West Aurora wins DVC

Two lightning delays and intermittent showers could not deny the West Aurora dynamic underclass duo of Emma Spagnola and Anita Saffa on Thursday night in Carol Stream.

Spagnola scored 38 out of 40 possible points with three individual championships and runner-up in the high jump, while sophomore Saffra swept the 100- and 200-meter dashes for the Blackhawks while also anchoring both sprint relays to championships at the DuPage Valley Conference girls track and field championship at Glenbard North.

With 125 points behind its eight individual and relay triumphs, West Aurora won its second title in three seasons with a 125-113 victory over defending champion Wheaton Warrenville South.

Glenbard East, behind the extraordinary performance of junior wunderkind Lindsay Rakosnik, was third with 87. Naperville Central, Glenbard North, Glenbard North, Wheaton North and West Chicago rounded out the field.

Spagnola, the Blackhawks’ prized freshman, swept both hurdles races in state-qualifying times while also making the benchmark with her 18-foot, 8¾-inch winning mark in the long jump.

Naperville Central senior Liz Chrissy denied Spagnola a fourth crown with her 5-5 performance to win the high jump over Spagnola by an inch. Spagnola left some veteran league coaches breathless.

“She is a special kid,” said WW South coach Rob Harvey.

“She won (the team title) for them,” said Naperville North coach Chuck Hoff.

Saffa was equally breathtaking for West Aurora; the sophomore was untested in easy wins at 100 and 200 meters, and her anchor legs in the 400 and 800 relays were also without stress.

“I felt like I ran my hardest in all my races,” Saffa said. “We’re running state-qualifying times with bad handoffs (in the relays).”

“We always knew we could do it,” said West Aurora senior leader Jasmine Ranson, the all-state returning triple jumper who captured her specialty event with conviction.

Ranson essentially eliminated WW South when she augmented Saffa with a third-place result in the penultimate 200 dash.

“Wheaton Warrenville South has a phenomenal program,” said West Aurora coach Theresa Towles. “(The girls) have to dig deep. They knew they had to go out there and compete.”

For WW South, an undisclosed school tragedy overshadowed several compelling performances in its bid to repeat.

“I could not be more proud of a track and field team than I am right now,” Harvey said. “West Aurora is a great team.”

Hope Schmelzle ran a 2:17.7 anchor leg to propel the Tigers’ 3,200 quartet to victory, and Mikayla Kightlinger secured a double-digit second win over West Aurora senior Elisha Meyle in the open variety.

“It was nice that it wasn’t raining,” Kightlinger said. “I was really hoping to break 11 (minutes).”

Emily Schwartz turned back West Aurora senior Marin Lehman in the pole vault to edge the Tigers closer to the Blackhawks.

But Schmelzle had her bid for a dream night dashed by Rakosnik. The Glenbard East reigning state runner-up at 400 meters put on a show for the ages. Rakosnik began her night by denying Schmelzle and fellow 3,200 relay champion Amy Yong at 800 meters.

The Rams’ standout junior then came back to face off with classmate Maggie Angst at 1,600 meters. The two were neck-and-neck at the gun lap, only to see Rakosnik rally over the last 150 meters to complete a unique double.

But she was not finished. Rakosnik then came back to run the anchor on the Rams’ 1,600 relay, edging WW South and Schmelzle at the wire.

“(Rakosnik) is just so amazing to run against,” Schmelzle said.

“We’re trying to work on strategies,” Rakosnik said her tactical wins at 800 and 1,600 meters. “Maggie has been the biggest influence on me. The team has been really supportive. If I have to run the four by four to help the team, then I will.”

Amanda Hilliard was the final multiple-event winner on a night of magical performances. The Glenbard North senior thrower swept the shot put and discus to anchor the Panthers’ evening.

“She has been doing that the whole year,” Glenbard North coach Gary Heilers said. “I expected her do well, and she exceeded my expectations.”

Naperville Central senior Chrissy was down to her last bullet at 5-2, 5-3 and 5-4 before denying Spagnola on her first attempt at 5-5.

“I was channeling the feeling I had (of a good week of practice),” Chrissy said.

West Chicago claimed the final title with Zitlalic Valdivia claiming the title at 400 meters in 59.45 seconds to Naperville Central senior Jenny Alberts’ 59.64.