CHARLESTON – East St. Louis swept the three relay races the team was entered in, while other local athletes performed well at the Class 2A and 3A IHSA state girls track finals, held Saturday at O’Brien Stadium, on the campus of Eastern Illinois University, in Charleston.
Mt. Prospect won the Class 3A title with 53 points, edging out second place Huntley, who scored 50 points. Chicago Whitney Young was third with 49 points, Chatham Glenwood was fourth with 38 points, and Naperville Neuqua Valley was fifth at 36 points. Granite City was 15th with 15 points, Edwardsville had 10 points, and Alton scored five points.
In the Class 2A finals, Kayda Austin of Cahokia won the 100 meters, coming in at 11.69 seconds, with Deairra Spears of East St. Louis was eighth at 12.37 seconds. Austin also won the 200 meters at 23.72 seconds, with the Flyers’ Sydney Jones ninth at 25.21 seconds. Madalyn Marx of Mahomet-Seymour won the 400 meters at 56.11 seconds.
In the 800 meters, Becca Heitzig of Lincoln won the title with a time of 2:09.55, with Payton Frey of Highland coming in seventh at 2:16.34. Heitzig also won the 1,600 meters at 4:58.82, while Sundara Weber of Sandwich won the 3,200 meters at 10:30,18, with Triad’s Kennedy Bowman coming in at 11:49.18.
In the hurdles races, Jordan Hamb of Chicago South Shore International College Prep won the 100 meters with a time of 14.27 seconds, while the 300 meters went to Gabby Graham of Tinley Park at 43.56 seconds. In the relay races, East St Louis’ team of Baily Graham, Jones, Armon Glenn, and Spears won the 4×100 meters at 47.76 seconds, with Triad sixth at 49.11 seconds. In the 4×200 meters, the Flyers’ team of Graham, Jones, Glenn, and Spears won the title at 1:40.23, with the 4×400 meter team of Zhakaya Hawkins, Je’Tira Taylor, Ka’Milla Tugle, and Glenn winning with a time of 3:52.97. The winner in the 4×800 meters was Wheaton St. Francis Catholic, who had a time of 9:12.80.
In the field events, Olivia Marshall of Geneseo won the shot put, having a distance of 13.21 meters, with East Side’s Dariyah Ford finishing 10th at 10.73 meters, Marshall took the discus throw with a toss of 42.51 meters, while Mariyah Elam of Mendota cleared 1.84 meters to win the high jump,
Brooklyn Kondritz of Mt. Zion won the pole vault, going over at 3.60 meters, while Jillian Schlittler of Tolono Unity won the long jump, going 5.45 meters, with Makenna Witham of Triad having a leap of 4.90 meters. Hamb won the triple jump, going 11.36 meters to take the title, with Witham having a distance of 10.49 meters.
In the Class 3A finals, Katelyn Lehnen of Glenwood won the 100 meters, having a time of 11.69 seconds, while Zawadi Brown of Neuqua Valley won the 200 meters at 23.71 seconds. The 400 meters was won by Lehnen at 54.81 seconds, with Ali Ince of Normal Community winning the 800 meters at 2:05.33. Ince also won the 1,600 meters at 4:44.86, and Mia Sirois of Barrington won the 3,200 meters at 10:19.29.
In the hurdles races, Daisha Brunson of Hoffman Estates Conant won the 100 meters at 13.81 seconds, while the 300 meters was won by Aisha Kazeem of Palatine at 42.91 seconds, with NeVaeh Bryant of Alton finishing fifth at 44.16 seconds. In the relay races, Huntley won both the 4×100 meters at 46.60 seconds, and the 4×200 meters at 1:38.14. Frankfort Lincoln-Way East won the 4×400 meters at 3:50.73, while Mt. Prospect won the 4×800 meters at 9:00.83.
In the field events, Jaloni Wiley of Homewood-Flossmoor won the shot put with a throw of 13.15 meters, with Emily Sykes of Granite City second at 12.91 meters. Joi Story of Edwardsville won the discus throw, going 42.40 meters to win, while Sykes was third at 39.90 meters. Zariyah Burnett of Rockford Guilford cleared 1.72 meters to win the high jump, while Glenwood’s Reese Wolf won the pole vault, going over at 3.80 meters. Brooke Sawatzky of Naperville Central won the long jump, going 5.69 meters, while Dominique Johnson of Huntley won the triple jump, having a leap of 12.25 meters, while Bryant went 10.83 meters.
