Girls track and field: Lake Zurich runs away from field at NSC meet

Lake Zurich took first place in 10 of 18 events on its way to 184 points and overall victory in the North Suburban Conference Championship meet Thursday in Lincolnshire.

One of their top performers was Patricia Johnson, who ran to victory in the 3200m event with a time of 11:43.42.

“I was just trying to go out fast the first lap and then settle in and then kick the last mile,” said Johnson.

While only a sophomore, she brought an experienced mindset into the long distance event, plotting out when she planned to push the hardest to take advantage of her training.

“I like to try and just go out a little bit slower the first mile or like the first half of the race, so I can really focus on just pushing myself the 2nd half,”

In the sprint events, Victoria Osei of Mundelein was playing a mental game as well, as she raced her way to a personal best time in the 100m and 200m events for the Mustangs.

“My mindset was more, ‘it’s me versus me’ instead of running with the people I was competing with,” said Osei, after clinching the 100m win with a 12.29 second time. ”I wanted to break at least a 12.2-something, and I was able to do that today and accomplish it,” she added. “I'm very proud of myself. It was really more of that mentality of me versus me.”

“It honestly means so much. I've been waiting for this and I'm just excited to see how far I can go with sectionals knowing that I was able to PR today,” she added after improving on the 12.32 that she ran Saturday in Palatine.

Stevenson hosted the event tonight and coach Emma Degen was happy with the performance of her squad after they claimed second place overall with 100 points.

Camila Pak was a standout for the Patriots in the 800m race, finishing second with a 2:18.23, while Deha Krishnan matched that second place finish with a 12:51 in the 100m.

Degen credits the duo’s long offseason spent pushing each other as the key to the success this spring.

“They've been working at this. They're year-round athletes, and they've earned this spotlight,” said Degen. “Consistently working hard and going out there and giving it their all.”

Degen was also happy that her team was enjoying the home event.

“The girls are having fun. It's good to be out on our track,” she added.

Another fun moment took place during the 800m, when Libertyville middle distance runner Savanna Joyce completed a personal best time of 2:32:99 despite running right out of her shoe halfway through the event.

“It came off at the start of the second lap,” said Joyce, with a chuckle. “At the beginning, my shoe started to untie a bit. And then, like, it kept getting looser and looser, then eventually it just came off.”

The shoe went flying into the air, but Joyce did not allow it to phase her as she kept trucking along.

“I couldn't imagine that I was running with my shoe off,” she added. “The track was really wet, so it was making my foot wet and soggy.”

She was also part of the Libertyville 4x800 team that took third place with a time of 10:15.77.

Joyce is eager to run again in sectionals next week, where she plans to employ a traditional double-knot technique, as well as a tuck, to ensure that her cleats stay on her feet through the entire race.

In the field events, Warren claimed victory in both the long jump and the triple jump.

Signe Scott leapt 18’ 3” and managed to set the new Blue Devils school record in the process.

“I felt super confident. I've been super determined to jump my 18 again,” said Scott. “I haven't hit it since last year at Sectionals, but I was super consistent in my speed today. I was able to get my foot on the board.”

Scott has been to state in each of the past two years. She hopes to make it three years in a row in a few weeks time.

In the triple, Anna Iwuagwu took center stage for Warren. She jumped 11.62m, just under the school record distance of 11.8 that she set last week at the Blue Devil home meet.

“What made it more special is the fact that it was not only the school record, but it was a goal that I personally wanted to hit,” said Iwuagwu, retelling the school history she made last week. “11.8 was something that I really wanted to hit this season.”

Prior to today’s event, she was focused on keeping things light as she prepares to jump 11.8 again next week at sectionals.

“I'm so very excited. I really am. I think I'm going into it with a really positive mindset,” said Iwuagwu. “I think I got this. I really do believe in myself. I believe in my teammates as well. I really believe that we can do the best that we possibly can.”