Hart Saves Something For The End To Win 1,600

By Michael Newman for DyeStat

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CHARLESTON, Ill. – For the first 1,500 meters of the Class 3A girls state championship 1,600-meter final Saturday afternoon, Glenbard West’s Katelynne Hart and Enyaeva Michelin of Evanston Township ran next to each other on the O’Brien Stadium’s big blue oval, neither one of them yielding the lead.

CLASS 3A RESULTS | PHOTO GALLERY (by Laura Duffy)

In the end, it was Hart that just had a little more heart to finish.

Two of the best runners in Illinois history came off the final curve together with the capacity crowd going crazy. Michelin went to the right to try to pass Hart. The Glenbard West sophomore held Michelin off. Hart made one final move that the Evanston Township senior did not have.

A joyful Hart crossed the line to win the race and break Shelley McBride’s 33-year old 3A meet record, running 4:47.36 (US#10). Michelin crossed next in a personal-best 4:48.34. 

“I knew I was going to wait until the final 200 meters to make my move. (Michelin) has such great speed,” Hart said. “I did not know what she was going to have left in the last 100. There has been some stress leading up to this race. When I crossed the line, all that stress was released.”

Michelin took more than two seconds off her best time.

“I knew that this double was definitely doable,” Michelin explained. “Hart is amazing. I knew going out with her would put me at the time I wanted to get. I just wanted to get a PR today and leave it all out there.”

By that time, Hart had already won the 3,200 meters. With temperatures that soared into the 80s with humidity to match, she won her second title in the event in 10:12.96. She won by almost 13 seconds. Barrington’s Jocelyn Long moved by Naperville North’s Sarah Schmitt in the final 300 meters to place second (10:25.01) to Schmitt’s 10:28.24.

Michelin also raced before her showdown with Hart, winning an 800-meter final that will be talked about for years to come. Michelin took the pace out hard leading the pack through the first 400 meters in 62.5 seconds. The pack, led by Schaumburg’s Madison Marasco, was two seconds back at that point.  

Michelin continued to surge entering the back stretch. Marasco noticed that and countered the move to try and close the gap. Michelin never allowed it. The margin of two seconds remained the same entering the final 100. Michelin had eyes on Courtney Clayton’s state record of 2:07.05. She crossed the line with the state title and the second-fastest time in the nation (2:08.44), but missing the record. Her time, though, was the fifth-fastest ever run by an Illinois girl. Marasco was next, also running a personal best (2:10.14) just ahead of third-place Mikenna Robinson of Neuqua Valley (2:11.83).

“I knew that if I was going to run under 2:08 today was going to be the day,” Michelin said. “I didn’t do it today. Hopefully, I get some other opportunities to better that time.”

Naperville North Takes Team Title

Naperville North’s team 3A title was something that coach Dan Iverson started to talk to his team about in early February.

“We talked to the team early in the year about the possibilities of a state title,” he said. “It just continued to grow as the season went on. It was a drive that this group had.”

The Lady Huskies, after finishing third in last year’s finals, gutted their way to a team title by scoring 53 points for their first championship in track and field. Naperville North also became the first school (along with 2A Dunlap on Saturday) to win cross country and track and field titles in the same calendar school year.

Homewood-Flossmoor captured its second second-place finish in as many years with 47 points. Belleville West scored 39 points to finish two points ahead of Whitney Young for the final trophy. 

Naperville North found ways to get the points that it needed for the title. It started with Safina Allie’s sixth-place finish in the long jump. The 4x800 relay team was next, placing fourth. Schmitt’s third, and a fourth-place finish by Alex Morris, gave the team a much needed 13 team points. Claire Hill finished ninth in the 800.

Hallie Bieber was pulled out of the relays in the finals so that she could concentrate on her two hurdle events. In a great finish in the 100-meter hurdles, Homewood-Flossmoor sophomore Kaylah McCall surged over the final hurdle for the win (14.06), edging Bieber (14.13) and Belleville West’s LaQwasia Stepney (14.16). Bieber came off the curve in the 300-meter hurdles with a lead that she extended over the final 100. Bieber won her second state title (43.48) by more than a second ahead of Stepney (44.67).

