Girls track and field: Banged-up Kennedy, Lake Park win sectional
More than for most of the athletes, Thursday night's Class 3A Wheaton Warrenville South girls track and field sectional was just about qualifying for Lake Park senior Isabelle Kennedy.
Considering her car was rear-ended on Tuesday, Kennedy wasn't worried about winning her event or setting a personal record. Just qualify, take another week to heal and go have fun at the state meet in Charleston next weekend.
"I just got into a bad car accident two days ago, so I'm kind of beat up still," she said, citing a banged-up knee. "All I was looking for was just to qualify, rest up for state next week."
Despite it all Kennedy managed to win the triple jump with a leap of 37 feet, 8 inches, earning that trip to state she wanted.
Lake Park won the team championship with 85 points. Wheeling placed second with 71 points, Prospect was third with 58, Glenbard East fourth at 57 and Glenbard West fifth with 54, 1 point ahead of Glenbard North and 2 ahead of WW South.
The Lancers did their best work in the field events. Junior Stephanie Montenegro won the shot put with a throw of 38-5 and finished second in the discus, two places in front of teammate Dominika Baranska, who also qualified for state. The pole vault title went to Lake Park senior Kelly Zehnder, who went 11-9.
"We knew our marks coming in, and I feel like everyone is giving it that little extra push," Kennedy said.
Glenbard West sophomore Katelynne Hart turned in her usual sterling effort, winning both the 3,200 meters and the 1,600 meters easily, though she didn't come close to her personal best in either. Hart ran the 3,200 in 10:19.12, 34 seconds better than her teammate Lindsey Payne, who placed second. Teammate Kelly Hohe ran closest to Hart in the 1,600, with Hart finishing in 4:54.41. Both Payne and Hohe also qualified.
Glenbard East's Kionnah Weaver won the 100-meter hurdles in a personal-best 14.55 seconds and was passed in the 300 hurdles just before the last hurdle by Wheeling's Nicole Nguyen. The 45.36 Weaver ran wasn't her best time, just her second best.
"The girls came out a little quicker than I thought, so I had to fight it from the start," Weaver said of her 300. "I stutter-stepped all my hurdles, so it wasn't a clean race. But I had to finish what I started."
Most importantly, she qualified.
"Thank God," she said with a sigh of relief. "It was a close one."
Prospect senior Annie Walsh qualified for state for her fourth time, winning the 100 dash in 12.48 seconds and placing second in the 200 behind Wheaton North senior Allyson Serbick. She also ran in the qualifying 400 relay and 800 relay.
"We're so excited," Walsh said, still trying to catch her breath from the 200. "I'm really excited to watch the 4-by-4 because everyone's been working so hard and all of our hard work has paid off."
Walsh will have plenty of company at the state meet at Eastern Illinois University. Prospect and WW South were the only teams to qualify all four relays.
"It's the best," Walsh said of the state meet. "Being with your teammates is like the best memories of your life. ... It's incredible. The blue track, better than anything. For somebody who loves track, there's nothing better than that blue track."