Batavia holds off talented Oswego East squad

Between girls track and field and cross country, McKenzie Altmayer and Dakota Roman have been going toe-to-toe for the last six years.

Saturday morning at the Pete Heimsath Invite in Batavia, the two were a marquee attraction in the 1,600-meter run.

Altmayer, the Syracuse-bound Geneva senior, and Roman, headed to Illinois State after one final spring at Batavia, separated themselves from a deep field in the eight-lap event.

But it was Altmayer who had too much in reserve for the Bulldogs' four-year standout as the former captured first place in five minutes, 6.54 seconds.

Roman was runner-up, slightly more than three seconds behind Altmayer.

"I love Dakota," Altmayer said. "I remember my first race against her in seventh grade. I was going to let Dakota take out the pace and sit on her. I was aiming for sub-five, but the race wasn't there today."

"(Altmayer) has high expectations," Geneva coach Peter Raak said. "She sets the bar high for herself, and I'm going to do my best for her to attain those (goals)."

"I wanted to make sure I ran my race," Roman said. "I wanted to get around five minutes. I'm fine with my time."

Batavia would need all the depth in its arsenal to deny a supremely talented Oswego East squad for the title of the six-team meet.

The Wolves' Morgan Harris swept the three individual sprints between 55 and 400 meters; reigning long-jump state runner-up Sade Akinfe soared nearly 19 feet to win her specialty event with ease.

Oswego East also won all three sprint relays.

But Batavia had multiple place-winners in the 15 events to earn a 134-120 victory over the Wolves. Metea Valley was a distant third, followed by Geneva, Glenbard East and Glenbard South.

The Bulldogs' Marygrace Golden was the lone individual track champion with her triumph at 3,200 meters in 11:46.91.

"This is my first time running the 2-mile," the Batavia sophomore said. "It wasn't the best time. I think I can do a lot better."

Hannah Schlaman and Tori Ortiz are the Bulldogs' sprint leaders; the former was a four-event state qualifier for the defending sectional champion.

But Schlaman had to settle for runner-up status to Harris at 55 and 200 meters.

Ortiz was third in the open 200 after finishing second to Harris in the 400.

Harris' times of 7.30 and 25.96 were a combined nine one-hundredths faster than Schlaman in the two shortest sprints.

"(Harris) is a good friend of mine," Schlaman said. "She is definitely good competition. It was really fun to run against her."

The Bulldogs' Leah Narup finished second to yet another Oswego East returning state qualifier, Tara Schumacher, in the 55 hurdles.

In the field, Batavia received an invaluable triumph from Sam Delmundo in the triple jump; Megan DalSanto was runner-up to Akinfe in the long jump.

Anna Clarey and Angela Kilbride gave Batavia a 10-point edge over Oswego East with their tie for second in the pole vault.

The high jump was the unquestioned highlight for the Geneva field-event participants.

Shannon Callahan bested teammate Kristin Higgins - the field house record-holder - after the juniors matched Abbey Hoh of Glenbard East at 5 feet, 2 inches.

Higgins had to settle for third.

"We've got a young team, and they're showing lots of progress," Raak said.

Courtney Morgan is looking to regain her state-championship form in the shot put after a sophomore season derailed by nagging injuries.

The Metea Valley junior had to settle for fourth place in the Class 3A shot put last spring, but Morgan is the state leader in indoor season after a near 47-foot effort last week at North Central College.

Morgan approached 45 feet on Saturday to remain undefeated this indoor season.

"It's a process," said Morgan, a freshman state champion two years ago. "I'm focusing on my technique. During indoor season, I'm focusing on strength. I am in the weight room, trying to get stronger. When outdoor season comes, I'm ready to go."

The Mustangs' other returning all-state athlete - junior Nicki Cast - held off Glenbard East sophomores Lexi Weltin and Cailyn Biegalski to win her feature event, the open 800, in 2:26.94.

"Today started off a little bit slower," said Cast, who was also fourth in the open 1,600. "It was a little hard to pick up the pace (in the 800) after the first quarter-(mile)."

Weltin and Biegalski powered the Rams' 1,600 relay to second place as well.

"I am proud of how I did (in the 800)," said Weltin, who switched to track this season after playing soccer last spring. "I'm glad I was able to keep up with the girl (Cast) in first."

Terri Scarlett and Emaline Kerwin were runners-up for Metea Valley in the 3,200 run and triple jump.

Glenbard South has never lost a Metro Suburban Conference track and field championship since the dissolution of the Western Sun in 2010.

Sarah Nardella was the focus of the traditional Class 2A power after claiming the Raiders' lone championship in the pole vault.

"I guess that's what we prefer," Glenbard South coach Mark Tacchi said of being the smallest school in the field. "We came up short in points, but we have kids who are getting personal records - and times are dropping. That's how we have to measure success until we get outdoors and we start to run against other 2A schools."