St. Peter boys 4x200 roars ahead to state, Tork qualifies in high jump
Although there were many proud moments as St. Peter track and field athletes set season and personal best times and marks, the highlight of IESA Sectionals for the Rockets from Geneva were the boys' relays and the girls' high jump. The team left Aurora Christian in Aurora with another school record and five athletes qualifying for the IESA State Meet on May 12-13 in East Peoria.
The eighth-grade boys 4x200-meter relay team of Eric Ford, Joe Drew, Tommy Rittenhouse and Josh Caceres were seeded first in their event and expected to win but their performance went beyond anyone's expectations.
Ford got the team off to a good start and a lead going into the first exchange. While teammate Joe Drew maintained the lead, it was Tommy Rittenhouse who widened the gap for anchor Josh Caceres. It was clear that with a good exchange the race was theirs.
The handoff was clean and Caceres sprinted to a school record setting state qualifying and winning time of 1:47.09. It was a proud and historical moment for the relay team and for St. Peter as this was the first boys relay team to ever qualify for the IESA State Meet.
The St. Peter girls found their greatest success over at the high jump mat. Eighth-grader Mary Tork was seeded second in her event but by the time the bar reached 4 feet 5 inches, she very quickly found herself jumping alone for height as none of the other competitors could clear the bar. One inch at a time, Tork made it to a height of 4 feet 8 inches and for the second year in a row won the event and qualified for state.
Teammate and seventh-grader Greta Prange nearly followed in Tork's footsteps. She found herself jumping against only one other competitor from Waterman Indian Creek. However Prange had to settle for second place as her competition (who qualified for state the previous year) soared past the state qualifying height of 4 feet 6 inches to win the event.
St. Peter's 4x200 relay is seeded 13th at state against some tough competition. It will take near perfect relay exchanges and all of their best efforts to make it to the podium. High jumper Mary Tork is seeded right in the middle of the pack. However a podium finish is not out of the question for Tork as her best jump is 4 feet 10 inches which would put her in medal contention. Tork's high jump competition begins on Friday morning while the boys 4x200-meter relays are scheduled for Saturday morning.
The rest of the team will be competing in their last regular season conference meet Saturday at Mooseheart in preparation for the Aurora Conference Championship meet on May 20.