Fillies filling stadium with wins

A lot has happened since Barrington hosted its last girls track meet in April of 2006.

The Fillies won the 2007 state title and took second in 2008, and they've also brought home 18 state medals in the last three years.

Barrington finally made it back home on Tuesday. The Fillies won seven events in taking first at the Mid-Suburban West triangular meet with 79 points on the sparkling new track at Barrington Community Stadium.

Conant, which tied Batavia for third in state last year, took second with 70 points, followed by an up-and-coming Schaumburg squad (36 points).

"It's a great facility," said Barrington coach Jody Gitelis of the Fillies' new home. "We're coming along as a team inch by inch; step by step."

Senior Rebecca Tracy started things off by taking first in the 3,200-meter run with a state-qualifying time of 11:26.4.

Senior Jenny Schnack then added a first in the 100 (12.75) and junior Jorie Frey (59.11) held off a hard charging Britten Petrey (59.38) of Schaumburg to take first in the 400, both hitting state qualifying times.

Schnack, Tracy and Frey then combined with Sarah Bach to take first in the 1,600 relay (4:12) in cementing the victory at the long awaited homecoming.

"It's great having this new facility," said Schnack, who finished third in the 400 (60.78). "It's definitely a different team dynamic this year, but I'm really excited because we are putting up some fast times early."

"We're trying to fill the spots," added Frey, "We're just working really hard to see what we can get."

Barrington also did the job in the field events with junior Anna Etherington, who finished fifth in the pole vault last year, lifting the Fillies to first place clearing by 10 feet, 6 inches. Bach also added a first in the long jump (16-0) and Robin Bingham took first in the discus (116-9).

Sophomore Sarah Gorden propelled Conant by taking first in the 300 low hurdles (49.24) and 200 dash (26.56). Gorden also combined with freshman Angela Herrmann, sophomore Allison Gallo and sophomore Taylor Graham in leading the Cougars to first in the 400 relay (51.46).

"Everybody has to compete for their spots all over again," said Gorden of all the new faces dotting the Cougars' lineup. "But it's really exciting to see what we'll do this year."

Junior Josie Hutch took first for Conant in the 100 high hurdles (16.17) and triple jump (33-6.5). Senior Jenna Verity added a first in the shot put (34-101/2) and senior Brooke Fairbanks eased to a first-place finish in the 1,600 (5:35.07).

Schaumburg continued its resurgence by knocking off a pair of state champions.

Angela Seick, Karen Lesiewicz, Britten Petrey and Nora Ferguson combined to take first in the 3,200 relay (9:50.69), knocking off defending state champion Barrington.

Laura Lindgren, Emily Kondras, Emily Langlotz and Jordan Wagner combined to take first in the 800 relay (1:51.78), defeating defending state champion Conant.

Lesiewicz added a victory in the 800 (2:25) and Ashley Kemp took first in the high jump (5-1).

"We knew some of the girls were gone from Barrington and Conant," said Petrey, who set a school record with her second-place finish in the 400. "But we still knew they both had good teams, so we had to work as a team. So far we've done an excellent job of coming together and working hard."

• Olivia Semmeria won the 100 and 200 dashes, and Lori Felix won both hurdles races as Wheeling scored 85 points in a decisive win over Rolling Meadows (52) and Buffalo Grove (34).

• Freshman Laura Schweikert won the 100 dash (12.7) and the 400 dash (1:02.5) to help Palatine (74) best Hoffman Estates (64) and Fremd (47). Hannah Worman was a double winner for Hoffman Estates, in the 800 (2:26.4) and 1,600 (5:22.5) runs.

Boys track

• Buffalo Grove won three relays and had eight different individual event winners to score 98 points and edge Rolling Meadows (73) and Wheeling (32).

• Barrington won every relay but the 3,200 to score 74 points and defeat host Conant (56) and Schaumburg (55). Kyle Reid was a double winner for Conant (110 hurdles, 200 dash), and Pat Lesiewicz won the 800 and 1,600 for Schaumburg.