Girls track and field: Prospect shows its depth while winning relays invitational
The nine-team Prospect Relays were a chance for the defending Class 3A champion and host Knights to showcase their skills Friday night on their home track.
And Prospect really shined as it captured the championship with 156 points to best runner-up Naperville Central with 100 points. Grayslake Central placed fifth with 76 points followed by Wheaton Warrenville South (72) in sixth and Warren (50) in seventh.
Senior Amina Hadziahmetovic took first for the Knights in the 100-meter hurdles (16.07 seconds) and 300-meter hurdles (46.75 seconds). She placed second in Class 3A last year in the 300 hurdles.
Prospect's 3,200 relay team of Anna Zajac, Allison Kalkwarf, Mary Laba and Emma Skelton took first in 9:41.82. The Knights' 800-meter sprint medley relay team of Hadziahmetovic, Butler University-bound Anna Niebrugge, Nikki Niebrugge and Dajana Skolimowska won in 1:45.25.
The Niebrugge sisters, Meg Peterson and Amelia Sharp easily won the 1,600 sprint medley relay. Senior Veronica Znajda, Ireland Wildhart, Ella Benassi, and Laba won the 4,000-meter distance medley relay in 12:22.15.
The 800 relay squad of Skolimowska, Samantha Skowronski, Elyse Freeman, and Julia Watychowicz also won. Znajda, Peterson, Zajac and Watychowicz won the 1,600. Skowronski (long jump), Brooke Neri (pole vault) and Eva Lapys (high jump) all placed first for Prospect.
“Overall we are looking so good, and it's really cool to see everything coming together,” said Anna Niebrugge, who was on the 800 relay team that placed third in the state. “We just want to improve our times and do as well as we can with the girls we have available.”
Naperville Central showed it will be a force this spring after its 400 relay team of Adeline O'Neil, Maya Stohner, Kennedi Reed and Valencia Ingram won the 400 relay in 49.81 seconds. Reed (first in triple jump), Jai Lara (second in shot put), Reese Henige (second in the 100 hurdles) and Lola Satre-Morales (third in the 1,600-meter run) helped boost the Redhawks' team scoring.
“We ran a really good time (in 400), and we went to state in every relay last year so we hope to do it again,” said Naperville Central coach Phil Allen. “Lola (Satre-Morales) set the school record in the 400 at Burlington Central two weeks ago, and she broke the DVC record in the 800 at the (DuPage Valley Conference) indoor meet.”
WW South junior Tessa Bachner was the shot put champion, while teammate Reet Gohar was the runner-up in the discus.
“Winning this meet is a big step for her (Bachner),” said WW South coach Rob Harvey. “We won the team shot put and team discus competition so that was a huge thing for us to do that in a tough meet like this.”
Grayslake Central's Isabella Bergonio was the discus champ. Grant transfer student and state qualifier Lauryn Francis, Maya Allen, Emme Cieslak and Naleah Parham took second in the 800.
“(Francis) is a sophomore, she was the anchor in four relays, and she is a huge pickup for us,” said Grayslake Central coach Colleen Wire. “Our 4x200 was just two-tenths of a second off of our school record tonight, and our distance crew did really well.”
Warren's Faith Nwobodo tied for second in the high jump while teammates Signe Scott (long jump), and Anna Iwuagwu (triple jump) both placed second.
“This is a total team meet where four kids matter in every relay on the track and four kids matter in the field events too where they add up distances,” said Prospect coach Pete Wintermute. “It really speaks to the depth of this team that we've got a really talented upper class, but we've also got some really talented young kids that came out here and showed out, which was great.”