Track and field: Naperville North girls, boys sweep Gus Scott titles

Leah Davis and Trinity Finger may be Naperville North freshmen, but they are savvy enough to know that if you want to win track events, there is a simple formula to follow.

R-E-L-A-X.

When you do that, you can parlay that into a team victory, which is exactly what the Huskies did Friday, taking the 2023 Gus Scott Invitational with 307 points, a shade better than Cary-Grove, with 296. Benet was third with 237.

But the two freshmen shone brightly Friday, leading Davis to remark, "I'm happy. Today was a good meet."

That it was. Davis won the 200-meter dash in 27.28 seconds, just a little faster than another freshman, Waubonsie Valley's Olivia Rowan (27.78).

Finger took second in the 100 in 13.11, just behind Cary-Grove senior Lindsey Kownick (12.83).

"Recently I've been tensing up and everything, and I learned to relax and go as hard as I can," Finger said. "Today I PR'd in both the 100 and the 200."

For good measure, Finger and Davis ran legs on the 800 relay, which easily won in 1:48.57. Joining the pair in that event was Katelyn Yakus and Lily Longenbaugh. Wheaton Warrenville South was second in 1:51.94.

Color Naperville North coach Dan Iverson pleased with his freshmen, particularly Davis.

"She had a nice night," Iverson said. "She is a dedicated kid, and this was kind of a breakthrough for her a little bit."

Cary-Grove proved it wasn't afraid to compete in a tough field of teams, thanks to the efforts of Kownick and senior Juliana Ferrara. They joined forces with Sophie Vongsiri and Kate Aniolkowski to win the 400 relay in 50.25. Kownick won the 100 hurdles in 14.93.

"We have a good supportive team," Kownick said. "We push each other to do our best, and I think that's why it's a good team this year."

Was that team runner-up finish a surprise? Ferrera was insistent.

"No," she said. "We work together and support each other and we're a big family."

Benet was paced by senior Louisa Diamond, who won the 3,200 win 10:57.62, and then doubled that up with a win in the 1,600 in 5:11.00.

"This is one of my favorite meets," Diamond said. "I love running under the lights."

Redwings senior Nicole Grimes won the pole vault with a top showing of 10 feet, 0.6 inches.

Boys meet:

It was a good night all around for Naperville North. The boys won their meet with 281 points, besting Wheaton Warrenville South (260.5) and Benet (235).

Nathan Jacobs won the 200 in 22.17 seconds, besting St. Charles East senior Josh Evans (22.40). He also won the B division 100 dash in 11.08 seconds.

"We practice on this track every day, so we know which lanes are good, and which ones aren't," Jacobs said with a laugh. "I usually like the middle ones."

The Huskies capped off the meet with a win in the 1,600 relay in 3:30.72, with junior Carson Marlar, sophomore Ian MacConnachie, senior Tommy Morrison and junior Muneeb Shah doing the damage.

But where the Huskies really excelled Friday was the field events. Junior Eric Beedon won the pole vault with a top launch of 12 feet, while Emmanuel Wang did the same in the long jump (20 feet, 0.8 inches). Wang also won the triple jump in 41 feet, 10 inches.

Wheaton Warrenville South hung with the Huskies most of the meet, and was led by senior Lucas Yonker, who won the 3,200 in 9:45.91.

In the 1,600, senior Nathan Virginelli won in 4:31.79, while juniors Ethan Campbell, Ben Ishimwe, Connor Slow and Damian Riley finished second in the 400 relay in 44.40.

Benet was led by sophomores Finn Richards and Jeffrey Lange and juniors Charlie Phelan and Jacob Molloy, who won the 3,200 in 8:24.29.