Girls track: Northwest conference meets
Mid-Suburban League
When: Tonight with field event starting at 4:30 p.m, followed by running preliminaries at 5:00 p.m. Finals are slated to start approximately 6:15 p.m.
Where: Hersey High School in Arlington Heights.
Team outlook: The 37th annual MSL conference meet is shaping up to be something special. A talented group of athletes is ready to leave their mark. Last year Barrington dominated the meet from start to finish in securing a meet record 183 point and setting 3 meet records in the 400 (48.4), 1,600 (3:59.2), and 3,200 (9:09.2) relays. It was the Fillies second consecutive title and fourth crown overall. Defending state champion Barrington will once again be favored this year but the competition is closing in. Starting with West division champion Palatine, the Pirates offer a combination of experience and youth. Upstart Hoffman Estates covers a lot of events and Conant will be a threat with its sprint relays. East division champion Prospect will also be looking to make an impact in what figures to be a competitive meet.
Individuals to watch: What will the MSL offer for an encore after four meet records were set last year? Plenty, starting with Conant's Toni Graham who holds the conference mark in the 100 (12.0) and will be after the mark in the 200 (24.6). Graham also combined with Brianna Millar, Emily Quinones, and Destiny Arps last year to set a meet record in the 800 relay (1:42.6). This year that all-senior group will be at it again and eyeing the 400 relay mark (48.4) set by Barrington last year. Barrington will be just as competitive this year and has the top time in the 3,200 relay (9:19.64). Barrington's Molly Glantz will renew her battle with Palatine Jocelyn Kuksa in the 100 high hurdles and 300 low hurdles. Barrington's Samantha Learch holds the top time in the 800 (2:15.9) and 400 (56.81). Palatine's Kuksa leads the Pirates and is top seed in the pole vault (11-6). The senior will be joined by a trio of powerful throwers in Martha Shepard, Katie MacFabe, and Lauren Orris. Hoffman Estates Ashley Chervinko (41-6) will contend in the shot put, with Hawks Altrese Hawkins leading the conference in the long jump and Victoria Miktsa in the high jump (5-4). Wheeling's Amber Stack holds the top mark in the 3,200 (10:53.58) and 1,600 (5:05.1), but the senior will have plenty of competition in the 1,600 with Barrington's Rebecca Tracy (5:08.23) and Hoffman's Hannah Worman (5:08.8) in hot pursuit. Prospect's Jen Nowak, Hersey's Paige Scott, and Fremd's Ashley Ruff will all be in the hunt for the triple jump.
What they're saying:
"There's a lot of great competition, it will push everybody." --Hoffman Estates thrower Ashley Chervinko
"It keeps building and building, I hope it stays that way. We can all get better from each other." -- Palatine thrower Martha Shepard
"I'm shooting for a really good time in the 3,200 and we'll see what happens in the 1,600, it's going to be tough." --Wheeling's Amber Stack
"We figure we have just as much as we've had before. We figure we'll work with it and put pieces back in." -- Barrington's Rebecca Tracy
"We're really close with our times from last year in the relays, so we're doing what we have to do in practice so we'll be perfect when we get downstate." --Conant's Destiny Arps
West Suburban Gold / Central Suburban North
Senior sprinter Bridget Sanchez and junior distance runner Jamie Johnson will lead Leyden at the West Suburban Gold meet today. The Eagles will host conference meet at the West Leyden campus in Franklin Park beginning with field events at 5:00 p.m. Finals are slated for sometime after 5:45 p.m. Last year Leyden finished 2nd in conference and are once again in good position to finish in the top three.
"The girls that returned put themselves on the map, they want to prove it wasn't a fluke so they're looking for a repeat performance." -- Leyden coach Tom Cartwright.
Maine West will be competing at the Central Suburban North Meet today at Niles North. Field events will begin at 3:30.