Area stars ready to shine at state
It is Eastern Illinois' turn to absorb the spotlight.
The finest female and male track and field athletes in the state converge on the Charleston university for two weekends of wall-to-wall action.
The famed blue track, the tremendous crowds and brilliance personified are only part of the backdrop that underscores the anticipation, butterflies and sheer exultation of the sport.
The girls two-class, two-day state tournament has only one guarantee: the unknown.
"It's a different ballgame when you get down there," said Geneva coach Peter Raak, who had a program-best five individuals and three relays make the cut.
"Everybody is going to be nervous."
Even for the most battle-tested competitors.
"I don't even like to talk about (the possibility of winning a state title)," Batavia four-time state-finalist Natalie Tarter said. "All it does is make me nervous."
"From last year and my freshman year, I was just so nervous," said Kaneland junior Linsdsay Gierke, who extended her career state appearances in individual events to double digits with her efforts last Saturday at Ottawa.
But the human capacity to adapt is also as evident as the psychological duress of maximizing performance on the grandest stage.
"I was glad I went down there (last year) in the relays to get a feel for it," said Batavia sophomore Kathryn Warner. "It's really nerve-wracking, so you drop times like crazy down there."
Tarter and Warner, along with Brooke Bernardoni and Alexis Sampson, turned in the fastest 1,600-meter relay from the 16 sectionals, but Batavia coach Chad Hillman harbors no illusions.
"It's great to see Batavia at the top of the (seed) list," Hillman said. "It makes your school look very, very good. But these girls are smart enough to know that it's not going to be as easy as reading it on paper."
The Class AA girls state track and field meet also forges new alliances at its capstone event, almost unheard of during the regular season.
The Upstate Eight Conference features three of the finest distance runners in the state -- St. Charles East junior Lizzy Hynes, St. Charles North sophomore Stephanie Strasser and Lake Park junior Lindsay Flanagan -- as well as Waubonsie Valley maven Shakeia Pinnick
"We're big fans of the other Upstate Eight kids when it comes to this time of the season," St. Charles East coach Jim Little said. "(The degree of talent in the conference) is amazing."
Whether combating inevitable physiological symptoms or sharing a sense of conference solidarity, the state track and field finals provide an equally stark contrast between the two days of competition.
"It's extremely difficult to make finals at the state meet," said Hillman.
St. Charles East has a bumper crop of individual qualifiers: five girls in seven events.
"Basically it's going to take their best effort (to reach finals), and we'll see what happens," said Little.
Then again, with the exception of Kaneland, the Class AA area teams competed at either St. Charles North or Waubonsie Valley to advance in the first place.
At Waubonsie Valley, where Batavia was second, there were nearly three figures worth of state qualifiers.
St. Charles North, meanwhile, had defending state champion Barrington as its marquee attraction.
"I knew the competition was going to be insane," said Warner, who earned the sixth seed in the 300 hurdles behind defending two-time runner-up Pinnick and Tarter, third last year. "I knew having Natalie at my feet would make it easier."
"(The Waubonsie Valley sectional) is really a very good preview of the state meet," Hillman said. "The level of competition is right up there with the state meet."
The Batavia-Waubonsie Valley nexus -- inextricably linked to the extraordinary careers of Tarter and Pinnick -- is revived once again this weekend.
The Bulldogs' star handed Pinnick her first outdoor loss of the season in the 100 hurdles at the sectional, only to see the tables reversed at 300 meters.
The neutral are even caught in awe by the juniors' athleticism, versatility and surgical-like technical effortlessness.
"They're both so poised and talented and gifted kids," said Little. "Their times are pretty remarkable throughout the state, if not the nation."
"I don't think one is necessarily better than the other," said Hillman. "They are very close in terms of ability."
Gierke cannot be ignored in either hurdles race, and the Knights' workhorse is also a top seed in the 200 with eyes on the 100 dash, too.
"I know all the people that I'm going to be running against," Gierke said. "I am hoping to run under 25 (seconds in the 200) at state, especially with better people pushing me. I think (adrenaline) will take away from how tired I'll be."
West Aurora emerging sophomore Shanice Andrews is yet another strong candidate for the 100 hurdles; in fact, the Waubonsie Valley sectional was a star-studded affair.
"The five girls in front of (Batavia junior Melissa) Norville are potential state finalists," Hillman said of the quintet that included Tarter, Pinnick and Andrews.
The 800-meter run has been dominated by four individuals over the course of the past decade; Christian Wurth (Bloomington) and Sammie Pollock (Wheaton North) won three consecutive titles, while Sequoia McKinney (Thornwood) and Casey Short (Naperville Central) were back-to-back champions the last four years.
But Short elected to return to soccer this spring, and Sampson has grand designs in the event.
The Batavia sophomore has a top seed. Ashley Verplank, the Bloomington senior who was runner-up to Short the last two years, is the consensus favorite.
The possibilities are endless, however.
"It's going to be really close with all the girls," said Sampson. "I can't judge how I'm going to perform off (my sectional time). I haven't ever raced Verplank. I hope I get the chance."
Verplank was unstoppable in claiming the 1,600 meters last spring, but the area has several hopefuls in Hynes, who was second and third, respectively, as a freshman and sophomore, Strasser, and Geneva freshman Kelly Whitley.
"It's the most number of events (seven) we've gotten down during my head coaching career," Little said.
In addition to Hynes, the Saints' Maya Rittmanic earned berths in the high and long jump, and Jessica Sandlund and Ali Devor met respective qualifying standards in the triple jump and discus.
Dayna White is in the mix at 800 meters.
"I think they all have a shot (to reach finals) in their events," Little said.
Geneva has been buoyed by a cast of underclass stalwarts in what has become a breakout season.
Allie Pace, Lexie Tomchek and Alissa Dappas have shined in the field, augmenting the Whitley-led freshman distance cadre which stormed to the cross country state championship last fall.
"This is a first for us," Raak said of the Vikings' unprecedented sectional performance. "The 4-by-8 (3,200 relay) has a pretty good chance to make it to Saturday."
West Aurora has mined the fertile training grounds of the twin Aurora summer track programs -- the Flyers and Sundowners -- to profitable dividends this spring.
The Blackhawks' three sprint relays all qualified behind Andrews and state veterans Markesha Davis and Danisha Dudley, and high jumpers Char Smith and Jasmine Ranson typified the maturation of the squad.
"They have all improved their times throughout the year," West Aurora coach Teresa Towles said.
St. Charles North has two individuals in three events: Strasser seeks to better her third-place finish in the 3,200 while also competing in the 1,600, and Jenna Loynachan is in the open 400.
After being shut out of state qualifiers last year, Rosary returns behind Monica English in both the shot put and discus; Amy Kus and Nora Bowe advanced in the high jump.
"We're back in the saddle again," Rosary coach Vic Mead said. "(The Waubonsie sectional) went pretty much like the way we thought it would."
Aurora Christian has been a state power in Class A in recent years; the Eagles were second two years ago and made an encore top-10 finish last spring. But heavy graduation losses put the onus on seniors Anna Morgan and Ann Schuette, who responded with three combined qualifying efforts.
"We are hoping (Morgan) can gut it out again this year," Aurora Christian coach Dr. Jeff Schuett said of his 800 and 1,600 runner.
Two-miler Schuette has been derailed by injuries her entire varsity career.
"We are hoping she will be at 90 percent for the weekend," Schutt added.