Allie sustained an injury in the long jump and could not run in the 4x200 relay. Annie Brandt and Gillian Delaney stepped in for Bieber and Allie so the team could grab a point, which it did. Schmitt held on in the 1,600 for eighth place.

All Naperville North had to do in the 4x400 relay was finish ahead of Homewood-Flossmoor. The Lady Huskies finished second, right in front of Homewood-Flossmoor.

Three More Wins For Young

There were people doubting whether Whitney Young’s Amira Young could win her third state title in the 100-meter dash.

“I really do not pay attention to anything that is out there in the news and social media,” Young said. “I know I am good getting ready for when it counts at the end of the season.”

Young put together three great performances in her final state meet. Young looked good in the finals of the 100, moving into the lead at 50 meters and finishing with her third win (11.80) ahead of Ameia Wilson of Danville and Ozzy Erewele of Springfield, who were given the same time (11.88). Highland Park’s Taylor Gidding was just one hundredth of a second back as she finished fourth (11.89). Young looked stronger in the 200, pulling away from Gilling and Wilson for the win (24.37) as Gilling edged Wilson for second as both recorded a time of 24.37.

Young only had 20 minutes to rest before returning to the track to anchor Whitney Young’s team in the 4x400 relay. Young got the baton with the lead. Naperville North and Homewood-Flossmoor closed the gap as Young seemed to be tiring, but she found one more burst of speed down the homestretch as she held on for the win (3:52.73), ahead of Naperville North (3:53.71) and Homewood-Flossmoor (3:54.13).

Other Highlights

There was nothing ordinary about Hinsdale Central’s victory in the 4x800 relay. Kayla Byrne and Bella Pisani kept the Red Devilettes at the front for the first two legs. Grace McCabe took the baton for the third leg and took off, running away from the pack with a 2:12 split. McCabe handed off to Reilly Revord and the senior extended the lead even further with a 2:14 anchor.

Revord crossed the line raising the baton in the air. Hinsdale Central’s time of 9:03.41 is ranked third nationally. It is also the third-fastest time ever run by an Illinois school. Byrne, McCabe and Revord were on the 2016 team that won the race with the fifth-fastest Illinois time ever. The trio also ran last year on a team that finished second.  

Beautiful handoffs by Homewood-Flossmoor defined its win in the 4x100 relay. The time of 46.97 seconds finished ahead of DeKalb (47.26) and Kenwood (47.40). DeKalb ran a state’s leading time of 1:38.59 to win the 4x200 relay with Homewood-Flossmoor (1:40.51) and Crete-Monee (1:40.52) next.

Dajour Miles of West Aurora did not look like she was injured as she came around the final curve in the 400 meters final. Miles had scratched from the 4x100 relay and the 100-meter dash because of an injury she suffered a week earlier at sectionals. Miles looked strong in Saturday’s final and won her second straight 400 crown in 54.72. Lakes Community’s Taylor Tilmon (55.76) was second.

In the field events, Riley Ammenhauser of Neuqua Valley completed an amazing freshman season by jumping 40-2.25 to win the triple jump ahead of Isabel Maletich of Downers Grove North (39-5.25) and Lake Park’s Isabelle Kennedy (39-2).

Belleville West’s LaQwasia Stepney and Raelyn Robinson of Glenbrook South both had 19-4.25 bests in Friday’s prelims of the long jump. Neither one improved Saturday. Stepney won the state title by virtue of a better second jump.

Lake Park’s Kelly Zehnder equaled her personal best of 11-9 to win the pole vault. Grace Daun of Wauconda cleared a personal best 5-8 to win the high jump. Grace Cleveland of Normal Community and Jennelle Rogers of Oswego finished second and third, both clearing 5-7.

Thornwood’s Jasmine Mitchell was the queen of the ring and won both state championships in the throws. Mitchell’s 45-10 mark in the shot put was almost three feet ahead of second-place Ellie Weltha of Bloomington (42-10.50). Mitchell’s throw of 147-8 was tops as she won the discus title. Jalah Morris of Zion-Benton placed second (140-1). 

