Ellis elevates Warren to second place
CHARLESTON - That was quite a trick pulled off by Warren's Brittny Ellis.
The Blue Devils senior completed a sprinting hat trick, in the process icing Warren's second-place tie in the Class 3A girls track team standings with 35 points during the state finals at Eastern Illinois O'Brien Stadium in Charleston on Saturday.
Lincoln-Way East earned its third consecutive title with 51 points, with Warren and Barrington tying at 35.
The weather heated up a bit for the finals, and Ellis matched the rising temperatures.
She blazed to victories in the 100-meter dash (11.85), the 400 dash (54.19) and the 200 dash (24.38).
Ellis becomes the first female athlete to win all three sprint events in Illinois' largest class since Morgan Park's Alexandria Anderson accomplished the feat in 2004.
"When I started thinking about running all three events, I thought I could make it to the finals," said Ellis, who made the decision to run the sprint triple last summer. "Winning all of them puts me over the top."
Ellis started her day by edging Homewood-Flossmoor senior Jayla Stewart (11.97) and Whitney Young freshman Amira Young (11.97) in the 100 dash.
The Miami-bound senior then cruised to a comfortable victory in the 400 for a third state title at that distance.
Ellis completed her day by holding off Stewart in the 200 (24.75) to nail down her rarefied place in girls track state history.
"This was her goal from the start," said Warren coach Ryan Dunn, whose program secured its first state track trophy thanks to Ellis' contributions. "We knew after watching throughout the season she had a shot, but she still had to come down and get it done. She ran beautiful, and it was fun to watch."
Ellis finished third in the 400 last season after winning the title her first two years. That setback ended up focusing her for her senior year.
"Not winning gave me a lot of motivation to train harder this year," said Ellis, who spent plenty of time improving her starts.
Warren wouldn't have earned a trophy without the contributions of thrower Keely Knobble. The Blue Devils senior took fifth in the discus (134-05) to provide extra key points.
Knobble hit her mark in the preliminary round, and it proved to be the difference.
"I've been throwing well in practice," said Knobble, "and it carried over to the state meet."
It was a bit of de ja vue for Ellis and Knobble. The pair were also the only two scorers for Viking Middle School when it earned a third-place state trophy when Ellis and Knobble were in eighth grade.
"It's great," said Dunn. "Hats off to the team for what they have accomplished throughout the season, and hats off for Brittny and Knobble for what they accomplished this weekend."
Lakes senior Danielle Griesbaum started off her career by earning three state medals, including back-to-back state titles in the 3,200 relay in Class 2A. She ended it by earning a second consecutive state medal in the 800 in Class 3A, taking fifth place in 2:14.51.
The Drake bound senior dealt with bit of traffic in her first lap but was able to finish strong and end her career on a high note.
"It is a lot tougher to make to state in Class 3A, the competition is really strong," said Griesbaum. "I felt a lot more accomplished by placing in Class 3A."
Junior Madison Romig, sophomore Brooke Drabek, sophomore Lauren Troemel, and freshman Roxanne Temple powered Grant to a ninth-place medal in the 3,200 relay.
"All four of us are coming back and focusing on coming out stronger next year," said Romig.
Grant junior Rachel Bicknase added an eighth-place medal for the Bulldogs in the discus (126-10), and Grayslake Central's Alexa Schmitt took ninth in the long jump (17-08).
Class 2A
Vernon Hills had a pretty special day, as the Cougars collected five state medals.
Freshman Lauren Katz, senior Lauren Kim, junior Molly Wasserberg and senior Samantha Hershman started the day by leading the Cougars to a seventh-place finished in the 3,200 relay (9:42.56).
Junior Vivian Overbeck added a third-place medal in the 3,200 (11:14.95).
Katz kept things rolling by taking fifth in the 800 (2:19.86), with freshman Jordyn Bunning adding a pair of state medals. She placed sixth in the 100 high hurdles (15.28) and third in the 300 low hurdles (45.76).
Katz and Bunning give the Cougars a strong foundation on which to build as the two freshmen earned a pair of state medals apiece.
"I think we motivate each other, and the team motivates us," said Katz. "We're excited to see where we can take it."
Carmel senior Hasana Huff earned a sixth-place medal in the triple jump (36-10.5), and Wauconda senior Christina Meinhart placed seventh in the discus (122-0).
Wauconda junior Alison Beeman secured a fifth-place medal in the 400 (57.94).