This time, its Winnebago for the 1A Girls State Team Title

Great double wins by Comer, Patterson; Rybak repeats as 1600 champion

By Michael Newman

Charleston, Ill – Seniors Grace Erb, Marissa Roggensack, and Kaylee Woolery have been successful for their team in the relays at the IHSA Girls State Meet. The State Meet team championship has been illusive for Bago missing a state title by one point to finish second in 2021 and then third at last’s year’s gathering at O’Brien Field.

Results | Interviews | Photos

It was a little different when the meet ended Saturday afternoon. Winnebago won two events early, then scored in six more events to capture the team title with 50 points. Seneca finished second with 48 points. 2022 champion Tuscola placed third with 43 points followed by Father McGivney (39 points) and Henry-Senachwine (36 points) in the top five.

Amanda Gustafson pulled a surprise early for Winnebago by winning the title in the Shot Put on her final attempt of the competition. Laney Lester of Henry Senachwine led throughout the meet until Gustafson took the lead. Then Gustafson had to wait until Lester stepped into the ring. Lester did not improve on her best giving Gustafson the individual crown with her best at 39-6.50. Lester had a 39-1.75 to finish second.

“I was shaking and nervous when Laney (Lester) got into the ring,” Gustafson said. “When the announced her throw and it was shorter than mine, I don’t remember happened next. I hugged my best friend, my coach and my friends. I just could not think I was here on this day.”

Gustafson, who had not figured to make the finals of the Discus, stood in ninth heading into the final three throws. She held on for ninth-place giving her team one point which later proved to be crucial.

Then came the 4x800m Relay where Winnebago was the two time defending champion but would be challenged by Father McGivney similar to what happened in last year’s meet. Erb, Roggensack, and Woolery were joined by freshman Morgan Capriola in the quartet. The freshman was the different maker in this race on the second leg coming from the 2:23 opener by Roggensack. Capriola ran 2:22 on her leg coming from fourth and giving her team a four second lead when she handed off the baton to Woolery. Woolery opened the lead even more taking it to a 14 second lead with the 2:18.53 split turned in by her.

She handed the baton to Erb who smiled when she had that baton knowing that this title belonged to Winnebago one more time.

“Us three graduate tomorrow and there is no better way to end this,” Erb said.

Winnebago won their third title in a row in 9:22.77 missing the Class 1A State Meet record. They nevertheless ran their best race of the year to capture the relay title ahead of Father McGivney (9:35.35) and Eureka (9:47.34).

Winnebago picked up points here and there in six events the rest of the meet. Campbell Schrank made the finals in both hurdle races in this meet first finishing fifth in the 100 Meter Hurdles (15.21). Schrank ran personal bests in both of the 300 Meter Hurdles races. She ran 46.77 to claim fourth in the finals. Erb finished fourth in the 800 Meter Run (2:18.11) earning all-state honors in the event for the third year.

One of the key events for Winnebago was in the 1600 Meter Run. Roggensack moved up to ninth in the final 50 meters to get her team a point. Woolery stayed near the front most of the meet placing third overall.

By the time they made it to the final event of the meet, Winnebago had 46 points but did not have the meet locked up. Seneca, who had the fastest prelim time in the 4x400m Relay had 38 points. A win and Winnebago would give Seneca the outright title.

Seneca controlled the race throughout taking home the relay title running 4:02.53 for the win. Pleasant Plains (4:03.38) and Father McGivney (4:04.26) finished second and third. Erb stayed in sixth on the anchor leg to give Winnebago four points and the state championship

Double wins to Comer, Patterson

Ahry Comer of Pope County came into this meet after qualifying in four individual events in the 400, 800, 1600, and 3200. It was something that no one else in the 50 year history of the IHSA Girls State Meet had attempted. Comer put herself in good position qualifying in the three shorter races.

No one still has ever completed that set of races in a single meet. Comer scratched out of the 3200 Meet Run but would still have a 90 minute stretch running in three races. Comer, the defending champion in the 800 Meter Run, never looked back after the start of the race. She has a two second lead on the field of 12 passing the first 400-meters in 64 seconds. She pulled away to run a personal best of 2:12.65 to claim back to back 800 titles. Kaitlyn Hatley of Father McGivney ran 2:16.31 to finish second ahead of Trixie Johnson of Paxton-Buckley-Loda (2:17.91) and Grace Erb (2:18.11). Johnson and Erb will be teammates and roommates when they attend Illinois State University this fall.

Comer had to fight for the win in the 400 Meter Dash. She held off Daniela Bumber of Henry-Senachwine and Lindley Johnston of Stark County to get her third overall state title. Comer came away with her third overall state title with a personal best of 56.85 for the win. Bumber (57.63) and Johnston (57.71) finished second and third. Comer ended her day in the 1600 Meter Run. She stayed in fourth throughout the race and ran 5:09.22 to place in that position.

