Carmel's Howell is hurdling so very well

For as many hurdles as she has cleared on a track oval in her stellar high school career, Carmel Catholic senior Shannon Howell also knows the feeling of getting a foot caught on a rung, tripping and crashing.

Limp off with just a scabbed knee and consider yourself lucky.

And so it was with great angst during the Wauconda Invitational on a drizzly Friday night that Howell watched a competitor, during a slow heat of the 300-meter hurdles, trip on the final hurdle, land hard on her back and lay in agony on the track.

"You get real tired at the last hurdle," Howell said.

Paramedics were summoned and the girl was eventually carried off on a stretcher, with the good news being her arms were moving while her hands covered her face.

"It was a little nerve-racking with the ambulance," Howell said.

When the meet resumed, Howell found her focus and won the fast heat of the 300 hurdles with a meet-record time of 45.7. Mundelein's Maggie Olczyk held the old mark (48.0 in 2001).

Howell also set a meet record in the 100 hurdles (15.7), and her efforts helped Carmel (106 points) to a second-place finish behind Deerfield (129.5). Vernon Hills and Hampshire tied for third in the eight-team field with 90 points apiece.

Howell hadn't clocked a 300 hurdles time in the 45s since last year's state meet, when she placed ninth in Class 3A.

"So this is definitely way far ahead of last year (at this time)," a smiling Howell said.

"We've just been doing a lot of technique, and I've been running more distance, like the 800," she added. "It's been a lot of endurance work, and the 300 is definitely an endurance race. You take the last corner and then it's just all whovever has the most gas left."

Carmel ended the night by winning the 1,600 relay in 4:07.4, breaking the meet record the Corsairs set two years ago. Steph Gutkowski, Stephanie Richartz, Marybeth Berg and Hilary Halford made up the victorious foursome.

Halford, who earlier ran a winning 2:20.3 to edge Hampshire's Cassie Kruse (2:20.4), had a huge lead when she received the baton from Berg. But the anchor never let up as she ran her lap.

"I knew we had a lead," Halford said. "I heard my mom (assistant coach Lisa Halford) saying, 'They're coming up behind you.' That just made me go faster. I guess she was trying to trick me."

Carmel also captured the 400 dash with Berg (1:00.7) and the pole vault with Richartz. Richartz cleared 10 feet to break the meet mark she set two years ago.

While Grant finished fifth, the Bulldogs boasted a pair of champions in Erin Horvath (100 dash, 12.6) and Breha Davis (200 dash, 26.9). Davis was second to Horvath in the 100.

Hampshire star Holly Plichta cruised in winning both the 1,600 (5:21.8) and 3,200 (11:19.3), while her teammates Tiffany Phu, Ashley Fouch, Kruse and Paige Membrano set a meet mark in winning the 3,200 relay (9:57.5). The Whip-Purs' Liz Sicheri triple-jumped a winning 33 feet to bust the meet record.

Meet-champ Deerfield finished first in both the 400 and 800 relays. The Warriors' Katy McIntyre won the shot put (35-1) and discus (101-10.5).

Vernon Hills had a champion in high jumper Shannon Nugent (5-0). The Cougars also smashed their school record in the 1,600 (4:14.5, third) with senior Carley Umphress and freshmen Ali Peacock, Alli Tron and Tara Rooney

Vernon Hills coach Jason Rush hardly saw the record coming, as Peacock was running the relay for the first time.

"She ran like a crazy split," Rush said. "We were just trying to figure things out. We've been moving that relay around a bit, so (the school record) is really exciting."