Jacobs Vanvlierbergen shattering records

Jacobs sophomore Lauren Vanvlierbergen has hit the trifecta of school records this spring.

Vanvlierbergen is the new owner of the program records in the mile (4:58), 3,200 (10:54) and 800 (2:14.7). Her 1,600 time is tops in the state currently.

“Lauren has had unbelievable performances on the track,” said Jacobs coach Ryan Lemanski. “She has matured so much in just one year. She inspires girls on the team to work harder.”

Other key performers for the Golden Eagles thus far have been senior Sam Baran (11:31 in the 3,200), freshman Caliegh Walsh (16-8 long jump), the 3,200 rely team of Molly Barnes, Kayla Giuliano, Baran and Vanvlierbergen (9:45.11), freshman Lindsey Farrissey (30-0 in shot put) and Nikki Diana (103-0 in the discus).

“Kayla continues to lower her 400 time and our 3,200 relay team is beating quality teams ranked in the state,” said Lemanski. “Nikki and Lindsey are just starting to peak in the season right now just in time for the conference and sectional meets.”

Sophomore Taylor Bradford also has made strides. “Taylor is beginning to emerge as a premier sprinter in the FVC and a leader for the team in the sprints.”

Hampshire update: The Whip-Purs won the Marengo invitational and finished second at the Harlem invitational.

Coach Patti Nihells said the performances of senior Ashley Fouch and junior Elizabeth Pagan have provided a spark to the relays. They are key parts of the 400, 800 and 1,600 relays. The two also are performing well in their individual events. Hampshire’s 400 relay, which also includes Caitlyn Graff and Val Wozniak has run 51.8, while the 800 relay, which also includes Trish and Nikki Dumoulin, has gone 1:48.4. The 1,600 relay, which also includes Jenny Dumoulin and Elizabeth Evans, has run 4:10.1.

Fouch has run 12.38 in the 100 and 26.53 in the 200, while going 59.05 in the 400 and 5-1 in the high jump. Pagan has run 12.43 in the 100, 26.8 in the 200 and 1:00.1 in the 400. She’s also jumped 17-2 in the long jump.

Hurdlers Caitlyn Graff (junior) and Angela Wozniak (senior) are in the mix for Top 3 finishes at meets. The team is also receiving key contributions from Evans (800), Jessica Flatland (pole vault) and Nikki Dumoulin (triple jumps).

“Everyone is pulling their own weight whether it’s in the running events or the field events,” said Nihells. “The team’s success lies in fine-tuning the little ‘big’ things such as relay handoffs and hitting the center. The entire team has stepped up. Numbers have helped push each one of the girls to work hard. Everybody on the team has stepped up.”

Crystal Lake South update: The Gators are coming off a recent fourth-place finish in the McHenry County meet.

Coach Matt Dunker has been pleased with the performance of the team’s relays thus far. He noted the 3,200 relay is already under 10 minutes and improvements have also come from the 400 and 800 relay teams.

The 3,200 team of Laura Biederwolf, Malgorzata Waz, Gaby Garay and Jessica Stumpner has run 9:58.57. The 400 team of Gaby De Jesus, Kiana Clark, Cecilia John and Kathleen Pencak has gone 52.34 (3 sophomores, 1 freshman), while the 800 team of De Jesus, Clark, Pencak and sophomore Natalie Boorom has run 1:53.24.

“I’m very happy with all our relays,” said Dunker. “We are right behind last year’s time already. We replaced everyone in the two relays and haven’t really missed a beat.”

Freshman Andie Kobrick has dropped 1 minute off her 3,200 time. She broke 12 minutes and took third place at county.

Freshman Brandie Minogue has the team’s best 200 and 400 times and is one of its top 800 runners. DeJesus leads off both the 400 and 800 relays and recently took fifth in the 100 and sixth in the long jump at county. Pencak moved from mid-distance to sprints and is now an important part of the 400, 800 and 1,600 relays. Senior Jessica Stumpner was lauded by Dunker for her leadership role in the mid-distance group. Her times continue to come down.

