Carmel’s Paul, Warren’s Ellis renew fast friendship
Megan Paul ran into a runner recently.
It was her old friend and former Waukegan Invaders club track teammate, little Brittny Ellis.
Carmel Catholic’s star was lucky she didn’t strain her neck when she craned it.
“When I saw her a couple of weeks ago, I was like, ‘I remember when you were up to my shoulder. And now you’re a foot taller than me,’ ” Paul recalled with a laugh. “I told her, ‘It’s funny because I’ve watched you grow up.’ ”
On Thursday, during the Grayslake Central invitational, for what Paul thinks was the first time in their young but already distinguished athletic careers, the Carmel senior and the long-legged Ellis, a Warren freshman, raced against each other.
The race may as well have been at state.
Ellis won the 400-meter dash, with her 56.83 edging Paul’s 56.97. No other runner in the race came close to breaking a minute.
“I guess, technically, this is the first time I’ve run against her,” Paul said. “She had a little more to give at the end than I did.”
“She came right up on me (with 100 meters to go),” Ellis said of Paul, “and I just sprinted in.”
It was like old times for the two speedsters, in a way, on a great weather night for running. Led by Ellis, Warren ran away with the championship (167 points), well ahead of runner-up Highland Park (114). Paced by Paul, Carmel (99) was third in the seven-team invite.
“There’s a newspaper (photo) with us together,” Ellis said of her and Paul. “I must have been 8 because I was so much shorter than her.”
Now, Ellis stands 5 feet 10.
Paul is 5-5.
“(Actually), 5-4½, but I say 5-5,” Paul said. “Short.”
Both are long on talent.
“She’s an incredible kid, incredible athlete, hard worker,” Warren coach Ryan Dunn said of his 14-year-old star. “You see the results of that when you come out and watch her run like she did tonight.”
Paul, who finished second in the 400 meters at state last spring, has signed with Arkansas. Ellis captured the 400 at the indoor Illinois Prep Top Times meet last month.
Competing in what she called her first “big meet” of the outdoor season, Ellis ran the 400 in school-record time, breaking a mark that stood since 1991 — six years before she was born.
“We were looking forward to that race, absolutely,” Dunn said. “We knew Carmel was going to be here and we were hoping that Megan would be in that open (400). We knew that would be a great matchup — for both of them.
“They’re making each other better athletes. Which is a great thing to see,” Dunn added. “They need that competition. Girls like Megan and Brittny from week to week may or may not see girls that can run with them.”
“It’s fun running against her,” Paul said. “It’s nice to have competition. Usually in Lake County there’s not that much competition. The most competition I get is at state. So it’s nice to have her to run against. It can help me get better times before I go to state.”
Ellis capped a 3-for-3 night by winning the 200 (26.10) by more than a second. She also ran on the winning 400 relay (50.90) with Aly Lowe, Abby Schrantz and Autumn Santos. The freshman Santos won the 100 (12.94).
Warren also got wins from Alyssa Phillips (long jump, 15-9), Amber Cook (triple jump, 34-8¼) and Meghan McLenithan (discus, 88-8), while freshman Keely Knobbe placed second (personal-best 34-11) in the shot put to Highland Park’s Sheila Grant-Shaffer (37-0½). Warren closed the meet by finishing first in the 1,600 relay. The foursome of Lexi Wickstrom, Savanah Shrake, Becky Haight and anchor Greta Doden ran 4:14.08.
Carmel junior Caitlin Murphy, a two-sport spring athlete, won the 1,600 (5:33.28). She also ran on the winning 3,200 relay (10:05.96) with seniors Paul and Sarah Myss and freshman Riley Felicicchia.
Murphy, who ran cross country, plays center midfielder for Carmel’s soccer team and is a returning varsity player.
“So far it’s been pretty good (balancing the two sports), so I’ve been lucky with that,” Murphy said. “I just got to be careful not to overdo it one way or the other and be smart about what my body is telling me.
“Right now, it feels good,” she added, smiling. “Had some good races.”
Grayslake Central’s Kia Gomez won the 800 in 2:24.73, edging teammate Elsie Rehberg (PR 2:24.84). Beth Arnold captured the 300 hurdles (51.16).
Carmel’s Shannon Baucus was a double-winner, high-jumping 5 feet and clocking a 17.24 in the 100 hurdles. The Corsairs’ Jessica Bautista and Izzy Schneider placed 1-2, respectively, in the pole vault, as both cleared 9 feet. Grayslake Central’s Cara Engel, a first-year track competitor, also cleared the height to tie the school record.
Mundelein junior Ellie Palacios ran a winning 11:50.79 in the 3,200.