Girls track and field: Conant’s Brunson makes history at state meet
There were some very big "wow" moments Saturday afternoon at the IHSA Class 3A girls track and field state meet in Charleston.
Defending state champion Homewood-Flossmoor made a late surge to tie for first place in the state with Edwardsville 76-76. Barrington took seventh with 28 points while Lake Zurich (26 points) tied for eighth. Conant placed 15th followed by Prospect in 17th.
It was a close finish, but University of Michigan-bound Conant senior Daisha Brunson became the first athlete in IHSA history to win the 100-meter hurdles four years in a row. Brunson (13.67 seconds) edged Edwardsville's Sophie Shapiro by .12 seconds. Brunson also took second in the 200-meter dash in 23.77 seconds.
"Daisha is a competitor and she's just fantastic, she's wanted to be a four-time champion, and she pulled it off," said Conant coach Aaron Essex. "When she's confident and she's ready to go she's one of the most remarkable athletes I've ever seen."
Another huge moment came from Notre Dame-bound Barrington junior Mia Sirois, who shattered Tatum David of Richland County's previous record of 9:53.96 by winning the 3,200-meter run in 9:44.16. It was the third straight 3,200 state crown for Sirois while sophomore teammate Victoria Tarara took third place. Maine South's Tessie Bradley took eighth in the 3,200 followed by Hersey's Graceleen Mabry in 11th, and Prospect's Samantha Lobacz in 14th.
"Coming into this I knew I had a lot of finish based on the workouts that we've been doing these past two months and it was just a matter of putting all of the pieces together on the right day," said Sirois, who also set the state cross country record (15:53.40) as a sophomore.
"I knew I was capable of having a shot at the previous record of 9:53 so I really had my eyes set on that and I was just really happy with the outcome. Victoria (Tarara) did amazing, she's only a sophomore and to watch the progress she's made has honestly been so inspiring for me."
Sirois also took second in the 1,600 (4:46.30).
Barrington’s team of Abby Lewis, Ashleigh Forbes, Angelica Hil, and Madison Miles placed seventh in the 4x800. Hil took 10th in the 1,600.
"She (Sirois) is phenomenal, she's just a heck of an athlete, she works very hard, and she makes everyone better on our team," said Barrington coach Debbie Revolta. "All of our kids came down here and competed really hard. The amount of talent down here is unbelievable so for these kids to come down and do what they did is just quite amazing to be honest."
Lake Zurich senior Polina Krupsky placed second in the 800-meter run while teammate Arisa Bisofa took third place in the shot put (13.06 meters). Lake Park's Klara Volkova (43.42 meters) edged Bisofa (42.95 meters) for fourth place in the discus. Hersey's Sadie Marks took 11th in the discus.
Prospect's streak of five straight titles in the 4x800 ended with a fourth place in that event behind Allison Kalkwarf, Caitlin Resac, Ella Benassi, and Meg Peterson. Lake Zurich placed fifth in the 4x800 behind Krupsky, Celia Blaylock, Abigail Kocher, and Avert Muhr, and ninth in the 4x400.
Prospect's team of Nikki Niebrugge, Samantha Skowronski, Elyse Freeman, and Charlotte Conner took fourth in the 4x200. The Knights took eighth in the 4x100.
Lakes freshman Bryn Garnier took fifth in the pole vault while Rolling Meadows' Patrycja Lewicki was eighth.
Neuqua Valley's Alexandria Richmond took sixth in the triple jump followed by Warren's Anna Iwuagwu in eighth, Neuqua Valley's Olivia Dalson in 10th, and Glenbard North's Janelle Mosley in 11th.
Naperville North's Leah Davis placed fifth in the long jump followed by Schaumburg's Serena Green in 10th. Hoffman Estates' Faith Boss tied for eighth in the high jump.