One of the big reasons why Tuscola left Charleston with a team trophy were due to the efforts of Lia Patterson who won two individual titles with more likely ahead for her. Her day started in the 100 Meter Hurdles. She got off to a great start. So did Cambria Geyer of Tremont. The senior pulled away in the final two hurdles to 14.23 to win the state title. Patterson ran 14.79 to finish second while Makhiya Stephen of Maroa-Forsyth ran 14.87 to finish third.

It was a brief rest time for the Tuscola sophomore as she had to be back in the blocks for the 100 Meter Dash. It was Kaylin Moreland of Macon Meridian that had the advantage. The senior in her final state meet needed a personal best of 12.22 to win the state title with Ainsley Johnson of Springfield Lutheran (12.38) and Patterson (12.42) finishing second and third.

Patterson took of the misfortune of Geyer in the 300 Meter Hurdles. Geyer clipped the second to last hurdle opening the door for Patterson who ran 43.67 to claim the state title. Kendall Stewart of Litchfield (45.21) and Kiara Wesseh of Newark (45.25) ran personal bests in finishing second and third. Geyer after the fall got up to finish fifth.

The day ended for Patterson in the 200 Meter Dash. She ran 24.96 for title #2 holding off Lindley Johnston (25.07) and Kaylin Moreland (25.12) were the next two finishers.

TRACK HIGHLIGHTS

Rockford Christian left the preliminary session in the sprint relays fourth in the 4x100m Relay and second in the 4x200m Relay. They won both of their heats so confidence was brimming by the Royal Lions when they stepped on the sundrenched Big Blue Oval of O’Brien Field. The quartet of Mandy Nelson, Kendall Turner, Lucy Gargani, and Avery Demo were in fourth and within reach of the lead when Demo got the baton. The senior stormed down the grandstand side of the track and caught the line first (49.48) by just five hundredth of a second ahead of Monmouth United (49.53). Seneca ran 49.67 to finish third. The Royal Lions had Demo coming from behind again but had the fight to run a season’s best of 1:43.85 to claim their second relay win of the meet ahead of Seneca (1:44.21) and Monmouth United (1:45.98).

A soon as the runners made the cut in the 1600 Meter Run, Elena Rybak of Father McGivney blasted to the lead never looking back the rest of the way. She had close to a three second lead after the first lap that grew to eight seconds on the pack passing through 800-meters in 2:26.99. She maintained her lead the rest of the way to claim her second 1600 title in a row with a 5:03.07. Molly Farrell of Marshall surged on the final lap to run 5:06.67 to finish second. Kaylee Woolery was just a tenth of a second behind Farrell running 5:06.77.

Farrell began her day in the 3200 Meter Run. The freshman from Marshall pulled away in the middle two laps to open her lead to three seconds. Another freshman, Kate Foltz of Tuscola had other plans as she was within under a second entering the final lap. Farrell closed the final 400-meters in 73 seconds to claim the state title in a 10:50.90 time. Four other runners in this race were under 11 minutes led by Foltz (10:53.32) followed by Arianna Neisen of Liberty (10:55.29), Kennady Anderson of Kewanee Wethersfield (10:57.73), and Eden Mueller of Mercer County (10:59.39).

FIELD EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

Anna Bruno of Seneca was in second-place after Thursday’s preliminary flights by just four inches of Laurel Munson of Eureka. Bruno unleashed an 18-0.50 jump in her opening jump of Saturday to claim the win and the state title. Munson did not improve on her 17-11.50 prelim jump but finished in second.  Addison Licht of Milford jumped 17-2.75 to finish third.

Kelsey Hutchins of Sherrard maintained her prelim lead in the Triple Jump that earned her a state title. Hutchins jumped 37-5.25 for the win ahead of Laney Nelson of Downs Tri-Valley (36-8.25) and Anna Lopez of Peru-St. Bede (36-3.50).

Laney Lester of Henry-Senachwine threw 130-1 in the prelims of the Discus held up throughout the Saturday finals to earn her a state title. Brianna Brodie of Princeville (126-4) and Brenna Dutcher of Warrensburg-Latham (124-06) finished second and third.

Kiara Wesseh of Newark finished second in this event in last year’s finals. She was near perfect in this final clearing her first six heights including the winning height of 5-5.75. Aubrey Phillips of El-Paso-Gridley also cleared that height. She did have a miss at 5-4.50 and two misses at 5-5.75 giving Wesseh the state title. Lindley Johnston cleared 5-2.25 to finish third.

Mya Strahm of Elmwood, Livia Binder of Maroa-Forsyth, Payton Carter of St. Joseph-Ogden, and Reagan Gibson of Indian Creek all cleared 12-0 in the Pole Vault. It was Strahm that had the fewest misses of the group that claimed the 1A State title.