back to run 47.51 to finish second in the finals. York ran 48.79 to finish sixth overall.

Jillian Booth of York made her presence known in the Girls 100 Meter Dash. She made it to the finals running 12.32 in her preliminary heat. She bettered that in the finals running a personal best of 12.21 to finish third in the finals. Her seasonal best as a freshman in 2024 was 12.63 seconds. Norah Peiffle of York (12.60) also ran in the Girls 100 Meter Dash prelims.

Prospect’s Samantha Skowronski, Dajana Skolimowska, Elyse Freeman, and Julia Watychowicz ran 1:44.37 to finish third in the 4x200 Meter Relay. Abigail Pointon, Josephine Burns, Libby Donaldson, and Adell Weseloh ran 1:48.20 to place 11th overall. Prospect’s quartet of Dajana Skolimowska, Nikki Niebrugge, Julia Watychowicz, and Samantha Skowronski finished third in the 4x400 Meter Relay to place third. York (Sophia Galiano-Sanchez, Adell Weseloh, Julia Weseloh, Josephine Burns) ran 4:08.55 to finish 11th.

Bruno Massel of York ran in the opening heat of the 100 Meter Dash running 11.09 to win his race. Only 7 runners would advance to the finals, so Massel had to play the waiting game while the next nine heats were run. His preliminary time finished 14th overall. Danny Karnatz also had a good 200 Meter Dash race. Karnatz ran under 22 seconds with a lifetime best of 21.97 to finish second in his heat, fifth overall.

Luke De Simone of York took off this weekend where he left off at the end of the indoor season running fast over the hurdles. The senior entered this meet with a 15.33 personal best from last year. He erased that in the opening heat of the 110 Highs running 14.73 which advanced him fourth overall to the finals. De Simone got a good start in the finals running 14.77 to finish third overall.

Both Prospect and York ran their top runners in the Distance Medley Relay held at the end of the meet on Saturday. Prospect ran 11:57.71 to finish seventh overall in the event; York ran 12:38.23 in placing 14th overall. Veronica Znajda led off running 3:39.38 for 1200 meters. Mary Laba followed running a quick 58.70 for 400 meters. Ireland Wildhart ran 2:20.76 for her 800-meter leg. Meg Peterson ran a 1600-meter leg of 4:59.67 anchor for the Knights. For York, Sophia Galiano-Sanch ran 3:46.73 on her 1200-meter leg. Julia Weseloh followed running 66.09. Sofia Stoddard ran 2:23.61 followed by Karlin Janowski anchored 5:21 in her third race of the weekend.

All four of the Prospect runners ran previous races on the weekend. Meg Peterson ran a sensational 4:54.06 (4:52.49 for 1600) to finish sixth in the Girls 1 Mile Run against a national class field. Veronica Znajda ran 4:59.92 (4:58.07 for 1600 meters) to finish 11th. Ireland Wildhart ran a personal best of 11:07.75 in the 2 Mile Run. Mary Laba ran 5:14.42 in the 1 Mile Run along with Anna Zajac who ran 5:20.64. The quartet of Ella Benassi, Zajac, Lobacz, and Sophie Fransen ran 9:46.01 to finish seventh in the 4x800 Meter Relay.

York’s Sophia Galiano-Sanchez had a terrific 800 opener Saturday night staying with the front pack throughout the race running 2:14.71 to finish sixth overall. Sofia Stoddard ran 5:16.61 in the 1 Mile Run while Stella Rosso ran 5:26.04 and Lila Stanley ran 5:39.26. York’s quartet of Stoddard, Stanley, Rosso, and Janowski ran 9:49.00 to finish eighth behind Prospect.

York’s Boys ran a strong race in finishing fifth in the 4x800 Meter Relay (8:03.21) led by Sam Kehoe (1:59.81), Max Zangan (2:00.76), Everett Sinson (2:01.86), and Carter Olsen (2:01.86). The Dukes finished off in the Distance Medley Relay with a 10:44.30 time. Kehoe led off with a 3:13.73 1200, followed by Jack Ostendorf with a 50.41 400,, Zangan (2:06.62 for 800), and Sinson with a 4:33.54 anchor.

Olson ran 4:26.48 in the 1 Mile Run. Teammate Emmett Bradford, in only his third race of the season, dipped his seasonal best to 4:30.62. Patrick McGrail ran 9:46.89 in the 2 Mile run with teammate Zach Saltiel running 9:54.28.

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There were many meets that were cancelled around the state. Here are some of the highlights of some meets that were run.

Hope Latin Invitational #1 – Good times in cool conditions for Brian E Smith II of North Shore-Country Day. Smith ran 50.31 to win the 400 Meter Dash, then came back to run 22.64 in winning the 200 Meter Dash. Francesco Mora of Latin School ran a solo 5:15.59 to win the Girls 1600 Meter Run.

Cary-Grove Invitational – Adeline Dietrich of Fremd ran 2:24.90 to win the 800 Meter Run five seconds ahead of Riley Fritz from Rockford Christian (2:29.43). Olivia Parker of Cary-Grove was a double winner running 15.70 to win the 100 Meter Hurdles and 47.79 to win the 300 Meter Hurdles.

Illinois Top Times 1600 champion Jesse Kramer of Belvidere North dropped down a distance running 1:57.12 to win the 800 Meter Run finishing ahead of Evan White of Rockford Christian (1:58.60) and Isaac Erwin of Belvidere North (1:59.49). Jameson Tenopir of Cary-Grove raced away to run 4:36.85 to win the 1600 Meter Run ahead of Grady Smith of Johnsburg (4:38.33) and Julian Honeyville of Rockford Christian (4:39.96).

Quincy HS Invitational – Saylor Barry of Mendon Unity had a big weekend last week at Illinois Top Times. Her outdoor season began the same way in less-than-optimal conditions. Barry started by jumping 17-11 to win the Long Jump. Her first time on the outdoor track greeted her well. Barry ran 12.31 to win the 100 Meter Dash. The junior came back to run 26.08 in winning the 200 Meter Dash.

Moline Gene Shipley Invitational – Several double winners in this small “ABC” meet. Colin Fredericksen conquered the sprints on his home track. Fredericksen ran 11.10 to win the 100 Meter Dash. He followed that by running 22.44 to win the 200 Meter Dash. Weston Averkamp pf Ottawa ran a strong 14.79 to win the 110 Hurdles. He then ran 39.26 to win the 300 Meter Hurdles by more than three seconds. Malik Gbadamassi of East Moline United ran 9:49.31 to win the 3200 Meter Run. The junior doubled back to run 4:32.96 to win the 1600 Meter Run. Michael Kpomassy of East Moline United unleashed a 59-4.5 heave to win the Shot Put. He also threw 155-0.5 inches to win the Discus.

Olivia Stewart of Rock Island had double win in the hurdles running 16.10 to win the 100 Hurdles and 47.10 to win the 300 Hurdles. Galesburg won three of the five relay races winning the 4x1 (50.51), 4x2 (1:47.86), and the 4x4 (4:12.53 winning that race by 13 seconds.