Day 1 at the Illinois Class A girls state track meet
CHARLESTON, Ill. — Below follows a Class A event-by-event breakdown of Friday’s first day of competition at the state girls track and field meet at O’Brien Stadium on the Eastern Illinois University campus:
3,200 relay
In heat 1, Knoxville was in second place for much of the early going before second leg Shelby Johnson moved into the lead. That lead transferred to third heat Peironnet Block, who held it throughout. Anchor leg Sydney Wright was passed by one of the state’s best 800 runners, Chicago Christian’s Jodi Hoeksema, and the Blue Bullets were second in the heat, qualifying for finals with a time of 10:03.55.
Heat 2 saw Erie/Prophetstown stay consistently in fourth or fifth spot for most of the first three legs of the event, but in the closing moments of the anchor the Panthers fell to sixth in the heat. Only four teams qualified out of the heat; E/P wound up 17th overall, finishing in 10:23.57.
In heat 3, Annawan/Wethersfield’s Natalie Fargher got the Titans out to a second-place start and second leg Aron Jackson improved on that, taking the lead on the far straightaway. Brooke Buresh and Shelby Steger held that lead the rest of the way, though Steger briefly allowed the chasers to get close before pulling away in the final 200. Annawan/Wethersfield was an automatic qualifier for finals by winning the heat, tying for fifth place overall in 10:02.98.
400 relay
Annawan/Wethersfield never really got untracked in heat 1 of this race, though Steger’s third leg was a solid one. The field ran away from Fargher, who wisely slowed down from her usual all-out pace as the Flying Geese finished sixth in the heat, 20th overall, in 52.22.
After a break of two heats, Sherrard’s top-seeded 400-meter team took the track, and showed why they earned the top seed, roaring out to a time of 50.94 seconds. Particularly impressive were the third and anchor legs of Sarah Boraas and Lacey Hainline, who brought home the win against very solid teams from Lena-Winslow and Byron. The Tigers qualified tied for second in the 400, with a time of 50.94 seconds.
100 high hurdles
Riverdale’s Alexa Allen didn’t get off to a strong start, but Allen’s final 50 meters were superior in the first of five heat races, allowing her to qualify automatically for finals (fifth overall). “The first three hurdles were like a blur. I was nervous and excited at the same time,” Allen said. “I think (today) is going to be a better day. I’ll go faster and have a better time (she ran 15.41).”
Later, in the third heat of the event, Rockridge’s Chelsey Widdop also got out to a slow start and couldn’t fully get untracked, finishing fourth in the heat, 22nd overall, in 16.66.
Sarah Boraas had a better go in heat 4, and though she was half a second behind the heat winner from Pleasant Plains, Boraas still qualified with a time of 15.50 seconds, good for a tie for sixth place overall.
100
With Annawan/Wethersfield’s Dani Williams not starting in this race, the only local 100-meter runner in Class A was Sherrard’s Hainline. In what wound up being a very strong heat race, Hainline finished sixth in the heat and 32nd overall with a time of 13.12 seconds. That should allow her, if she wishes, to run the 800-meter relay on Saturday. More on that later.
800
In heat 1, Riverdale’s Kara Howell got out fast through the first turn, then backed it down to fourth place, where she remained for most of the rest of the race. Howell was able to kick Urbana University High’s Ruthie Welch down the stretch to finish third in the heat , 10th overall, in 2:21.57 seconds.
“It was tough for me today,” Howell said after her second race, the 1,600. “These girls are amazing. Track is such a mental sport; for me, it has to be mind over matter. I just have to go out, do the best I can, and worry about the rest later.”
In heat 2, Sterling Newman’s Amanda Trancoso was fourth for almost the entire race, but what helped her was a very strong top 3 in her heat (three in the top 7 in the race), and she wound up qualifying ninth fastest, best among local runners, with a time of 2:20.93. She would get the last medal with a ninth-place finish Saturday.
In the third heat, it didn’t seem that Sherrard’s Shelbie Pettie went out that fast, but she was consistent. She was near the leaders for most of the race, fading just a bit at the end to take fourth in the heat with a time of 2:23.90. She’s lived near the edge of qualifying in this race before.
800 relay
Heat 1: Erie/Prophetstown seemed to start slowly, but gradually gained momentum as the race picked up steam. The Panthers closed well, and took third in the heat with a time of 1:49.98, but wound up finishing 11th, two spots out of making finals.
Heat 3: Like the Panthers, Annawan/Wethersfield started slowly, with a bad handoff in between Dani Williams and Jordan Milroy – who had not competed before this race in the meet – but the Titans quickly righted the ship behind a great third leg from Shelby Steger. In the anchor leg, Fargher nearly closed it down against Walther Lutheran’s ace sprinter, Jazzmyn Harvey, but Lutheran wound up winning by .04 seconds. Still, though, the Titans qualified seventh overall in 1:47.22.
Heat 4: Sherrard strated well, but had a bad handoff between second leg Madison Kissner and third leg Amy Dowell. Despite three runners getting their first taste of this season’s state meet in this race, the Tigers still finished second, thanks to a strong anchor leg from Hainline, qualifying ninth in 1:49.44.