Class 2A – Dunlap Does It Again

Dunlap’s 2017 Class 2A girls team win was not a one-time shot.

“It definitely shows that we are not a one and done team,” Dunlap’s Kiara Pauli said. “We came to prove that we have the talent and the same talent that we had last year. People thought we came down one time and it was luck. It wasn’t luck.”

Dunlap put together one of the most impressive team performances in the 46 years of Illinois Girls State Meet history, if not the best. The Eagles scored in 14 of the 18 events and piled up the most points ever for an Illinois team at a state meet (102 points). East St. Louis-Senior scored half of what Dunlap had (51 points) to finish second. Urbana edged Brooks Prep by a half point for third. It was the first team trophy for Urbana.

CLASS 2A RESULTS

Pauli is the heart and soul of her team and it was evident by the way she competed. She had hidden the fact that she had a knee injury for most of the outdoor season, but it was not noticeable on Friday and Saturday. She started out by anchoring her team to a victory in the 4x100 relay. She pulled away for the win (47.26) just ahead of Rich East (47.60) and Lindblom (47.94). There was no doubt that Dunlap would win the 4x200 relay. Pauli anchored the team to 1:38.38, two seconds faster than East St. Louis-Senior (1:41.56).

Pauli picked up seven points in the 100 meters and (12.03) and eight points in the 200 (25.09) by taking second.

“In the 4x1, I knew that there was a handoff already made (with Rich East leading),” Pauli added. “I just had to trust my training. I knew I could get her.”

Dunlap’s run to a second title started in the 4x800 relay with a never- give-up attitude that surrounded the team. Eureka built a huge lead during the first part of the race. It was down to two seconds by the time that Franny Verville got the baton for the anchor leg. She would have to run against Eureka’s Emma Argo, who won the 1A cross country title last fall. Argo fought for as long as she could but Verville took over the lead in the final lap to win in 9:25.29. Eureka was second (9:26.94).

In the 3,200 meters final, Jenna Schwartz of Waterloo pulled away half way through the race and won her second career state title in 11:01.86. Campbell Petersen of Dunlap was fourth entering the final lap and pulled ahead of Morton’s Aspen Gordon just before the line to finish second (11:10.63), just eight hundredths ahead of Gordon.

Petersen had that never quit tone in her stride in the 1,600 meters. Schwartz took the lead again at the beginning of the race with Rachel Hickey of LaSalle-Peru close behind. Petersen held back in the pack for the first two laps. She made a strong move on the third lap, catching Hickey and taking the lead from Schwartz in the final lap. Petersen pulled away down the stretch to run to win (5:05.97) ahead of Hickey (5:08.06). Jenna Mirande of Limestone edged Verville at the line to place third (5:09.09) by just 16 hundredths of a second.

“I wasn’t feeling great in the 3,200. I don’t know why,” Petersen said. “For some reason, I felt great during the 1,600. I told myself I did not want to walk away from the race upset.”

Meet Highlights

LaSalle-Peru’s Rachel Hickey had long day running three distance races, but it was a fun one. She took the baton for her team in the 4x800 relay in fifth. The senior ran a 2:14 split to bring her team to a surprise third place finish. The time of 9:29.06 broke the school record by more than 20 seconds.

Hickey’s 800 meters final was no less amazing. No one wanted to lead the first lap as Hickey and Delicia Chen of Dunlap led the first circuit in a sluggish 69.5 seconds. Hickey took over with 300 meters to go and showed a burst of speed that no one else in this field had. She captured her second state title running a 63.4 last 400 to finish in 2:12.95. Illiana Christian’s Gillian Fiene (2:15.43) and Brooke Delahanty of Rosary (2:16.45) finished second and third.

Then, Hickey came back to finish second in the 1,600.

“Before the 800, I felt nothing but excitement. I had a peaceful serenity and confidence,” Hickey said. “I had a lot of fun. By far, it was the best state meet that I have ever had.”