“We are very young, but we are led by a great group of seniors,” said Dunker. “Even with the bad weather this spring, most of the girls have competed very well at the big meets. This group keeps getting better. Improvements are coming across the board. Most girls on the team have set at least one personal best this season. The speed and depth of our middle-distance runners has been a huge plus this season. We have a large group of mid-distance girls who are competing for varsity spots.”

Dundee-Crown update: The Chargers have received key contributions from a number of performers of late.

Freshman Kayla Lawrence has been a big factor in the 100 (17.11) and 300 (51.58) hurdles and in the 200 dash (27.71). “Kayla has proved to be a tough competitor,” said D-C coach Chris Hopkins-Muehl. “She 3-stepped in the 100 hurdles the very first time she tried it.”

Senior Natalie Himmel excels in the 800 (2:25.65). “Natalie already has performed better than last season and has stepped up to be a leader and a role model to the distance group,” said Hopkins-Muehl.

Junior Emily Michalski has scored in the high jump (5-0) and long jump (15-4) in many of the larger meets the team competes in.

“We are moving in a positive direction,” said Hopkins-Muehl. “Every meet we have girls achieving their personal-best performances.”

D-C has close to 20 girls competing in the discus and shot-put events. “The girls are constantly improving upon their best throws,” said Hopkins-Muehl. “It is becoming very competitive between athletes.”

Senior Claire Blume is tops on the team in the shot (28-11 1Ž2), triple jump (31-5 1Ž2) and pole vault (7-9) and is the team’s second-best long jumper (14-2).

Bartlett update: Like many area teams, Bartlett has been slowed a bit by the poor weather. However, coach Harvey Braus still has seen some positive outdoor results.

Senior Megan Seidl has run 12.37 in the 100 and 26.0 in the 200. “She has not had a good weather day yet to run the 400, which is her best event,” said Braus.

Junior Courtney Jones has run 27.2 in the 200, while junior Candace Trent has gone 12.90 in the 100. Sophomore Heather Vance has turned in a 1:04.1 in the 400, while the 400 relay team has clocked in at 52.2.

“The team is getting healthier as we head into the last 4 weeks of the season. We should be stronger as we finish the season,” said Braus.

The team also has been bolstered by the varsity contributions of freshmen Monica Smialek and Mimi Akwiwu in the hurdles, and freshman Gabby Murdoch and junior Mariah Brown in the 1,600 and 3,200 runs.

Cary-Grove update: The Trojans are fresh off winning the McHenry County meet.

“Our girls are tough and have shown a lot of resiliency,” said Cary-Grove coach Mark Anderson. “They have worked hard all season and they know the end is in sight. They have been focused on themselves and doing the best they can do to contribute to the team’s success.”

Anderson noted the team’s throwers have taken a major step forward this season.

“Our throwers have been outstanding,” he said.

Cary-Grove has four throwers who have gone over 100 feet in the discus and 33 feet in the shot put. That group includes Olivia Roehri, Anna Wcislo, NikkiFreeman and Ketyra Taylor.

Eva Burk and Allie Renner also have opened some eyes this spring. Burk ran 15.36 in just her second 100 hurdles race of the outdoor season, while Renner scored in four events at county for the Trojans (3,200 relay, long jump, 400 and 1,600 relay).

Burlington Central update: As the Rockets head toward the start of the postseason, coach Vince Neil likes what he sees on a number of fronts.

Neil noted indoor long jump state qualifier Katie Trupp is excelling outdoors in the pole vault and high jump, while Natalie Overstreet also is performing well in the pole vault.

Indoor 800 state-champion Kayla Wolf has gone 218 in the 800 outdoors already. “Kayla is progressing pretty well for us,” said Neil.

Sophomore Jasmine Castillo has been a key presence n the 300 hurdles, where she has already run in the 48-second range. Sophomore Bryce Weinrich is a contributor in the 100 and 300 hurdles.

Other recent contributors for Central include Brenna Williams (shot put), Rachel Schaefer (triple jump) and sophomores Liz Spencer and Melissa Leone in the sprint relays.

“Things are fitting together well for us,” said Neil. “Hopefully we can get some good weather and see what we can do when the elements break.”

Central has its eye on the Big Northern Conference title next week at Genoa.

“The girls are excited,” said Neil. “We’re trying to get everything together here these last few weeks and go after a conference title and see how many girls we can get to the state meet.”