Girls track: Rosary edges Montini in final event
What is the feeling like for girls track state qualifiers?
"It's like some subtle nervousness with a lot of anticipation," Glenbard South junior high jumper Emma Taylor said. "I know I was seeded to go to state, but now I was like, OK, you've got to put the pieces together and go and do it."
She did it, of course, clearing the qualifying height of 5 feet, 1 inch at Thursday night's Class 2A Glenbard South sectional to place second behind Aurora Central Catholic's Ella Englehardt. Englehardt cleared 5-3 and will compete against Taylor again next weekend, this time at the state meet in Charleston.
The team title came down to the final event, the 1,600-meter relay. Trailing Montini by 5 points entering the race, Rosary placed second in the event behind Aurora Central. But when Wheaton Academy passed Montini in the final 30 meters, that knocked the Broncos back to fifth place and put the Royals ahead in the team totals.
Rosary scored 92 points to Montini's 91. Host Glenbard South was third with 72, and Aurora Central was fourth with 66.
"We've won three in a row actually, but they haven't been against this kind of competition, I don't think," Rosary coach Vic Mead said. "This was quite a meet tonight. These teams are good. The girls really wanted it."
One of those girls was Claire Hengesbaugh, who qualified in the 1,600 meters in 5 minutes, 16.54 seconds, good for second place behind Aurora Central's Abby Fioresi. Just two events later Hengesbaugh somehow summoned the energy to run the third leg of that team championship clinching 1,600 relay.
"It was so much fun to watch, and Brooke really gutted it out," Hengesbaugh said of relay anchor Brooke Delahanty. "It was fun. I'd just run the mile, so I never really know how this is going to feel. The 4-by-4 is only, like, half an hour later, but I felt good and it was a lot of fun. There was so much energy. On (the third turn) there were all these people cheering and I just felt more energized. It was probably one of the most fun races I've ever run."
Despite being edged for the team title, Montini was happy with its performance too.
"I wanted to be someone to look up to for the younger people for I'm leaving," said Broncos senior Jenna Wiedacher, who qualified in the 800 meters in 2:20.34, good for third behind Fioresi and Delahanty. "I really wanted to do it for them. They just need some sort of inspiration, some sort of motivation. I'm never good at just running for me. I always have to be running for someone."
Teammate Lauren Mikolajczak had a different motivation. Her mother and Montini throws coach, Colleen Marks, qualified for the state meet as a student at Driscoll High School. Now Mikolajczak can say she's a qualifier too.
The senior won shot put and placed second to Glenbard South's Grayson Breen in the discus with a toss of 115-11. Not bad for a kid who threw the discus just 66 feet as a freshman.
"I personally love discus," Mikolajczak said. "My mom was a state qualifier when she was in high school, so I hit (the qualifying) mark on my first throw and was really excited about that."