Girls track and field: Rosary edges Burlington Central for sectional crown

With little rest between totally dominating the 1,600-meter run, Rosary junior Lianna Surtz set her sights on the opening leg of the 1,600-meter relay Friday.

Seemingly fresh as can be after the grueling mile set the table for the Royals scintillating and tense victory over Burlington Central in the event as well as ultimately helping her team capture the championship of the Class 2A Plano sectional Thursday night at Reaper Stadium.

"It was pretty tough trying to regroup after the mile and get ready for a relay we needed to win," Surtz said. "I got off to a good start and never looked back and it was a great night for our team to win a sectional championship."

It truly was a fabulous night as well for Surtz who also blew away the field in the 3,200 meter run and will be advancing to the state championship meet next weekend at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston in the two individual distance events as well as the mile relay.

All in all, Rosary was champion of the sectional amassing 152 points to that of Burlington Central's second place tally of 140.5. The Royals registered eight first-place finishes along with three seconds good enough for state qualification.

The Rockets narrowly finished as runners-up with four first and five second finishes as senior Brooke Barkocy almost matched Surtz with two individual championships in the 100 and 300 meter hurdles as well as a second-place finish as part of the Burlington Central 4x400 team that barely got edged out by Surtz and company.

"That was a tough relay to lose but overall I'm so proud of my team and what I accomplished in the hurdles," Barkocy said. "Knowing that I'm going back to state again after such a tough junior year without a chance to, is so amazing and I couldn't be happier."