Schulz, Benet come from behind at WW South sectional
McKinzie Schulz sensed trouble when she took the baton on the anchor leg of the 1,600-meter relay, trailing Glenbard West junior Bridget Flanagan by several meters.
"I thought, 'Oh, (crud), she's pretty fast,'" the Benet superstar said of the Hilltoppers' speedster who had already anchored two relays to qualifying times.
But Schulz, who earlier eased to victories at 800 and 1,600 meters for the Redwings at the Class 3A Wheaton Warrenville South girls track and field sectional Thursday night, was faster. The Notre Dame-bound runner erased a double-digit deficit over the last 200 meters, catching and passing Flanagan in the final meters to secure the Redwings' second team title in the last three years with 87 points. York placed second with 85 points.
Glenbard West matched the nine state qualifiers of Benet and York to place third at 76; Glenbard North qualified in five events to finish fourth, followed by WW South (six qualifiers), Lake Park (four), Glenbard East (four) and Willowbrook (five).
Wheaton North qualified in two events.
"I refused to let my body take hold of me," said Schulz, who defeated teammate Katie Porada to win the open 800 meters in 2 minutes, 12.82 seconds. "I won the race for my (ailing maternal) grandmother."
Schulz was even more dominant in the 1,600, where the reining state runner-up broke free from her four fellow state qualifiers with two laps to go to win by 40 meters in 5:08.21.
"It was kind of like practice," Schulz said.
Porada also made the cut in the 1,600 run; sisters Anne and Liz Yahiro are state bound in the long and triple jump, respectively. Anna Tassiatore qualified in the pole vault for Benet, which received its last victory from senior Jenny Bohac in the 300 hurdles.
Schulz is eligible to run for the Redwings' 3,200 relay at state, which Porada anchored to an at-large berth.
"I get angry with people who think track is an individual sport," Benet coach Scott Brooks said. "I really wish (the state tournament) was like wrestling (with separate individual and team formats). There's no doubt in my mind that the reason we won the sectional team title is how close (the girls) are to each other. (The seniors) have been inseparable for four years."
Cherise Porter, Lindsay Rakosnik and Kathryn Pickett were all three-event qualifiers, respectively, for Willowbrook, Glenbard East and Glenbard West. Porter anchored the Warriors' 400- and 800-meter relays; the sophomore remained unbeaten on the year in the 200 dash.
"Right now I'm happy, excited and a little teary," Porter said after claiming the 200 in 25 seconds flat. "I feel good."
Rakosnik also anchored two relays and edged Glenbard North star Canethia Walls, who also qualified in the 200, by one-hundredth of a second in the 400.
Pickett won the 300 hurdles after losing the 100-meter title to Glenbard North senior Christina Rini by two-hundredths. The junior advanced in the long jump on her final attempt. Glenbard West senior Sarah Udelhofen emerged from a brilliant high-jump field to win on fewer misses.
Udelhofen, Lake Park fellow all-state returnee Amanda Rafidia and Glenbard North junior Rachel Cagnina all cleared 5 feet, 5 inches.
Willowbrook freshman Colleen Krawczykowski surprised the field to win the long jump, and WW South sophomore Emily Schwartz cleared 11 feet for the Tigers' lone win. Lake Park senior Sarah Drozdowski was the other double winner with a sweep in the two throws.
"I was really confident coming into the meet," Drozdowski said. "I'm glad I was able to get the qualifying mark and not just first place."
York had twin qualifiers at 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meters; the Dukes' Meghan Frigo cracked the 11-minute barrier to win the 3,200.