Jessica Franklin of Mahomet-Seymour was not a known athlete at the beginning of the year. She was home schooled for her first three year of high school before enrolling at Mahomet-Seymour in the fall of 2017 and she went out for the track team over the winter. In only her fifth 300-meter hurdles race ever, she won a state championship. Her time was a personal best (43.45) as she came from behind to win, edging ahead of 2017 champion Karyn Best of Wheaton Academy (43.78).

Franklin does not use blocks for her starts and everyone else in the race did.

“I tried using blocks earlier in the year in the sprints,” Franklin said. “I just did not feel comfortable in them. I still get a good start standing.”

She may start out slow in the race, but Franklin does have a great finish.

Tina Martin of Decatur Eisenhower won the sprint double with a personal best of 11.80 to win the 100 meters, where she beat Serena Bolden of Springfield Southeast by six hundredths of a second (11.86). Martin came back to run 24.78 to win the 200 with Dunlap’s Pauli placing second (25.09), just ahead of Mt. Vernon’s Tredaja Harris (25.12).

Jayla Campbell of Rich Central controlled the 400. The junior ran 56.38 for the title ahead of another sophomore, Raven Moore of Springfield Southeast (57.23).

The expectations were high for Brooks College Prep’s Imani Carothers heading into the weekend. She did not seem to have the meet she wanted but still came up with two individual state titles. Carothers won the triple jump for the third year in a row (40-3). She finished second (19-3.75) in the long jump as Erika Furbeck of Geneseo claimed a new 2A meet record (19-11.25) for the win.

Carothers was pushing for a record in the 100 hurdles. On the second to last hurdle, she clipped it and lost some momentum. She crossed the line seemingly disappointed that she did not get the meet record. Carothers still ran 14.19 to win the event for the fourth straight time. Brittany Rainey of Dunlap finished second (14.70).

Carothers came right back to score in the 100 meters final with eighth place. She finished with 30 of her team’s 36 points, helping Brooks College Prep to fourth overall.  

East St. Louis-Senior stopped Dunlap’s streak of relay state wins in the 4x400 relay. The Flyerettes took the lead early and never looked back. Their time of 3:53.26 won the event by more than four seconds ahead of Dunlap (3:57.51) and Mattoon (4:00.95).

In field events, Evangelynn Harris of East St. Louis-Senior trailed in the shot put heading into the finals. Her second round throw in the finals of 46-1.25 was enough to overtake Nikita Maines of Centralia to win the state championship. Maines’ throw of 45-3 finished second. Tayla Schwartz of Dixon won her second state title in the discus. Her prelim throw of 133-6 held up as she beat Harris by one inch.

Diamonasia Taylor of Urbana won her second straight state title in the high jump by clearing 5-7. Eve Meintz of Marian Central Catholic and Bryleigh Buchanan of Harrisburg both cleared 5-6 to finish second and third. Josie Held of Mt. Zion cleared 12-9 to win the pole vault. Aliyah Welter of Monticello, who won in 2017, finished second at 12-6.

Class 1A – Hamilton Carries St. Joseph-Ogden

It was a freshman that sparked St. Joseph-Ogden to the team title.

Atleigh Hamilton was a part of 36 of her team’s 43 points, which was enough to win the 1A championship. Only three points separated the next four teams, with Farmington scoring 36 points ahead of St. Teresa (35 points), Bureau Valley (34 points), and St. Thomas More (33 points).

CLASS 1A RESULTS

Hamilton sparked the team in the first scored event of the day. She stood fifth after the prelims in the long jump but moved up to take the win with an 18-2 leap on Saturday that moved her ahead of St. Thomas More’s Lucy Lux-Rulon.

Hamilton’s attention then turned to the three sprint relay events. St. Joseph-Ogden was even with Bureau Valley in a close race down the stretch. However, Bureau Valley pulled out the 4x100 relay by a slim margin, 49.78 to 49.80.

Hamilton extended the lead when she got the baton in the 4x200 relay. St. Joseph-Ogden took the title (1:43.89) less than two seconds ahead of Bureau Valley (1:45.48) and Warrensburg Latham (1:45.58).

