Girls track and field: Barrington's Dunn, Lake Zurich's Johnston shine
It really did say April on the calendar, didn't it?
For the competitors at Thursday night's Barrington girls track and field invitational, it might have felt more like mid-February, with cold temperatures and a strong wind whipping in their faces.
Still, like anything else, there were two schools of thought as to whether it's better to run in these type of conditions, or in blazing hot summerlike temps.
Bre Dunn of Barrington said she prefers the warmer weather, while Brooke Johnston from Lake Zurich said she didn't mind the cooler climate at all.
Either way, both runners finished the night as champions.
Dunn won the 100-meter hurdles in the time of 16.25, while Johnston was victorious in the 3,200 at 10:42.42.
"We were just talking about that before the race," said Dunn, a senior, of the juxtaposition of running in the cold versus the heat. "I think I would rather run (in the heat). Your muscles would be super warm, and you'd be ready to go. But honestly I'll take whatever I can get.
"I had a lot of fans and friends supporting me tonight, and that was great. I always push to be the first to the very first hurdle and at the start I was tied with a couple of the other girls. I just kept pushing along, did the best I could, and I was just so happy that I finished and ran a clean race."
Dunn finished first again, later in the 300 hurdles while Johnston, a junior and standout cross-country runner who took third at state in Class 3A last fall, said the elements "weren't too bad."
"It was a little rough sometimes," she said, "especially the last 200, but I felt it (the wind) pushing sometimes too so it kind of evened out."
It was the first time that Johnston had run the 3,200 this year.
"I'd only done it once or twice before in my career," she said, "so I was kind of feeling it out today. I didn't have specific paces for each lap, I just wanted to make sure I was pushing it, and with whatever I had left, give it everything I've got."
In the field events, Rylee Lydon of Prairie Ridge won the high jump, Vashayla Bradley of Conant won the long jump, Sofia Rosenzweig from the Fillies took first in the triple jump, while teammate Claire Kavanagh was victorious in the discus.
Barrington won the 4x800 relay; Lake Zurich triumphed in the 4 x 800; Ashley Oliver of Hoffman Estates was the winner in the 100-meter dash (12.65), while Aly Negovetich of Grant (2:19.12) crossed the finish line first in the 800.
Barrington had a slight lead on Lake Zurich in the team race, with a few more events to be contested as the meet went late into the night.
Rayna Kauffman anchored a Bears 4 x 100 team that won in the time of 51:34.
"There was a lot going on on the track tonight," said Kauffman. "That race (the 4 x 100) was a little crazy. Everybody was coming in at almost the exact same time.
"The last 100 I felt like I was running in to a brick wall because the wind was against me, but it was all good."