Girls track and field: Knight helps Wheeling run away with MSL crown
Wheeling's Alexis Knight had a day.
Knight set both conference and school records in two events while winning three races Saturday at the Mid-Suburban League indoor track and field conference meet at North Central College in Naperville.
"I actually knew it was pretty good this week because (Friday) my legs felt amazing," said Knight, a senior who will attend Columbia University next year.
"Everything was lining up and I felt so ready for the meet today. My main goal today was the 400. After I got that one, I thought I could get both of them."
Things began slowly for Knight, who finished second in the long jump to teammate Nicole Nguyen, who won the event with a leap of 18 feet, 3.5 inches. From there, Knight never slowed down.
Knight won the 55-meter dash in 7.37 seconds, tying a school-record in the process. She then picked up more speed, winning the 400-meter dash in a conference-record 56.87, shattering the 30-year old record of 58.7 set by Wheeling's Nancy Goldman in 1989.
Knight wasn't done.
On her final event of the day, she easily outraced the field in the 200-meter dash in a record-breaking 25.19 seconds. That eclipsed the mark of 25.69 set by Prospect's Annie Walsh set in 2017.
"I came out here today, aiming for three records," Knight said. "I didn't necessarily get the three I wanted, but I got three records."
"It was an awesome day for her," Wheeling coach Tim Nowicki said. "She works hard and deserves it."
Along with Knight and Nguyen, Wheeling also got a winning performance from Christina Pierini in the 3,200 with a time of 11:27.59. Nosa Igiehon had a second and two thirds for the Wildcats.
With those performances, Wheeling easily won the conference meet with a score of 124 points Barrington was second with 100 points followed by Prospect with 90 and Hoffman Estates with 63.
"Not much went wrong for us today," Nowicki said. "Today was our day. We were really on."
Barrington was able to win all three of the relays to help vault the Fillies to a second-place finish.
They won the 4x800 in 9:36.87 thanks to Molly FitzPatrick, Alyssa Norris, Gaby Andrews and Morgan Magro. The Fillies followed with a win in the 4x200 in a time of 1:45.50 with Kathleen Baker, Olivia Helmer, Reagan Pokorny and Gabby Cossio running.
The Fillies completed the sweep of the relays with a win in the 4x400. Baker, Helmer and Cossio were joined by Breanne Dunn to win in 4:08.97. FitzPatrick also had an individual win in the 1,600 run with a time of 5:09.03 outlasting Norris, who was second.
Erin Oleksak was a huge performer for Palatine. The senior won the high jump (5-05) and the 55-meter hurdles in 8.21 seconds.
"I was really happy the way I ran in the hurdles," said Oleksak, who the event last year. "I went back to high jump right after and I won that and that was pretty cool."
University of Illinois recruit Jess Streepy of Palatine won the pole vault, clearing 10-09.
Hoffman Estates had a trio of winners. Makiya Blackwell won the shot put with a throw of 41 feet. Ashley Oliver won the triple jump in 35-11.75 and Anna Miller won the 800-meter run in 2:19.88.