Cary-Grove FVC champ again
Cary-Grove girls track coach Mark Anderson had every reason to smile.
For the second consecutive season and fifth time in 10 years, Anderson's Trojans are champions of the Fox Valley Conference.
Winning three individual events and claiming top honors in the 800-meter relay, Cary-Grove compiled 142 points to grab first place honors Thursday night at Crystal Lake Central.
Huntley, led by three individual firsts from Amy Fanella, finished second with 92 points.
"The kids came to come compete tonight," said Anderson. "I thought we might be in trouble early on because McHenry was dominating the field events, but the girls really stepped up."
In the 100, Sarah Ryan grabbed first place honors for Cary-Grove in a winning time of 12.75. Teammate Carly Loeffel was a close second with a clocking of 12.81.
"Carly and I really push each other in practice," said Ryan. "We make each other better."
Loeffel took first place in the 400 in a winning time of 59.60 and Anne McGarrigle won the 200 in 26.51. Ryan was second behind McGarrigle in a time of 26.75
The Trojans' 800 relay team, which placed first in a time of 1:47.6, consisted of McGarrigle, Ryan, Kathie Wollney and Jeni Maki.
The individual star of the meet was Huntley's Fanella. She won the 300 hurdles (45.66), 100 hurdles (15.49) and triple jump (36 feet, 61/2 inches). Fanella was also on the winning 1,600 relay team that won in a time of 4:06.63. Fanella narrowly won in 100 hurdles, edging McHenry's Alex Friske, who was right behind Fanella with a time of 15.50.
"I didn't know I had won," said Fanella. "It was that close. I enjoy the relays because of the team aspect. We can bond as a team."
Crystal Lake South, led by a first-place finish by Marianne Collard, in the 800 was fifth with a score of 56. Collard won the 800 in a time of 2:18.17. Cary-Grove's Lindsay Young was a distant second with a time of 2:24.07.
"It is tough to run by yourself, But I had to motivate myself to run well," said Collard. "I feel good going into the sectionals next week."
Jacobs placed eighth with 16 points. Olivia Mayer (long jump) and Bethany Muscat (high jump) were the Golden Eagles' top performers with fourth-place efforts. Jacobs' 800 relay team of Lauren Wallace, Brittney Hall, Haley Hoffman and Nikki Millard were also fourth.
Dundee-Crown was ninth with 15 points. The Chargers were first in the 3,200 relay in a time of 9:56.70. The winning team consisted of Lauren Mosher, Jade Franz, Claira Himmel and Katie Gross.