West Aurora defends indoor DVC crown
Shanice Andrews and Jasmine Ranson were as formidable a one-two combination as the DuPage Valley Conference has seen in girls track and field in recent years.
The West Aurora standouts were integral figures in the Blackhawks' defense of their league championship.
Andrews was a triple winner Friday night at Wheaton North, setting a new conference record in the 55-meter hurdles with a blazing 8.1-second time.
The senior, who was all-state in two events last spring, also swept the long and triple jump.
Lindsay Rakosnik ended Andrews' bid for a fourth title as the Glenbard East all-state returnee won her specialty event - the 400 meters - with a noticeably fatigued Andrews making a late rush to grab second place.
Ranson, runner-up to Andrews in the long jump and Wheaton North junior Shenelle Burnett in the high jump, had her defining moment in the 800-meter relay.
The junior, who ended her evening with a third-place finish in the open 200 meters, overcame a 5-meter deficit on the exchange to anchor the Blackhawks' sprint relay to another title.
With junior Kehlay Dunah also enjoying a breakout night by edging three competitors by one-tenth of a second in the 55 dash, West Aurora was the class of the field for the third straight time - two indoor titles and one outdoor crown - with 101 points.
Wheaton Warrenville South was a distant second at 69.5 points, followed by Glenbard East, Naperville North, Wheaton North, Glenbard North, Naperville Central and West Chicago.
West Aurora had never won a conference track and field championship in its history until last year.
"(Andrews) has been a little bit - I wouldn't say immature - but too laid back," said West Aurora coach Teresa Towles. "Having the Sundowners (an Aurora-based track and field summer travel program) has helped the program a lot. We are very deep."
Andrews exploded over the final hurdle in her first track event to break the old mark of 8.2 set by former Naperville North standout Missy Savino.
In order for the Blackhawks' potency on the track to be neutralized by another team, the rest of the league needed to overcome their field-event supremacy.
It never materialized, however, as Andrews' individual brilliance began with back-to-back triumphs in the triple and long jump with winning respective distances of 36 feet. 11.25 inches and 17-6.
With Ranson, who lost to Burnett on more misses at lower heights after each athlete soared 5-3 in the high jump, backing up her senior teammate with another runner-up performance in the triple the Blackhawks' 18 quick points were symbolic of their dominance.
"(Field events are) definitely our strength," Towles said.
Ranson then ran a scintillating final leg in the 800 relay to solidify earlier efforts by Kristin Holmes, Dunah and Cynthia Smith.
"I was trying to see when I was going to pass (the Glenbard East anchor)," Ranson said.
The junior did so with 90 meters remaining and broke the tape in 1:49.4.
"I'm happy with the triple jump. Shanice probably wasn't happy with her (distance), but for most people it would have been their best."
Dunah, who anchored the Blackhawks' rapidly improving 1,600 relay to a third-place result, denied Glenbard North senior Canethia Walls, who would later capture the 200 meters, with her 55-dash winning time of 7.3 seconds.
"I thought I was second or third," Dunah said. "I leaned ahead of the other girls."
Dunah also bettered Glenbard East junior Nia Joiner and WW South junior Caitlin Schwark in the photo finish.
The West Aurora team performance collectively overshadowed a number of equally compelling individual performances by their pursuers.
Rakosnik willed Glenbard East to its third-place team finish; the sophomore served notice her underclass status is meaningless on a grand stage.
The sophomore was the lone athlete to eclipse the 60-second barrier at 400 meters; she then concluded her night by anchoring the Rams' 1,600 relay with assistance from Hayley Cardinal, Bridget Peters and Allison Frazier.
Rakosnik was runner-up behind returning state-finalist Walls at 200 meters and ran a sizzling split in the Rams' second-place 800 relay.
"The (open) quarter was probably my best (race), but I want to try and improve in the 200," Rakosnik said. "I was expecting (my race load) was going to be really hard. I love the four by four."
"(Rakosnik) is super-talented and probably the most unselfish kid on the team," Glenbard East coach Joe Latala said. "She's fantastic."
Annette Eichenberger was the star of the show for West Chicago.
The two-time all-state Air Force Academy-bound senior turned back WW South freshman whiz Hope Schmelzle, who anchored the Tigers' victorious meet-opening 3,200 relay, to win the open 800 in 2:21.7.
Eichenberger powered the Wildcats' third-place 3,200 relay with a personal-best 2:19 split on her anchor leg; the senior also displayed her versatility and endurance by finishing third in the high jump and second in the 1,600.
"It is a complete mental adjustment," Eichenberger said of the transition from 800 to 1,600 meters. "I really just latched on mentally. I have been doing a lot more sprint training. I felt like I had a lot of support from my teammates."
Naperville Central had a pair of outstanding performances from sophomore distance runner Amanda Fox and senior Caley Faulkner in the pole vault.
Fox obliterated the field - and the 10-year-standing conference record in the 3,200 - with a sterling time of 11:05.4 and came back later to place third at 1,600 meters.
"I went out with the time I wanted to in the first mile (of the 3,200)," Fox said. "I do a lot of mental pushing (when no else is close)."
Faulkner barely missed clearing 11-6 in the pole vault but settled for six inches lower to win going away.
"I'm just coming back off a broken leg from last January," Faulkner said. "This meet I was really close to 11-6."
Eichenberger and Fox epitomized the spirit of the sport with their dramatic kicks in the open 1,600 meters, but neither champion was able to hold off a determined Jamie Schertz.
The Naperville North senior denied Eichenberger by four seconds for the title.
"I wasn't planning anything until I was in the middle of the race," Schertz said. "I knew that the other girls had already run other events."
Kathryn Regalado made serious inroads into elite status in the shot put; the WW South senior eclipsed 40 feet to win by nearly five feet.