Cary-Grove basks in its 1st sectional title

The Cary-Grove girls track and field team could have waved brooms during its victory lap. After all, Saturday's team title at the Class 3A Huntley sectional made it a clean sweep.

On the heels of team titles at the McHenry County and Fox Valley Conference meets, the Trojans qualified individuals in five events and two relay teams for next week's state meet at Eastern Illinois University. Their 80 team points netted the first girls track sectional title in Cary-Grove history.

Crystal Lake South finished second with 65.5 points and Huntley took third (60.5).

"This is so awesome," triple-qualifier Carly Loeffel said of winning the sectional team title. "I knew in the beginning of the year that we had a lot of talent, but I never thought it would amount to this."

The day started well for the Trojans when the 400-meter relay team of freshmen Sarah Ryan, Katherine Wollney, Anne McGarrigle and Loeffel, a sophomore, won the event in 51.58. They entered the sectional seeded fifth.

"The 4x100 was huge just for momentum for the girls," Cary-Grove coach Mark Anderson said. "That kind of momentum is something that just happens. You can't manufacture it."

Loeffel, who finished behind Huntley's Denita Brown in the 400 at the county and conference meets, relied on her fresher legs to upend Brown in the 400. Loeffel won the race in 1:01.10. Brown, who had earlier run a tough 800-meter leg of the 3,200-meter relay in Saturday's windy conditions, finished second in 1:02.66 to qualify.

Cary-Grove junior Kelly McCoy won the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 3 inches and finished fourth in the 100 high hurdles (15.38), a race in which five competitors beat the F.A.T. state qualifying standard of 15.44.

Junior Asia Bowman finished second in the long jump (16-4), junior Lindsay Young was second in the 800 (2:21.54) and the 1,600-meter relay team of Loeffel, Wollney, Young and senior Molly MacInnes won the race in 4:08.75.

Crystal Lake South's Alexis Wells took the sectional title in the 100-meter dash (12.64) and placed second in the 200 (26.39).

"I still can't believe it," said Wells, a senior. "I didn't even do the 100 last year, and I was ranked like 10th at county and I got first. I've been working for this all year and the past three years, too. I just can't believe it. It's amazing."

CL South sophomore Marianne Collard won the open 1,600 in 5:15.35, and the Gators' 3,200-meter relay team of junior Kristina Aubert, sophomore Stephanie Newberry, Stephanie Woods and Collard took first place with a time of 9:48.60.

Huntley's Amy Fanella qualified in four events. Individually, she won the triple jump (36-10) with her third attempt in the preliminaries. The junior also finished second in the 100 high hurdles (15.29) and the 300 low hurdles (45.92). She joined teammates Brown, sophomore Marilyn McDougal and freshman Abbey Shaw for a second-place finish in the 1,600-meter relay.

"I'm really happy about our 4x4," Fanella said. "It just gives us a chance for more people to go downstate, and state is such a great experience going against the best competition."

The Red Raiders' 3,200-meter relay team of Haley Loprieno, Sarah Scarbro, Bri Roeser and Brown finished second in 9:49.60, and senior Cortney Wilkerson punched her state ticket with a discus throw of 116-01, good enough for second place behind Prairie Ridge's Taylor Humm (118-07).

One of the day's biggest surprises came from Dundee-Crown senior Christina Holec. Running in the third of four heats, she tied Brown for second place in the 400. "I was so shocked," Holec said.

Dundee-Crown junior Katie Cutinello's first triple jump in preliminaries (34-10 ˆ½) stood up for second place and a state berth.

"It carried me," Cutinello said. "I was so afraid because my last jump was like 33 feet and I said 'Oh, no.' I was so scared because I was in second place, but the other girl hadn't jumped any of her jumps yet. So I was freaking out and, of course, got all emotional. But it's a great feeling. I'm so excited because it's always been my goal to get downstate."

Jacobs junior Ali Durkin also qualified for state, finishing third in the high hurdles in a time of 15.37.