There's reason to smile

Prospect's Claire Hollis and Lucy Taylor have pretty normal hands, but that all changes on the track.

The two seniors have had huge hands in helping lift the Knights' impressive 3,200-meter relay team to its lofty status.

Prospect has won back-to-back medals at the Class AA state track and field meet in the 3,200 relay, and Hollis and Taylor have played important roles.

Prospect had quite a run from 1994 through '96 as the Knights won 3 straight state medals in the 3,200 relay.

Thanks to Hollis and Taylor, Prospect could equal that mark this year, and they're doing it in style.

In 2006 at the Class AA state meet, Hollis and Taylor combined with Emma Partridge and Erin O'Grady in leading the Knights to a 7th-place medal while setting a school record (9:27.09).

"I knew in 2006 I didn't want to go home like freshman year," said Taylor of the Knights, who qualified in 2005 but did not make it past preliminaries. "It was so disheartening and I wanted it really bad."

Hollis didn't even expect to be running the race. She started as a sprinter before being coaxed to the distance event.

"I felt fortunate my coaches and teammates pushed me to run the 3,200 relay," said Hollis.

Hollis and Taylor were hoping to pick up where they left off in 2007, but they lost O'Grady to graduation and Partridge to an injury.

Besides having to transition in two freshmen, Taylor missed most of the season with tendinitis in both knees. Needless to say, the Knights had their work cut out.

But then freshmen Amy Abdnor and Emily Salzman made a smooth transition and Taylor came back to join Hollis in forming another strong relay team.

"I definitely had more confidence," said Hollis of last season. "And even with two freshmen I felt Lucy and I had the leadership to be able to help."

The Knights didn't miss a beat in the Class AA finals, setting a school record for the second consecutive year (9:19.59) and taking home a sixth-place medal.

"They guided us the whole year," said Salzman of the pair's leadership. "Whenever we had questions or were unsure about something, we would ask them and they knew exactly what to tell us."

Prospect coach Dave Wurster has seen quite a few top runners during his 13 years as the Knights' head coach, and Taylor and Hollis rank right up there.

"I can tell them anything and they will do it," added Wurster. "They will do anything it takes to be really good, and sometimes they want more. They just want to be good."

Tonight, at the 37th annual Mid-Suburban League meet, Prospect is hoping to duplicate last year's success, as the Knights finished second.

"Taking second was one of the most exciting things," added Hollis who secured conference medals last year in the 3,200 relay, 800 and the 1,600 relay.

"Literally, our whole team just came together, you could see it in everyone's eyes … they just wanted it so bad."

Expectations are a bit higher now for the Knights' 3,200 relay team, but Hollis and Taylor seem ready to meet them.

"This year I just feel so much more confident," said Taylor, who will be attending Illinois Wesleyan but has not decided on a major. "I just want to race. Before I was nervous. This year I'm ready."

"Sophomore year we were definitely the underdogs," added Hollis, who will attend DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., and major in Spanish education.

"Junior year people started to hear about Prospect and now people are expecting good things out of us. We have more confidence and experience, which can only make our relays stronger."

The conference meet kicks off what Taylor and Hollis hope to be another successful march to state.

After setting a pair of school records and securing a pair of state medals, the Knights seem to be in very good hands.