Cary-Grove nabs 2nd straight McHenry title
The Cary-Grove girls track and field team had reason for optimism heading into Friday's McHenry County Meet at Crystal Lake Central.
The Trojans came to the meet with confidence after recent wins at Buffalo Grove and Naperville North, and they added another trophy to the case by winning their second straight McHenry County title with a total of 139 points. Huntley was second (83), followed by Prairie Ridge (74) and Crystal Lake South (57). Jacobs finished ninth (17).
"We just focused on ourselves," Cary-Grove coach Mark Anderson said. "We knew if we did that, we'd be OK. And that's what they did."
Cary-Grove translated the momentum from the 38 points gained in Thursday's field events to the track. The Trojans won four races: Senior Kelly McCoy edged Huntley's Amy Fanella to win the 100-meter hurdles in 15.51; Sarah Ryan took the title in the 100-meter dash (12.97); Anne McGarrigle won the 200 (26.75); and the all-sophomore 800-meter relay team of McGarrigle, Kathie Wollney, Jenni Maki and Ryan finished first in 147.66.
McCoy said winning the county hurdles title for the second straight year is a sign she's back where she wants to be after missing seven weeks of the indoor season with an illness.
"I was very nervous I wouldn't be able to get back," McCoy said after edging Fanella by .06. "I feel like I'm finally getting back into it. The whole race was so hard. It's hard when you can see them peripherally. It was a really close race, exciting."
Fanella rebounded to run away with the 300-low hurdles (45.67) "The past couple of races I felt like my steps were off. This was the only time
this year I've felt on my hurdles. It was a really good feeling.
Fanella also anchored the winning 1,600-meter relay team's victory in 4:06.96. Sophomores Abbey Shaw and Marilyn McDougal kept the race close, and freshman Anthonia Moore passed a Cary-Grove runner to give Fanella the baton with a 15-meter lead. Moore also finished second in the open 400 (1:00.48) to Marengo's Shawney Damisch (59.94).
Crystal Lake South opened the night with a win in the 3,200-meter relay. Juniors Heather Newberry, Rebekah Wiedenfeld, Emily Lenzini and senior Maria Pauls ran to the county title in 9:59.53.
CL South's Marianne Collard set a new county record in the 800 by over a second with her time of 2:19.24. "I didn't even know I broke the record until an hour later when they called my name," said Collard, a junior. "I felt really good between 400 and 600 (meters) because that's usually where I fade a little. But I kept my time nice and even."
Collard also broke the meet record in the mile with a time of 5:06.77, but so did Kayla (5:04.64) and Elise Beattie (5:05.14) of Woodstock, who finished first and second, respectively. The Beattie sisters also swept the 3,200.