Girls track and field: Downers Grove North, Glenbard West tie for second place

Downers Grove North senior Kim Brent had two big victories and nearly an unexpected third in her final home Bruce Ritter Invitational on Friday.

Brent anchored the winning 400- and 800-meter relays with junior Celeste Bonga and sophomores Mia Bowers and Kenna Cinotte.

"It means a lot. I've definitely worked hard for this position we're in right now," Brent said. "It's great working with these girls, especially for my last year."

The Trojans also had their best meet so far and were far more encouraged than disappointed when they tied for second with Glenbard West with 85 points, only 2 points behind defending champion Lyons Township.

"Even though we didn't win by only 2 points, everyone was just so happy with how they did," Bonga said.

The Trojans and Hilltoppers probably would have shared first if not for the invite's additional event, the frosh-soph 1,600 relay won by LT. The Lions then finished second to Glenbard West in the varsity 1,600 relay.

For Glenbard West, the result ended its undefeated season. West Aurora was fourth with 79 points, and Prospect, Palatine and Wheeling were sixth, seventh and ninth.

"It's super early in the season. Something like this might be good for us that it'll keep us motivated, hungry," said Glenbard West junior Katelynne Hart, the two-time defending state champion in the 3,200 and 1,600. "Not everything necessarily went the way we wanted. We need to come back resilient, be really strong."

Downers North won the 400 relay in 49.13 seconds and the 800 relay in 1:45.80 with Glenbard West second in 1:46.42. Junior Erin Beatty, who had never reached 100 feet in discus, won the event with 109-1 and Cinotte won triple jump with a personal-best 36-8½. Brent also was second in the 100 in 12.69, .04 from first, and junior Carolyn-Paige Breit was second in pole vault.

Hart won the 800 in 2:14.42 and anchored the winning 3,200 relay with senior Katie Hohe, junior Haley Yeager and freshman Audrey Allman in 9:31.15 and 1,600 relay with juniors Aaliyah Collier and Ava Powell and sophomore Kate Morrison in 4:06.71.

Allman also won the 1,600 in 5:15.0 as she won a sprint down the final straightaway with York senior Sarah May. The Hilltoppers' 800 relay was second.

"It was pretty windy out today. I knew I had to stick with the pack," Allman said. "It really came down to the final 100 meters. I'm glad I was able to pull out a sprint."

May ran a season-best 5:15.96.

"It definitely gives me a lot of motivation. It's good improvement for the season, but it's not where I want to be," May said.

York tied for 11th and Naperville Central was 13th. For the Redhawks, junior Abby Calabrese was fifth in both hurdles races with what she considered her second-best performances against great competition.

"When I see people running in front of me, it motivates me to push myself," Calabrese said. "Definitely, when it's warmer, it motivates myself even more."

West Aurora senior Dajour Miles, the two-time defending state champion in the 400, won in 58.51, 1.16 seconds over Wheeling senior Alexis Knight, third at state in 2018. Miles then won the 200 in 25.50, .13 ahead of Crete-Monee's Lyn'Nikka Vance.

"I felt like I ran OK. I'm a little out of shape, but I still have time to get back into it," Miles said. "(The competition) motivated me a lot because (Knight) was in the 400 and she's a great competitor and (Vance) in the 200, she's been my friend for about six years. She's an awesome runner."

West Aurora's Abigail Kuhn cleared 11-0 in winning pole vault. The Blackhawks' frosh-soph 1,600 relay was second.

Prospect finished 1-2 in the 3,200 with freshman Audrey Ginsberg and senior Julia O'Grady in 11:22.04 and 11:22.11.

"We always run together in workouts and it's really enjoyable running together," Ginsberg said. "I like to stay with her. She's really motivating."

"At this point we've kind of figured out we're good racing buddies. It wasn't very surprising that we went 1-2," O'Grady said.

Palatine senior Erin Oleksak won the 300 low hurdles in 46.55 and 100 high hurdles in 15.44 with West Aurora sophomore Victoria Spagnola second in 15.31.

Oleksak was especially pleased with her 300 hurdles, particularly a strong finish. At the 2018 state meet Oleksak and Spagnola were an all-state fifth and seventh in the 100 hurdles.

"This is the first year I've really paid attention with who's around me in races. But it's exciting running against fast people because you know you're going to see them later on," Oleksak said. "It's really good preparation for the bigger meets."

Wheeling's Nosa Igiehon was second in high jump. Knight felt sore from a tough week of training but offered no excuses to her 400 time.

"Definitely not my best race. Today things just weren't lining up for me, but it's definitely a learning experience for me," Knight said.