Hamilton had the lead going into the final 400 meters of the 4x400 relay, but Farmington’s Jordan Peckham passed her with 300 meters left. Farmington pulled away for the win (4:02.92) ahead of St. Joseph-Ogden (4:05.79) and Pana (4:06.49).

The distance races were in the spotlight of the 1A meet, starting with the 4x800 relay. The race started in rain, but it did not bother Tremont’s quartet. Bethany Wagenbach ran a strong final 800 meters to pull away from St. Joseph-Ogden and Teutopolis. Tremont’s winning time of 9:44.07 was five seconds ahead of Teutopolis (9:49.12) and St. Joseph-Ogden (9:51.85) was third.

Laura Krasa of Judah Christian used the same strategy in the 3,200 meters final that she did at the Illinois Top Times indoor meet. Krasa had a 10-second lead entering the final lap of the race Saturday. The heat and humidity affected Krasa as she slowed down in the final 100 meters. Caroline Jachino of Pleasant Plains had been closing the gap in the final 200 meters and it looked like she would catch Krasa. However, Krasa found enough energy to hold on for the win (11:29.06) just ahead of Jachino (11:30.22).

Before she rushed away to attend her graduation, Arielle Summitt of Urbana University took care of business in winning her third straight 1A title in the 800. Summitt and Harvest Christian Academy pulled away from the pack early in the race going past the first 400 in 64.7 seconds. Summitt surged the third 200 of the race and secured the win in a personal best time of 2:11.03.

The 1,600 final was a classic race between Summitt and Latin School’s Marianne Mihas. The freshman from Chicago was waiting for this moment because she had tripped on the rail in the prelims and failed to make the 800 final. Mihas took command of the race immediately opened a seven-second lead on Summitt. The U-High senior slowly started to close the gap on the third lap as Mihas was beginning to struggle as the bell sounded. Summitt passed Mihas with 300 meters to go. Mihas stayed close and passed Summitt entering the curve. As the two came off the curve, Mihas had the fresher legs as she stormed away to win the state crown (4:56.29) ahead of the personal best 4:57.98 by Summitt.

“I just wanted to take it out as fast as I could to try to take something out of her legs,” Mihas said. “She passed me. I waited to re-pass her to surprise her. I guess it worked.”

Danielle Taets of Orion was one of the double winners in this 1A meet. It started with her 38-0 effort to win the triple jump with Fulton’s Daekota Knott finishing second (37-8.50). Taets came back to win the 100 hurdles over a loaded field headed by DaeLin Switzer of St. Teresa and Kenli Nettles of Arthur-Lovington. Taets pulled away over the final two hurdles to win the title (14.72) ahead of Nettles (14.91) and Switzer (15.05).

Switzer put St. Teresa on her back as she scored all her team’s 35 points to gain a third-place finish. Switzer started by clearing a personal best 5-8 to win the high jump in an event that was delayed 30 minutes due to rain. Her third-place finish in the 100 hurdles was followed up by a win in the 300 hurdles as she ran a personal best 44.49 to win by more than a second ahead of Nettles (45.72) and Taets (46.03). Switzer’s final race was a second-place finish in the 200.

Seven Hicks was queen of the 1A sprints with a pair of wins. The sophomore ran 12.21 to win the 100, edging Jordan Peckham of Farmington by seven hundredths of a second (12.28). Hicks came back to win the 200, holding off Switzer 25.50 to 25.70.

Other Highlights

Camren DeVries of Lena-Winslow was in charge coming off the final curve in the 400 final. She ran 57.04 to win the state title more than a second ahead of Althoff Catholic’s Nariah Parks (58.50).

Chloe Lindeman of Fulton improved on her prelim mark with a 47-3.75 throw (US #9) to win the shot put. Emily Offenheiser of Stockton threw 44-10.25 to move from fourth to finish second. Offenheiser threw a personal best 151-8 to win the discus by more than 13 feet ahead of Teutopolis’ Claire Bushur (138-5).

Windsor Roberts of Downs Tri Valley cleared 12-0 to win the pole vault ahead of fellow freshman Tori Thomas of Alleman, who cleared 11-9 to finished second ahead of Carlinville’s Emma Smith who cleared the same height.