Carmel gets off to fast start
Jim Halford didn't unveil prized freshman runner Megan Paul in Carmel Catholic's season-opening outdoor girls track meet Wednesday.
And with Paul having had nagging injuries, not including an ankle that she sprained recently, the Corsairs coach certainly won't rush her.
The risk is too great, as Paul is that good.
"She's got the potential to be the best ever (at Carmel)," Halford said after his host Corsairs totaled 107.5 points in defeating Marist (97), Fenwick (62.5) and St. Joseph (5) in Mundelein.
Paul is a nationally ranked 400-meter runner who ran under 55 seconds in the event as an eighth-grader. At the IHSA state meet last May, Rock Island junior Genesis Johnson won the Class AA 400 title by clocking 54.83.
"Megan Paul can do so much," Halford said. "She's elite in the 100 and the 200, as well."
The Corsairs won't be all Paul, though.
Halford returns all four runners on his state-qualifying 1,600 relay. The four are juniors Hilary Halford (the coach's daughter), Shannon Howell and Stephanie Richartz, and sophomore Marybeth Berg.
Paul is an obvious candidate to run the 1,600 relay, too.
"We're looking to maybe get into the finals at state, so that would be at least placing," Howell said. "But we've also moved up a class (from 2A to 3A, due to IHSA class expansion)."
Howell led the way for Carmel on Wednesday, anchoring the winning 3,200 relay (10:09.5), then capturing the 110 high hurdles (16.5), 300 intermediate hurdles (49.0) and lastly the 200 dash (28.0).
"The times were a little off," Howell said. "The 4 by 800 took a lot out of me, but it was a good day overall, though - a good workout."
Hilary Halford, Berg and Bonnie Micelli joined Howell on the winning 3,200 relay, which won by more than 20 seconds.
"Our 4 by 8 ran great," Jim Halford said. "That was a real good early-season time for them."
Carmel's other winners included Berg in the 400 (1:01.9), Megan Dennis in the 100 (13.5) and Megan Fowler in the long jump (14-7) and triple jump (30-1).
The Corsairs run at Buffalo Grove on Saturday.
"We're probably going to stack our 4 by 4 this weekend, because they can be elite," Jim Halford said of the 1,600 relay. "I really believe that."
As for whether Paul will make her high school outdoor track debut, Halford said he'll play it by ear. When Paul does race, Carmel fans should be excited.
"We run a minimal indoor season and she runs 60-flat indoors," Jim Halford said. "So she'll be a sub-55 quarter-miler this year, if we can keep her healthy."
Added Howell with a smile: "She could do a lot for us."