Trupp leads Burlington to 4th at county meet
Only her hair kept Burlington Central’s Katie Trupp from setting a personal best Friday.
The sophomore already won the high jump event at the Kane County Meet at 5 feet, 4 inches, but she wanted more. Trupp attempted to beat her personal mark of 5-5. However it was her hair that knocked the bar off as she attempted to clear 5-6.
“It was very upsetting,” Trupp said. “I feel good though. Because I was ranked first, I really wanted to come in that spot.”
Trupp, who qualified for state last year in the high jump, entered the event as the top seed with a height of 5-5 and was the only competitor to clear 5-4. Central teammate Caille Thommes finished third and West Aurora’s Emma Spagnola each cleared 5-2, but Spagnola finished second as it took her less attempts to go over the bar.
“We thought (Trupp) had a real good chance,” Rockets coach Aaron Wichman said. “She handled the pressure of having the top seed. She was right there at 5-6 and I know that is a personal goal of hers.”
Trupp’s victory helped the Rockets to a fourth-place finish as a team with 51.5 points. West Aurora easily claimed the team title with 136 points. Geneva (72) was second and St. Charles East (59) took third. Rosary rounded out the top five with 50 points.
“We were hoping for top three or four,” Wichman said. “We were right there. I think we had a lot of good performances.”
Central’s Kayla Wolf was second in the 800-meter run in 2:22.90. Allie Settani finished third in the shot put (34-2 ¾) and fifth in the discus (89-5). Autumn Conn was third in the pole vault (10-6) and Trupp was fifth (9-6) in the event. Also earning points for the Rockets were Alexa Tovsen (fourth in 400, 1:00.4), Markelle Turk (fifth in 1,600, 5:24.38), the 3,200 relay (fourth, 9:49.66), the 400 relay team (sixth, 52.16) and the 1,600 relay team (sixth, 4:16.6).
The area’s other county champion is Hampshire junior Cassie Kruse, who won the 800 run. Kruse finished in 2:18.05, beating Wolf by almost 5 seconds. Kruse also finished second in the 1,600 run in 5:20.35, passing four competitors in the final 200 meters.
“It’s still hard going four events in one meet,” said Kruse, who also was part of the 3,200 and 1,600 relay teams. “I knew it was going to be a challenge, but I gave it all I got.”
The Whip-Purs finished seventh as a team with 45 points. Ashley Fouch (200 dash, 26.3) and Autumn Chomenko (300 hurdles, 49.19) each finished third for Hampshire, which also had a third-place finish in the 800 relay. Also scoring for the Whip-Purs were the 1,600 relay team (fourth, 4:11.11), Liz Sicheri (fifth in triple jump, 34-0), the 3,200 relay team (fifth, 9:52.94) and Courtney Deniston (sixth in discus, 89-3).
Dundee-Crown’s best finish was in the 3,200 relay team of Claira Himmel, Lauren Mosher, Natalie Himmel and Katie Gross. They finished third in 9:48.58. Gross also finished sixth (1:01.13) in the 400.