Palatine's back on track

Palatine's girls track team tied Waubonsie Valley for second in the Class 3A state meet last May, and the Pirates have picked up right where they left off.

Palatine edged host East St. Louis 106-101 at the Jackie Joyner Kersee Relays on Saturday and the Pirates came back on Tuesday to win the opening Mid-Suburban West triangular meet at Schaumburg with 86.5 points.

Host Schaumburg took second with 51.5 points followed by Barrington (45).

"We're just looking to keep getting better," said Palatine coach Steve Currins of the Pirates, who won eight events. "They see the improvement and it makes them want to work a little a harder."

Junior Meghan Flanagan cleared the state qualifying mark in taking first in the pole vault (10-6) and combined with junior Valere Guertin, junior Morgan Quinnett and sophomore Laura Schweikert in taking first in the 400 relay (51.3).

Last year Flanagan's best vault was 8-6, but the junior cleared 10-6 on both Saturday and Tuesday.

"All summer I worked at it," said Flanagan, who also took third in the 300 low hurdles (48.9). "I wanted to prove to coach Currins that I could do it."

The distance crew also came through. Freshman Tess Wasowicz (2:23), senior Ruth Allen (2:23.1) and junior Becca Sund (2:23.8) went 1-2-3 in the 800.

And junior Sarah McIntosh (5:16.5), junior Courtney Brown (5:23.7), and sophomore Emily Schulte (5:35.4) went 1-2-3 in the 1,600.

"It shows how strong we are and the potential we have," said Allen, who also took second in the 400 (60.9). "Definitely gave us a boost of confidence."

Junior Rebecca Korus added a first in the triple jump (32-9.5), senior Robin Anderson took first in the 100 high hurdles (16.7), Quinnett was tops in the 300 low hurdles (48.0) and Schweikert tied for first in the 200 (26.3) to complete a solid start for the Pirates.

Schaumburg also showed it has plenty of potential. The Saxons took first in seven events.

Junior Jordan Wagner won the 100 (12.9), tied for first in the 200 (26.3) and combined with senior Nora Ferguson, junior Lizzie Tapia, and sophomore Kiyomi Mino in taking first in the 3,200 relay (9:57.6).

"Our depth this year is far beyond what it was last year," said Wagner of the Saxons' attack. "This year we want to be better than we were at the end of last year."

And there were plenty of highlights for the Saxons, with junior Debra Eluobaju clearing the state qualifying mark in taking first in the shot put (37-81/2), sophomore Whitney Morgan taking first in the high jump (5-2), and senior Alyssa Poniatowski taking first in the discus (97-5).

The Saxons finished the day with Ferguson combining with juniors Colette Falsey, Britten Petrey, and Karen Lesiewicz in taking an impressive first in the 1,600 relay (4:07.5).

"We're looking for something we haven't seen," said Schaumburg coach Jon Macnider. "We're all thinking about May. We need to find people to fill roles; we're looking for the little things."

Barrington also had an impressive opener. Freshman Becca Batliner offered a glimpse by besting the state qualifying mark in taking first in the 3,200 (11:27.8), and senior Jorie Frey added a first in the 400 (60.0).

"I felt like I could have done better," said Frey, who is recovering from illness. "I'm just getting back into things, but I definitely have high expectations this season."

Senior Sarah Bach added a first in the long jump (16-1) with sophomore Melissa Madden, sophomore Nicole Collins, sophomore Kaila Privatsky, and junior Lizzie Deuel combining to take first in the 800 relay (1:50.1) for the Fillies.