COLLINSVILLE – Edwardsville’s Abby Korak had a very good day despite the weather in Friday’s Collinsville Invitational girls track meet, winning the 1,600 meters in a time of 5:12.02, defeating O’Fallon’s Brooke Witzel by nearly 13 seconds.
“The 4×800 (relay) was a little bit rough at the beginning; I just didn’t go out fast enough,” Korak, a freshman, said. “In the (1,600), I think I had a pretty good race. At first, I was kind of annoyed (because of a half-hour delay in starting the meet due to severe storms that had rolled through the area before the start of the meet) because it was getting delayed and I just wanted to run; I had to just get all that out of my head and had to do my thing and run.”
Despite the rainy weather, Korak thought the conditions were fine for running. “It was actually kind of good weather; it wasn’t too windy. It was kind of sprinkly, but it was the perfect temperature (about in the low 60s and overcast),” Korak said.
Korak has been running since she was in sixth grade, starting out with the track team at Liberty Middle School; Korak was coached by current EHS girls track coach Camilla Eberlin.
“I think like after races, it’s such a nice feeling when you do well,” Korak said about being a part of the track and cross-country programs. “It’s kind of like all your hard work finally pays off. All the girls are super-nice and supportive; it’s such a great atmosphere. I’ve made a lot of close friends.”
Korak hopes to keep running in college after her graduation in the spring of 2020. “I’m hoping to go to college for running,” Korak said.
The Tigers will be in this week’s Southwestern Conference Girls Championship at East St. Louis, with the IHSA Class 3A Belleville West Sectional coming May 12; the IHSA state girls championship meets take place the weekend of May 18-20 at Eastern Illinois University’s O’Brien Stadium in Charleston.
