Cats enjoy record-setting night
After her track team just broke the school record in the 800-meter relay, a Libertyville runner held the baton and asked to whom should she give it.
The black baton seemed a good candidate for the Wildcats' trophy case.
At meet's end, it wasn't the only literal piece of history the Wildcats left Lake Zurich with Thursday night.
In a close battle that figured to be just that, Libertyville won the North Suburban Conference championship trophy by totaling 74 points.
Lake Zurich, buoyed by the return of Olivia Allen from a pulled quadriceps injury, and NSC Prairie Division champ Lakes tied for second with 68 points. Warren (67), which shared the NSC Lake title with Libertyville, and Zion-Benton (66.5) rounded out the top five.
Libertyville's night included a pair of school-record runs.
"I'm ecstatic right now, and I know the team's ecstatic," Wildcats' first-year coach Tom Bizosky said. "I said to them before we walked in here that it comes down to, can we reach for that extra inch, can we reach for that extra foot, whatever it takes. Lean forward to get that last second off.
"They all came to play, and this is the type of team I've had all year-round. Certainly you have to give credit to the distance (runners) for scoring so many points and really being the backbone of the team. But as I told my team, it's always a team effort."
Libertyville started the track finals by winning the 3,200 relay in 9:49.6 with Lisa Branding, Alyssa Corrigan, Sarah Farish and Anne Strychalski.
The Wildcats' Marissa Hollingsworth, Bridget Loucks, Sam Zoellick and Mo Jones then sped to a school-record time of 1:48.4 in the 800 relay in finishing second behind Zion-Benton (1:46.4).
Later, Corrigan clocked a winning and school-record 46.1 in the 300 hurdles.
"I felt good, I felt strong," the junior said. "I felt like I wasn't stuttering before the hurdle. That's what I've been trying to work on."
And, yes, she was aware of the school record.
"Last year I missed it by like 2-10ths of a second," Corrigan said. "So I really wanted it."
Libertyville nearly had another school record in the open 400, which North Chicago's Ryan McMurtry won in 58.5, ahead of Lake Zurich's Marissa Wagner (1:00) and Kelly Doheny (1:00.9). Dani Kopera of Libertyville was fourth in 1:01, 7-10ths of a second off the school mark, Bizosky said.
Libertyville received other runner-up finishes from Branding in the 1,600 run, Hannah Reilly in the 3,200 run and Kate Tunnicliff in the pole vault.
Competing for the first time in nearly a month, Allen captured the 100 (12.3) and 200 (25.1) dashes. The junior star had her left thigh heavily wrapped.
"I feel great," Allen said after her pair of wins. "I don't feel anything. I feel perfectly fine."
She will not attempt to run any relays at the Grayslake North sectional next Friday, however.
"It's too much on the quad," Allen said.
Lakes ended the night by winning the 1,600 relay in 4:06.4 (a second ahead of North Chicago) with Shanna Hertz, Tatianna Forney, Kecia Morway and Ariel Butzine.
Their time was right about state-qualifying.
"This is a great capper," said an ecstatic Eagles coach Tami Ribbens. "We have worked very hard. We've worked very hard for the past couple of years, but it's nice to see that all the hard work and all the girls' dedication is finally paying off. We've really stepped up our workouts because we knew we had some very talented girls this year. They've exceeded my expectations, and I'm so proud."
Butzine also won the 800 in a season-best 2:17.6, leading from start to finish. Warren's Sarabeth Jones (second) and Grant's Kendra Kennedy (third) finished nearly three seconds back.
"She likes to go out faster," Ribbens said of Butzine. "She feels she does better. She was able to keep her lead and she was happy."
Lakes' Melissa Lewis won the 100 hurdles in 16.1, edging Lake Zurich's Herel Hughes (16.6) and Antioch's Erin Schoenfelder (16.7). Lewis and North Chicago's Taneka Beard each high-jumped 5-feet-2, but Beard was declared the winner of the even because she had fewer misses at the height.
Lewis was also second in the 300 hurdles.
Besides Allen, double-winners were Georgia Tech-bound Bailey Wagner of Grant (48-7 shot put, 154-9 discus), Zion-Benton's Brittany Simmons (17-7 long jump, 34-6ΒΌ triple jump) and Warren's Heather Olson (5:13.9 1,600; 11:26.1 3,200).
Olson feels she's where she needs to be as she approaches the season's final two weeks.
"I think so," she said. "I put in the training and I have faith in that. So once tapering starts, I'm confident that the times will come down and I'll be right where I want to be."
Antioch's Jessica Long won the pole vault, clearing 10 feet.
Grant's Illinois State-bound Tori Ziegler finished second to her teammate Wagner in both the shot put and discus.