Bieber, Hamilton pace Naperville North to DVC crown

Halle Bieber wants what Naperville North teammate Claire Hamilton earned two years ago as a sophomore: a girls track and field state championship.

The two certainly shared something in common Thursday night at North Central College as each athlete participated on a victorious relay while also winning their lone individual event.

Naperville North won six of the 15 titles up for grabs in Naperville to defeat sister school Naperville Central 117-95 to win the DuPage Valley Conference indoor championship.

Wheaton Warrenville South and Neuqua Valley tied for third place with 78.5 points.

Waubonsie Valley (60 points), Metea Valley (50), Lake Park (49), Wheaton North (32) and Glenbard North (24) rounded out the field.

Hamilton, the last link to the Huskies' Class 3A 3,200-meter relay state-champion quartet, bested teammate Hannah Ricci to win the 1,600 run in 5 minutes, 0.97 seconds.

"It's always good when you can get as many points as you can in a conference meet," said Hamilton, who teamed with Jillian Fitz, Sam Prazma and Ricci to rout the field in the 3,200 relay. "Definitely running a relay is fun with all your teammates."

"She is running better than she ever has," Naperville North coach Dan Iverson said of the Indiana-bound Hamilton. "We'll take it."

Bieber, with minimal rest after an 8.46-second winning time in the 55 hurdles, anchored the Huskies' 800 relay to victory in 1:45.55.

"I have been struggling with my shins," said Bieber, a returning all-state 300 hurdler. "It's a great feeling to still be able to contribute points to the team. "

"She is a special athlete," Iverson said of his prized sophomore. "Even after a rough start, she still had a great race in the hurdles."

Sarah Schmitt is yet another state-seasoned athlete for the Huskies.

The junior led yet another distance sweep for Naperville North with her triumphant time of 10:43.18 at 3,200 meters.

Alex Morris' runner-up performance gave the Huskies another quick 18 team points.

"It was definitely a different dynamic (than the star-studded competition at Batavia last week), but it was a good one," Schmitt said. "(Morris) ran amazing."

In a riveting conclusion to the open 800, the Huskies' Claire Hill survived an epic comeback bid by recent Illinois recruit Nicki Cast.

But the Naperville North sophomore withstood the herculean challenge the Metea Valley senior presented at the wire.

Hill was five one-hundredths faster than Cast to win in 2:19.77.

Courtney Morgan, the Mustangs' two-time shot state champion, had a pedestrian day from her perspective.

"For me it was very average," the Central Florida signee and defending state champion said after winning with a throw of exactly 44 feet. "I'm actually disappointed with it. I know I can do much better."

Naperville Central had championships from Takia Harris in the high jump, and sophomore Naomi Egharevba in the 200 dash.

"I was seeded No. 1 and knew I had to win," Egharevba said.

Neuqua Valley standout sophomore Mikenna Robinson won the 400 dash as well as the opening leg on the Wildcats' 1,600 championship relay.

The Warriors' Cami Robinson denied Lake Park junior Isabelle Kennedy a second horizontal jumping championship with a triple-jump mark of 38 feet.

Kennedy had earlier won the long jump at 18-0.25.

Waubonsie Valley senior Rikki Stevenson prevailed in the 55.