Girls track: Prospect puts away East crown in last event

Prospect was pushed to the limit on Tuesday night by a talented Wheeling crew.

But the Knights found an extra gear, and an important new part, in powering to their 13th consecutive Mid-Suburban East Division girls track and field title in edging Wheeling 196-189 at Rolling Meadows.

It came down to the final event, where the Knights needed a third-place finish or better in the 1,600 relay to hold off a hard-charging Wheeling team.

Molly Heil was a late addition to the relay lineup, and the Knights senior delivered by anchoring her team to second-place finish to clinch the victory.

"I didn't know I was running, so I was a little nervous," said Heil of her clutch performance. "But I'm a senior and I felt like leaving it all out there. It was all about everybody doing their best and finishing it off."

Hersey showed plenty in taking third place with 146 points, followed by Buffalo Grove (71), host Rolling Meadows (47) and Elk Grove (27).

Prospect was a bit short-handed to start the meet, missing its top sprinter Annie Walsh. And Knights all-around senior Jillian Hennig was limited to only one event.

But Prospect was able to fill the gaps.

"This group refused to lose," said Prospect coach Pete Wintermute of his resilient squad. "Give credit to the seniors, and the young kids also did great."

Senior Autumn Stone definitely stepped up after injuring her knee in the triple jump. Despite her injury, Stone was able to take second in both the triple jump (33-08) and pole vault (9-0).

The Knights senior also came back on the track to help her team to a first-place finish in the 800 relay (1:48.87) along with a critical third-place finish in the 200 (27.02).

"It's all about what the team needed, and I wanted to push through," said Stone. "Our team is crazy about going above and beyond what we need to do."

Freshman Lia Skoufos (2:19.54) injected the Knights with some energy by combining with senior Brooke Wilson (2:19.86) to go 1-2 in the 800.

Skoufos also added a third-place finish in the 400 (1:01.66) while Wilson (5:14.18) and Molly Leeney (5:15.54) went 2-3 in the 1,600.

Despite being sidelined on the track with a stress fracture, Hennig delivered a first-place finish in the shot put (38-06).

And the Knights needed every point, with Wheeling flexing its power in winning eight events.

Sophomore Alexis Knight (59.19) led the Wildcats charge. She combined with junior Yailene Leon (59.69) to go 1-2 in the 400.

Knight started her evening by joining sophomore Nicole Nguyen, senior Timber Terrell and Leon to give the Wildcats a victory in the 400 relay.

She ended her night by combining with Nguyen, Leon and sophomore Nosa Igiehon to deliver a first-place finish in the 1,600 relay (4:07.82).

"Even though we didn't win, it was close," said Knight who also took second in the 100 (12.62). "You couldn't ask for anything better. We brought everything we could."

Wheeling's lineup was littered with key performances.

Nguyen added to her relay success by winning the long jump (17-01.75) and taking first in the 300 low hurdles (48.29).

Terrell took first in the triple jump (36-00.5) and second in the 200 (26.63) while Igiehon added a first-place finish in the 100 high hurdles (16.77) with sophomore Emily Lucas (9-06) and Jessica Stavros (9-0) going 1-3 in the pole vault.

Senior Ayana Blair added second-place finishes in the shot put (37-05) and discus (113-05).

"We gave them a run," said Wheeling coach Tim Nowicki. "Prospect is a really tough team and we gave them everything we could. We just came up a bit short."

Hersey was also in the mix, earning victories in five events.

Senior Sarah Harden, senior Hailey Bowes, sophomore Teagan Beckley and freshman Hannah Kersemeier delivered a first-place finish in the 3,200 relay (9:44.33).

Harden came back and cruised to the title in the 3,200 (11:22.17).

"It's been a while since we ran that relay," said Harden of the Huskies' potent 3,200 relay, which has state-level potential. "We had some great performances from all the events."

Sophomore Alessia Olhava (5-03) and freshman Teodora Zhaklinova (5-01) went 1-3 in the high jump, with Zhaklinova adding a third-place finish in long jump (16-01.75). And freshman Nataly Ahon added a nice victory in the 200 (26.22).

Junior Barbara Rydzewski also gave the Huskies a lift with a first-place finish in the discus (125-0).

Buffalo Grove junior Nya Carr did her thing for the Bison, delivering a personal best in winning the 100 (12.13). She also anchored the Bison to a second-place finish in the 400 relay (51.04) and added a second-place finish in the long jump (16-09.75).

"Finishing strong is important, especially keeping my form," Carr said of her victory in the 100. "I'm feeling good and a lot more confident this season."

Elk Grove's Emily Stegmeier also stamped a big night by setting a school record in taking first in the 1,600 (5:02.75). The Grenadiers senior jumped out to an early lead and didn't look back.

"I knew I had to make my move a bit earlier and stick with it," Stegmeier said of her comfortable victory.

MSL West at Schaumburg: Senior Kelsey McLaurin had four first-place finishes to help Barrington take top honors with 153 points, ahead of Fremd (129) and third-place Palatine (110).

McLaurin won individually in the 100 (12.84) and 200 (26.08) and also contributed legs on the winning 400 relay (50.77) and 800 relay (1:45.45).

The Fillies also had top placements from Julia Piotrowski in the 100 high hurdles (16.5) and 300 lows (49.67), and from Jocelyn Long in the 3,200 (11:25.10).

"Points came from everywhere," said Barrington coach Jody Gitelis. "The girls ran really well, and it was total team effort. Relays were big."

Fremd's Kaily Bryk won the triple jump (32-10) and the Vikes had runner-up relays in the 1,600 (4:06.95) and 3,200 (9:36.27).

Palatine had wins from Tiana Henderson in the long jump (15-4), Jess Streepy in the pole vault (10-0) and Sarah Elischer in the high jump (5-1). Henderson also placed second in the 100 and 200.

Fourth-place Hoffman Estates had winners in Anna Miller (400, 1:01.06), Christina Woods (discus, 105-3) and Mikkeala Blackwell (shot put, 38-11).

Maddie Marasco powered fifth-place Schaumburg to a winning effort in the 3,200 relay (9:32.62) and also took top honors in the 800 (2:18.42). Teammate Rachel Vaccaro was second in the 800, and joined Marasco on both the 3,200 relay and the third-place 1,600 relay (4:08.26).