Track and field: Hersey girls edge York to win 93rd Palatine Relays title

It was a close battle between Hersey and York Saturday afternoon as they battled for the championship of the 93rd annual Palatine Relays in girls track and field.

And the Huskies would pull away down the stretch to win the team title with 107 points followed by York (94 points) in second, Jacobs (80 points) in third, and the host Pirates (71 points) in fifth.

Hersey juniors Emilia Rogowski (14.93 seconds in 100-meter hurdles), and Emily Hany (46.30 seconds in 300 hurdles) both took first place. Rogowski, Hany, Audrina Dinglasan, and Amelinka Miros won the 4x100 shuttle hurdles in 1:08.37.

"Emilia broke the meet record and the school record in the 100-meter hurdles," said Hersey coach Jim Miks, who is in his final season as head coach. "Hany has had a fantastic season, and the future looks bright for our hurdles crew."

York's sprint medley relay team of Makayla Caldwell, Aubrey Hill, Ela Novick, and Amelia Crotty won in 4:28.41. York teammates Haley Klaibor (3.20 meters) and Abigail Barz tied for first place in the pole vault. The Dukes' 4x800 team of Sophia Galiano-Sanchez, Karlin Janowski, Gianna Hill, and Drew Walker won in 9:44.09.

"We're working through some things, and our field events have been picking up this year which has been a really fun thing for us," said York coach Amy Lichon. "We have a lot of great leadership and a lot of really fine camaraderie on our team, and it just makes the environment fun because the girls like being around each other."

Jacobs freshman Lennox Szymonik (10:33.15) won the 3,200-meter run by over a minute while junior teammate Carly Uehlein (43.53 meters) was the discus champion.

"That was a PR for her (Szymonik). She's running phenomenally right now, and she won the distance night here last weekend," said Jacobs coach Jason Wright. "Carly's season-high in the discus is over 46 meters, and she has committed to the University of Cincinnati next year to throw."

Palatine junior Megan Oleksak won the high jump with a mark of 1.52 meters while Mundelein junior Victoria Osei (12.32 seconds) won the 100-meter dash. Palatine sophomore Emily Sondergaard took third in the 100-meter dash and Oleksak took third in the 100 hurdles.

"Overall we did great, and Megan Oleksak is already hitting the qualifying mark in the high jump and 300 hurdles," said Palatine coach Kevin Conway. "Emily (Sondergaard) has hit the cut-off in the 100-meter dash, and we're hoping to get a few relays downstate too."

Willowbrook's 4x200 team of Janell Adams, Khloe Adeniji, Mikayla Pender-Bey, and Jada Johnson took first in 1:44.16.

Second-place finishers were Hersey's Sofia Donner (800), Hersey's Jamie Laskiewicz (3,200), Jacobs' Brylan Lemon (300 hurdles), Uehlein (shot put), Rogowski (high jump), York's Hannah Peterson (triple jump), Hersey's Graceleen Mabry (1,600 meters), Hersey's Jamie Laskiewicz (3,200), and Sondergaard (long jump).

Boys race: The battle for the Palatine Relays crown was close for most of the competition Saturday afternoon. But for the third year in a row depth helped carry Oswego East to the team title with 148 points.

The host Pirates made a late surge to take runner-up honors with 121 points while Schaumburg (113 points) placed third. Mundelein (76 points) outdistanced Jacobs (62 points) for fourth place.

Palatine senior Alex Krieg (9:30.91) won the 3,200-meter run while sophomore teammate Eliaz Egbe won the discus (47.69 meters). The Pirates also got first-place finishes from sophomore Andrew Schellenback (1.82 meters) in the high jump, and junior Joe Fountain in the triple jump (12.92 meters).

"We had a great finish in the 200 which gave us a great boost going into the 4x400," said Palatine coach Martell Halloran, whose team took second in the 4x100. "Just moving up one place in most of the events helped us get more points, and Krieg has qualified for state in the 3,200 all three years."

Schaumburg teammates Ray Black (14.39 seconds) and Israel Pedroza went 1-2 in the 110-meter hurdles while Black (39.99 seconds) also won the 300 hurdles. Pedroza, Anthony Say, Jair Cole, and Xavier Tudela won the 4x200 in 1:29.14.

The Saxons’ 1,600 sprint medley relay team of Jalen Campbell, Zach Randall, Devyn Atkinson, and Dan McGarvey won in 3:49.38. Black, Pedroza, Emilio Contreras Figueroa, and Colton Felgenhauer won the 4x110 shuttle hurdles in 1:03.1.

"I think we would have been in the mix (for first place) if Xavier (Tudela) had not gotten injured with a cramp in the 100," said Schaumburg coach Ryan Senica, whose team also saw Cole sustain an injury in the meet. "Out of the four jumps we almost swept the jumps as a relay group so that shows our depth in those events."

Mundelein's 4x800 squad of Erick Cordova, Nathan McCreight, Andrew Weaver, and Izic Miller took first in 8:13.11.

"It was their best outdoor time of the season, but that was the first time our top group (4x800) ran together since indoors," said Mundelein coach Kurt Rutz. "I was really happy with our shuttle hurdles. They broke our school record in that event (second place 1:10.9)."

Jacobs senior Quentin Gillus (11.03 seconds) was edged out by .005 seconds by Oswego East's Jamari McKay for first place in the 100-meter dash.

"We had a nice performance (by Gillus) in the 100, but when they broke the tie he took second by .005 seconds," said Jacobs assistant coach Kevin Christian. "The 4x800 took third, but the second leg fell off a little bit. We finished second as a relay in the 2-mile overall."

Second place finishers were Cordova (800), Say (long jump), Mundelein's Elijah Mendoza (3,200), Jacobs' Kieran Nally (300 hurdles), Palatine's Jaylen Maiden (shot put), Jacobs' Jonathan Wagus (200-meter run), and Schaumburg's Donovan Long (triple jump).