Heat 5: Knoxville got a good start from Mackinsey Marquith and Sydney Johnson in the first two legs, but the Blue Bullets cost themselves dearly on a poor handoff between Stacey Rodsater to Haley Jones, and that pushed Knoxville back to third in the heat and 14th overall, with a time of 1:50.22.
400
Sherrard’s Hainline was the only local qualifier. Unsurprisingly, given her turn in the event just before, she was scratched out in favor of saving her for the 1,600 relay.
300 hurdles
Heat 1: Sherrard’s Boraas, already with two events in hand, had to make sure of this one rather than go all-out, and she got the win on the lean, edging Fithian Oakwood’s Stephanie Denius for the heat win and automatic finals qualification, finishing fourth fastest in 47.08 seconds.
“I’m definitely up for it (four events Saturday),” Boraas said. “Last year, because we didn’t make it in the 400 relay, it messed me up and I didn’t get through in the 100 (hurdles). Last year, I got eighth (in the 300s), and I’m definitely ready for tomorrow.”
Heat 2: Rockridge’s Chelsey Widdop was holding down a top-four position, but surged into second place around the curve, and held off third-place runner Chloe Trewartha of Dwight for second in the heat. How close was it? Widdop qualified ninth in 47.48 seconds, Trewartha was 10th – and going home Saturday – in 47.50.
“The 300 is definitely my better race (compared to the 100),” Widdop said. “Hopefully, I make finals; that would be exciting. I’ve come a long way in the 300 over the last couple of years, so that would be awesome if I did (make finals).
Heat 3: Riverdale’s Allen got out to a good start on the backstretch, but over the curve began to fade, and wound up finishing fourth in the heat – 21st overall – in 49.80.
Heat 4: Fulton’s DeWeerdt was well back in the heat, and the fact that it was a fast heat didn’t help her as much as would be ideal. She finished eighth in the heat, 24th overall, in 50.30 seconds.
1,600
Heat 2: Pettie went out much harder than she did in the 800, or at least so it seemed, and it got her second place through the first two legs. She did fade back to fourth going around the homestretch of the third lap, but she surged back into third at the finish. That surge seemed to take a lot out of her, and she fell hard to the O’Brien Stadium track. It took several minutes of work to get her upright – with most of her family beside her, helping her back on her feet. Her sister, Lindsie, said she would run the 1,600 relay, which seemed surprising given her condition. Pettie qualified 11th in the race, with a time of 5:28.05.
Heat 3: Howell went out fast, starting out in the lead pack, staying no further back than fifth place through the first three laps, but the day started to wear on her on the final lap, and she would finish eighth in the heat, 23rd overall, in 5:37.55.
200
Kewanee’s Sami Heene had the slowest qualifying time coming into state, and the battle didn’t get any less uphill for her in the fifth and final heat of this race, as she finished seventh in the heat, and 34th overall, with a time of 28.20.
Field events
A tough day in general for Class A competitors. The best effort came in the discus, where Galva’s Karly Johnston currently sits in fifth place in that event. Johnston had a throw of 121 feet, 9 inches, and is currently just an inch out of fourth in the event. Aledo/Westmer’s Meggan Peterson just missed qualifying for finals, finishing 13th with a throw of 116 feet even. She was four inches behind Amboy’s Alyssa Hopps, who nabbed the last qualifying spot.
Likewise, West Carroll’s Lyndsey Schreiner tasted 13th- place heartache in the long jump, with a jump of 16 feet, 7 ¾ inches. Schreiner was a half-inch short of qualifying for finals, Other local competitors were AlWood/Cambridge’s Carli Schieferdecker (22nd, 15-10), Erin Carney of Morrison (33rd, 15-3 ½) and Sarah Kapp of Sterling Newman (36th, 15-0 ¾).
Eighteen pole vaulters qualified for finals by making 9 feet even or 9-3, but Kewanee’s Macie Huff was the only local to hit one of those heights, clearing nine feet to stay alive for Saturday. Erie/Prophetstown’s Katelyn Garrison was the only other local to clear a height, bowing out in a tie for 27th place at eight feet.
In the high jump, 16 jumpers made 5-2, with AlWood/Cambridge’s Kourtnie Janson the only local to clear it. No other locals made an opening height.
Conditions were tough for area shot putters Friday. Sherrard’s Raeann Anderson, who led off the 1,600 relay, was the top local, finishing 18th with a throw of 35 feet, ¾ inches. Amanda Streeter of Riverdale was 28th (33-10 ½), Elaina Raab of Fulton 30th (33-8 ¾) and Caiti Tucker of Alexis United 32nd (33-4).
Likewise, in the triple jump, it was tough sledding. The top local was West Carroll’s April Miller, who was 16th with a leap of 34 feet, 3 ¼ inches. She did finish second in her heat, though. Schieferdecker was 25th in 33 feet even, Erie/Prophetstown freshman Rebecca Steffes was 30th in 31-8 ¾ and Morrison’s Erin Carney was 32nd at 31-7. Benton senior Leah Orley set a new class record in the prelims Friday, with a leap of 39 feet, 1 ¼ inches.