Girls track and field: Lake Zurich dominates field at Buffalo Grove
Everyone knew that the Lake Zurich girls were going to have a strong track and field team this spring, and the Bears showed that was true Saturday afternoon at the Buffalo Grove Invitational.
Lake Zurich dominated the nine-team field by rolling to the team title with 202 points while Fremd was a distant second with 124.5 points. The battle for third place went down to the wire, but Stevenson edged Lake Park 90-89 in the end. Cary-Grove placed fifth with 80 points while the host Bison (43 points) were seventh.
The Bears' road to the crown included first-place finishes from Riley Betz at 100 meters, Ruby Nissen at 3,200 meters, Olivia Verden in the 100 hurdles, Abigail Sprawka in the shot put, and Baelyn Zitzmann in the high jump. Lake Zurich also won the 4x100 and 4x200 relays.
"I'm very pleased with how we've looked after spring break and our girls worked hard over break," said Lake Zurich coach Jeremy Kauffman. "They do everything right, it's a family-oriented culture, and they're a ton of fun to be around."
Lake Zurich got second-place finishes from Avery Cooper (100 hurdles), Summer Fabsik (1,600), and Paige Kutsor (discus).
"I felt pretty good about the results today because I haven't run in like two years," said Cooper, who had ACL surgery about 14 months ago. "We're doing great this year, and we can compete against just about every team in the state."
Fremd got first places' from its 4x800 relay, Sammie Findysz (800), and Amelia Garthwait (long jump). The Vikings got second-places from freshman Adeline Dietrich (800), Isa Hasty (3,200), Sarah Strachowski (pole vault), Vanessa Tasheva (shot put), and their 4x200 team.
"We actually put new girls in the 4x800 today just to get some experience," said Fremd coach Joe Marcin. "Overall we're a relatively young program, and our first meet of the outdoor season was today."
Stevenson's Ava Wilson won the 400 in 59.51 followed by Maine East's Ashley Gaba in second. The Patriots also got a second from Meg Arne in the 200.
Lake Park's Eva Bach (3.33 meters) was the pole vault champion while teammate Brynn Ellenbecker won the 1,600. The Lancers got a second from Gianna Goldsmith in the high jump and Julia Kelly in both the triple jump and long jump.
"She (Bach) is a returning state qualifier, she was an indoor state qualifier, and she's just getting going," said Lake Park coach Jay Ivory. "That is a good start for her (Kelly) in both of those jumps."
Cary-Grove got first-places from Kate Aniolkowski (300 hurdles), Kenna Kinsch (discus), and Caelie Mendro (triple jump). Olivia Parker placed second in the 300 hurdles for the Trojans while Buffalo Grove's Martyna Ostrega was second in the 100 dash.
"She (Kinsch) is really having a breakthrough season for us, and that's huge for her confidence," said Cary-Grove coach Mark Anderson. "We knew 1-2 was a possibility (in 300 hurdles) and they (Aniolkowski and Parker) are great kids."