Palatine girls, Burlington Central boys win titles at Geneva

Hannah Schilb found her comfort zone on Saturday in Geneva.

The St. Charles North sophomore had the girls track and field meet of her young career at the Mike VanDeveer Invitational.

Schilb, the reigning Class 3A West Aurora triple jump champion, not only captured her specialty event by almost two feet but also claimed titles in the long jump and 100-meter dash at the 12-team coed meet.

The North Stars' sophomore leader finished with 34 individual points scored after ending her day with a fourth-place result in the 300 hurdles.

North suburban power Palatine dominated with excellence and depth on the track to win the meet easily over Geneva with 188 points.

St. Charles North enjoyed a double-digit advantage over Burlington Central for third place, with Dundee-Crown doing likewise over Rockford Jefferson for fifth.

Schilb nipped Basirat Iginla by three one-hundredths of a second to win the 100 dash, ultimately costing the Palatine junior a second sprint championship.

"I have been working really hard all year on my start in making it better," said Schilb, who crossed the 100 finish line in 12.98 seconds. "My finish is what got me first place - I leaned."

Schilb won the two vertical jumps with a combined distance of 43 feet and change.

"I didn't jump my best today, but I'm happy I got first in both (events)," Schilb said.

Geneva all-state returnee Kathryn Adelman also showed resemblance to her award-winning junior campaign with a fantastic final 400 meters to overcome a sizable deficit to Palatine junior Amy Kieliszewski in the 1,600 run.

"This is my first outdoor meet this season," said Adelman, sixth in state last spring at 800 meters, after winning in 5:19.49. "I was a little reluctant, probably (in the early stages). I started going and gaining some ground."

Adelman began her day by teaming with Gabi Thomson, Emma Earhardt and Mary Grace Neville to win the 3,200 relay with ease.

Promising Geneva underclassman Foster Ignoffo also pealed away some rust with two 400-meter dashes to remember.

The Vikings' sophomore was the lone runner to break 60 seconds to claim the open title and later came back to pass three runners in the 1,600 relay to help the Vikings to runner-up in the event.

"I have missed a lot of (the early outdoor season) because of (club) soccer," Ignoffo said. "My goal today was to break a minute (in the 400). I also had a 59 in the 1,600 relay."

Geneva received a pair of wins in the field behind Shannon Callahan (high jump) and Veronica Ramming (discus).

"I thought our kids competed hard," Geneva coach Peter Raak said. "All of the hard work we have done all winter is starting to pay off."

St. Charles North pole vaulter Jessica Grill won her second invitational championship in as many weeks after clearing 10-6.

Jasmine Castillo was a fixture for Burlington Central as the junior overcame top-seeded Palatine junior Caitlin Riedy to win the 300 hurdles.

Castillo later ran the anchor leg on the Rockets' 1,600 relay after performing a similar duty on the 400 quartet.

"(The Central coaches) thought I was good in the 400 and should try the 300 hurdles," said Castillo, who qualified the Class 2A state meet last year in the event. "I was actually pretty good at them. I had a 46 (. 92-second time), so I was pretty happy with that."

Dundee-Crown had Kayla Lawrence as its chief point earner; the sophomore captured the 100 hurdles and placed third in the open 200.

Boys meet: Lucas Ege was the difference in Burlington Central denying host Geneva by 3.5 points in the boys division.

The Central junior won both hurdles races in a breeze and launched the Rockets' championship 1,600 relay team to reverse a late deficit against the Vikings.

When Matt O'Connor brought the Rockets' quartet to the finish line by a wide margin, Central had a 135.5-132 victory.

"I have to compete against myself," Ege said after one-sided wins in the 110 highs and 300 intermediate hurdles. "It (stinks) but I'm not going to complain. I pretty much go all out. My time (in the highs) wasn't that good compared to what I'm used to."

Ege (15.58 and 40.30) won the two hurdles races by more than three and half combined seconds.

"We usually win major invites every year, but this is the first time we have ever won this one," Central coach Mike Schmidt said. "We have been coming here for probably 13 years. On the track was the key for us."

Casey Matthews scored in all three sprints for Central; the senior won the open 400 by almost a second in 51.61 seconds.

O'Connor snared another title for Central with sub-1:58 800 run.

Clay Musial was the lone athlete to break 10 minutes in winning the 3,200 run by over 20 seconds for Central.

Dundee-Crown, third overall with 98 points, was paced by the sprinting exploits of Milik Dunner and Austin White.

The former cracked 11 seconds to win the 100 - with Austin in third - and the latter turned back Dunner to give the Chargers a sweep at 200 meters.

The duo also catapulted the Chargers' 800 relay to another title.

"I just wanted to come out of the blocks (in the 200)," Austin said. "I knew that Milik was there, and he is faster than me. I figured (he and I) would be ready to go."

Kiwi Seals won the triple jump by 20 inches for D-C, and Logan Fed was the winner in the high jump for the final Chargers win.

Jason D'Amico swept the two throws for Geneva.

"This is a first," D'Amico said of twin wins at an invitational. "I had a 160-(foot) throw out there. I am trying to get state-qualifying (marks). After that, I'm trying to get the school records."

Geneva also earned wins from its 3,200 relay and the long-jump title from Justin Taormina.