Panthers second at league meet
Markesha Davis' four-year career at West Aurora has witnessed a leap from the outhouse to the penthouse.
"My freshman year we came in last in the DVC," Davis said.
Davis established a new DuPage Vall Conference record in the long jump and her victory in the 200 meters iced the Blackhawks' team championship at the DVC indoor girls track and field meet Friday night at Glenbard East in Lombard.
"I don't know if we've ever won one," West Aurora coach Teresa Towles said. "The girls did an awesome job. The field events really got us going."
With 94.33 points West Aurora turned back Glenbard North, which featured two winning relays, followed by four-time defending outdoor champion Naperville North, Wheaton Warrenville South, Wheaton North, Naperville Central, Glenbard East and West Chicago.
Davis and junior Shanice Andrews, also a double winner for West Aurora, established the Blackhawks' early dominance by sweeping the long jump.
Davis' leap of 17 feet, 7 1/2 inches bettered the 19-year record of Carrie Pollack (Wheaton North) by 2 1/2 inches, but Andrews, a returning all-stater in the event, followed suit in the triple jump.
Andrews crushed her nearest competitor by more than two feet with her 36-1 3/4 effort in her newfound event.
"In the long jump I have my on and off-days," said Andrews, fifth in Class AA last spring. "This is my first time doing the triple. I can always do better."
West Aurora also features Char Smith, one of two state-qualifying high jumpers who return this season. The senior added another crown to its star-studded field ensemble with a 5-3 winning leap, an inch better than Glenbard North's Rachel Cagnina.
"Not my best day, but 5-3 is pretty good for this young in the season," Smith said. "I'm hoping to go (downstate) again and make finals this year."
Andrews, who was third in the 400 meters, gave West Aurora the first of its two running titles by smoking the field in the 55 hurdles. When Davis outlasted Naperville North senior Kamara Huggins, the defending champion at 200 meters, the Blackhawks' title was secured.
"Last year I was nowhere near (Huggins)," Davis said.
Canethia Walls had a breakout performance to flavor the Glenbard North runner-up position. The junior transfer from Willowbrook, running track for the first time, won the hotly contested 55-meter dash and ran the opening legs on the Panthers' victorious 800- and 1,600-meter relays.
"We haven't had a strong 4-by-4 in a long time," Glenbard North coach Gary Heilers said.
Freshman phenoms traditionally dot the girls track and field landscape each spring, and Lindsey Rakosnik and Amanda Fox offered vivid testimony for varsity excellence. The former gave the host Rams a sweep in the 200 when she edged teammate Krystle Eskridge, and Fox dominated the 3,200 run for Naperville Central.
West Chicago junior Annette Eichenberger, sixth last year at 800 meters, nipped Naperville North senior Michelle Stratton at the wire in her specialty event.
"My legs are definitely out of shape," said Eichenberger, who was making her season debut due to an injured foot. "I really thought I was going to lose it at the end."
Kathryn Regaldo earned WW South its first major hardware by winning the shot put, and Colleen Gibbons' anchor leg propelled the Tigers' 3,200 relay to victory. Naperville Central state returnee Caley Faulkner is a leading contender in the pole vault after an 11-0 winning effort.