Barrington takes 2nd, Batavia and Conant tie for 3rd at state finals

CHARLESTON -- Barrington and Conant made the most of their points at Saturday's Class AA girls track state meet.

Last year Barrington qualified six individuals and four relays to the finals in winning the state title. This year the Fillies qualified only four individuals and two relays.

Conant had to make due with only two individuals and two relays.

Still, both teams made their point on a sunny Saturday at Eastern Illinois O'Brien Stadium in Charleston.

East St. Louis won the state title with 65 points, but Barrington took second with 38 points and Conant tied Batavia for third with 34 points.

Barrington gave Conant, their Mid-Suburban League neighbors, an assist in the final event. Barrington held off Batavia in taking third place in the 1,600 relay, which secured the second-place trophy for the Fillies and lifted the Cougars into a tie for the third-place trophy.

"I'm beaming," said Barrington coach Jody Gitelis. "This is team that has had a fight on its hands every single meet, yet we would go in and it would happen for us. It happened for us again."

Last year Conant missed a trophy by 1 point. This year the Cougars didn't go home empty-handed.

"We were hoping there was a shot," said Conant coach Bob Borczak, whose team won the first team trophy in track for the school. "Barrington helped us out, but what are neighbors for?"

The Fillies started out with a bang as Rebecca Tracy, Kala Bingham, Samantha Learch, and Molly Glantz combined to lead the Fillies to a state title and state record in the 3,200 relay (9:04.14).

Learch and Glantz had one final encore as the seniors combined with Jayne Jaderholm and Jorie Frey in securing third place in the 1,600 relay (3:52.34), the defining race of the day.

"I knew it was going to be a fight," said Learch, who anchored the final leg of the 1,600 relay and also added a seventh-place medal in the 400 (57.05). "I thought the trophy was going to be little bit out of reach for us. The fact that we did it is just incredible."

"Going into today we knew we had to hit on each event," said Glantz, who did so in the 300 hurdles (44.06) with a fourth-place medal. "We knew we had our work cut out for us, but we definitely stepped up and performed under pressure."

Tracy tied Lockport's Liz Phillips at the wire for second place in the 1,600 (4:57.23). The junior used a devastating finishing kick to reel in Phillips and fourth-place finisher Heather Olson of Warren at the stripe.

Sophomore Anna Etherington capped a breakout season by taking fifth in the pole vault (10-9) for the Fillies.

Toni Graham and Conant's sprint relays were looking to break out all season -- and they did on Saturday.

Graham took second in the 100 (12.06) and 200 (24.32) to East St. Louis's Ronecia Nash. The two finished in the same spot in 2007.

But Graham got her gold in the 800 relay, combining with fellow seniors Brianna Millar, Emily Quinones and Destiny Arps in winning the state title with a time of 1:38.96.

"We said we wanted to go out with a bang," said Graham, who exploded over the final 200 meters to secure the title. "We left our mark."

The Cougars seniors also took second in the 400 relay (46.47).

"It was a surprise," added Arps of the Cougars' first team trophy. "We've been working really hard since the beginning and everything worked out."

Palatine once again claimed its annual spot in the top 10 by tying Belleville West for ninth place with 24 points.

Senior Jocelyn Kuksa battled through a right foot injury in securing a second-place medal in the pole vault (11-6) and a ninth-place medal in the 300 low hurdles to lead the Pirates.

"My main goal was just to work through it," said Kuksa, who despite her injury finished with a flurry. "My goal was to finish strong and keep my focus."

Martha Shepard came through in the shot put for the Pirates, securing fifth place (42-02¾) and Lauren Orris added a seventh place medal in the discus (137-11).

"This year coming out and doing what I know I can do feels awesome," said Shepard.

Colleen Standridge, Ruth Allen, Becca Sund and Tory Wright combined to lead the Pirates to a fourth-place medal in the 3,200 relay (9:12.79). It was Standridge's fourth medal in the relay, which included a state title her freshman year.

"We always have our expectations high," said Standridge of the relay. "Coach (Steve) Currins sets the bar and we feed off that."

Freshman Sarah McIntosh added a ninth-place medal in the 3,200 (11:01.53) for Palatine.

Prospect also met its expectations as Claire Hollis, Lucy Taylor, Amy Abdnor, and Emily Stalzman combined to lead the Knights to a second-place medal and school record in the 3,200 relay (9:11.48).

"After yesterday I knew we could do it," said Taylor, who along with Hollis has secured state medals in the 3,200 relay the past three years. "I have complete trust in my teammates."

"I wanted to put us in good position," added Hollis, who led off the relay. "I'm speechless, this is the first weekend this group has run together. I wasn't sure what we could accomplish, but this is amazing."

Hoffman Estates' Victoria Mikszta won her second state medal by taking fourth in the high jump. She cleared a career best 5-foot-5.

"I popped up right and kept my form," said Mikszta of her medal-winning jump. "I'm just glad I made it this far."

Ashley Chervinko took ninth in the shot put (40-10½) and Altrese Hawkins added a seventh-place medal in the long jump (18-01½).

"It's been great," said Chervinko, who secured her first state medal. "Starting freshman year and seeing how much I've grown, setting goals and finally be able to do them … it completes the whole season."