Girls track and field: Barrington a snowy champ at Palatine Relays

Other than the IHSA state meet itself, the Palatine Relays are the longest running track meet in the state of Illinois with the first meet dating back 87 years to 1932.

So despite the fact that there was quite a bit of wet snow and rain, temperatures in the mid-30s to mid-40s throughout the meet, and some treacherous running conditions, the show had to go on, as the old saying goes, Saturday at Palatine.

The brutal conditions did not seem to bother Barrington one little bit as the Fillies stormed to the team championship by a comfortable 120-98 margin over the host Pirates.

Some teams like Jacobs, Stevenson, and Portage (Indiana) did not compete at all while Hersey and Fremd left early due to the inclement weather.

But Barrington seemed to thrive like penguins under the winterlike conditions as Fillies Molly FitzPatrick (3,200 meters), Kathleen Baker (400 meters), and Alyssa Norris (800 meters) all took home first-place finishes in their respective races to set the tone for the Fillies' team title.

Barrington's relay teams were also outstanding as its 4x100 relay team of Olivia Helmer, Ally Butirro, Margaret Milani, and Reagan Pokorny won in 52.82.

The Fillies also got a first-place finish from their 4x800 relay team of Baker, Norris, Morgan Magro, and Sophie Hoeltgen in 10:18.57.

"I give credit to all of these kids who came here today and just put their heart and soul into it," said Barrington coach Jody Gitelis, as meet officials were deciding whether or not to call off the final two events of the competition. "My compliments to Palatine for actually going with this and allowing these kids to have a lot of new experiences, but the morning (weather) was perfect."

The final two events (200-meter dash, and 4x400 relay) were canceled due to the increasingly deteriorating conditions of the track while the field turf on the football field was completely covered with snow by the time the meet ended at noon.

Palatine's Erin Oleksak continued to shine for the Pirates as she won both the 300-meter hurdles in 45.36, and the 100-meter hurdles in 15.05.

Palatine also got a first-place finish from Ellie Roy (5:36.18) in the 1,600-meter run as she held off teammate Anne Marie Jordan by just .18 seconds to take home top honors.

The Pirates also had a great day in the field events with teammates Anya Ball (high jump), Jess Streepy (pole vault), and Tiana Wood (long jump) all winning their respective events.

"It can't get much crazier for a meet weather-wise, and we knew it would probably come down to us and Barrington," said Palatine coach Joe Parks, who knew he was witnessing something special on this historic day. "Erin (Oleksak) had a great day. She's kind of set herself up for the stretch, and she had two really good races under these weather conditions."

Hersey was also very successful in the field events as Janine Boyan won both the discus throw (114-feet, 8 inches), and the shot put (35-2) to just edge out teammate Cate Gudaitis (35-1).

Fremd's Elena DiVito stormed to first place in the 100-meter dash in 12.74 while Palatine's Jessica Steffens placed second in the discus (111 feet). Hersey's Anshu Jacob (33 feet) placed fourth in the triple jump.

The Fillies also won the 1,600-meter sprint medley behind Pokorny, FitzPatrick, Gabby Quaranta, and Breanne Dunn as well as the 4x100-meter shuttle hurdle behind Gabby Cossio, Brooke Husby, Diya Mehta, and Stephanie Landoni.

Looking back over the years, Gitelis said she has seen some pretty bad weather, but she thought that Saturday had to be among the worst conditions ever.

"I remember many years ago being at Schaumburg and not being able to actually look across the track and see my 400-meter runner in the snow," Gitelis said. "I've been at the state meet where it's been gusting and 48 degrees with rain coming down, and you couldn't see across the track but we ran that day."

Mundelein finished fourth in the 3,200 relay behind Leslye Rodriguez, Andrea Cordova, Jocelyn Gomez and Jeanelle Jimenez.

The Mustangs also got a third-place finish from Jordyn Miller in the 1,600. She was also fifth in the 800, as was Khari Thompkins in the 400.