Neuqua Valley wins UEC Valley crown
Neuqua Valley girls track coach Gretchen Parejko only needed one word to sum up her team’s 153-point first-place finish in the Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division meet Wednesday in Naperville.
“Phenomenal.
“We have a great group of girls and it all really came together for us today,” Parejko said. “We have a lot of work to do this week, but I’m proud of the way we ran today.”
Neuqua Valley junior Savannah Carson ended the day with two first-place finishes, going 12.35 in the 100-meter dash and 26.1 in the 200.
Remarkably, when asked how she felt going into the race Carson revealed that she wasn’t in top shape, suffering from knee and groin injuries sustained earlier in the season.
“I actually felt weak,” she said. “I’m hoping to do good enough to qualify for state.”
Metea Valley finished second with 143 points and left the meet boasting new school records in the long jump, shot put and 1,600 relay.
Metea coach Jim Brown was very pleased with his girls’ performance, particularly because there has been so little time to build a tradition at Metea Valley.
“We’ve only been around three years, and this is our first senior class,” Brown said.
Brown said senior Jasmine Davis, who finished second behind Bartlett senior Katherine Lauesen in the shot put, was impressive.
“The nice thing about Jasmine’s performance is now she has a chance to go downstate,” he said.
Metea Valley junior Nicole Cavalarro cited the reasons she earned a personal best in the long jump.
“Hard work and focus,” she said. “And of course our coaches.”
Neuqua Valley freshman Maya Neal won the long jump, followed by Carson and Lake Park’s Tyshai Freeman.
The Mustangs dominated the triple jump as sophomore Manuela Foonde finished first with a distance of 33-0, while freshman teammate Alexis Roxas finished right behind her with at 31-10½.
South Elgin senior Jordan Tuin finished first in the 800.
Lake Park also put together a strong performance in the conference meet with Kaylee Flanagan and Brianne Murphy placing 1-2 in the 1,600-meter run. Junior Tyshai Freeman also gave Lake Park a first-place finish in the high jump, while sophomore Maya Golliday finished first in the pole vault.
Lake Park took third in the team standings with 115 points, while Bartlett and Waubonsie Valley took fourth and fifth with 66 and 51 points, respectively. South Elgin finished in last place with 22 points.