Prospect continues winning streak

The Prospect girls track and field team has so much positive going for it, where to start?

The Knights started the season winning the York indoor invite title at both levels and then swept both MSL indoor meets. That was followed by Downers Grove North and Lake Park outdoor invite titles and winning the MSL East Division at both levels.

And now for the avalanche of individual accolades. Prospect's distance medley team placed fifth at the 2022 Oregon Relays in Eugene, Oregon, running 12:01.67, which broke the school record by 35 seconds and is a time that coach Pete Wintermute believes may be the fastest in Illinois high school history.

The Prospect 3,200 relay won the indoor stat title running, 9:22 and ranks first in the state currently after doing 9:21.20 at Downers Grove. The 1,600 relay team is in the Top 5 in the state after a 4:04.84 showing at Downers Grove. That grouping features Audrey Ginsberg, Cameron Kalaway, Hailey Erickson and Lily Ginsberg.

Daria Tersina set a school record of 12.20 meters in the triple jump, which ranks fifth in the state. Madison Payne has gone 12.46 meters in the shot put, also a Top 5 state mark. Senior Audrey Ginsberg set the school record indoors in the 300, 400 and 600 meters, and was part of the 3,200 and 1,600 relay teams that set school indoor records. She's headed to the University of Illinois next year.

"Audrey is a fierce competitor and holds multiple school records," Wintermute said.

Wintermute also is high on Tersina and her jumping and running exploits. She's headed to Winona State. "Daria continues to raise the bar for the sprints and jumps at Prospect," he said.

The Carthage-bound Payne has gone over 105 feet in the discus and the 40-10 1/2 chuck at Lake Park is one of the best in school history. "Madison continues to shine in her senior season," Wintermute said.

Wintermute also cited excellence from the freshmen trio of Veronica Znajda, Anna Niebrugge and Sophie Fransen. Znajda ran 10:34.11 in the 3,000 in Oregon (11:20.84 converted to 3,200). "This is one of the best freshman times in Prospect history and ranks No. 8 all-time at school," Wintermute noted. "She has been a nice addition to our 1,600 and 3,200 relays."

Niebrugge has helped Prospect in the sprints and 400, 800 and 1,600 relays. "Anna has a competitive fire and continues to improve each week," Wintermute said. "She has been a huge addition to our sprints and our relays."

Fransen ran 11:01.43 for 3,000 in the Oregon Relays (11:50.18 converted to 3,200). "Sophie is gaining confidence each week and has the ability to fill any hole in any distance event," Wintermute said.

Fremd update:

The Vikings were third at indoor MSL meet out of 12 schools. Fremd also won the Joliet West invite team title at both levels. Fremd won the JV MSL West Division meet with the varsity points behind first. Both levels were third at the Titan invitational.

"Many young athletes are progressing very well across multiple events as they gain experience," Marcin said.

Senior Kiera White has broken two school records in the long and triple jumps, and has been a multiple-event scorer all season. Senior Mia Hardy is excelling in the shot put and junior Ava Fumarolo doing well in the discus. Junior Amanda Markham has made weekly strides in the middle distances. She was second in the 800 indoors at the MSL meet.

Buffalo Grove update:

The Bison 1,600 and 3,200 relay teams are excelling. The 1,600 team features Martyna Ostrega, Kalia Davis, Maja Wegrowski and Cassidy Kallas, while the 3,200 has Kallas, Davis, Wegrowski and Janus.

"We have not ran our loaded 4-by-4 since indoor conference, but are looking to run as close as we can to our outdoor school record," BG coach Bryan Quesea said. "The 4-by-8 at divisions ran solid in 10:14 (which the coach noted is the fastest time recorded on the website athletic.net)."

Quesea added Davis has been top-notch in any distances from 200 to 800, "and continues to be lights out at meets," he said.

Lily Wintergerst broke her school record in the pole vault at Lake Park, beating her previous PR with a jump of 8-6. Twin sister, Chloe, continues to progress in the hurdles. This is Chloe Wintergerst's second season doing the 300 hurdles.

Rolling Meadows update:

Hannah Oloro's 5-1 high jump effort won her the MSL East Division title, "and is in a great place headed into the stretch run," coach Steven Henry noted.

Ore Oloro went 16.42 in the 100 hurdles to also win an East Division title. "She is looking strong as we get ready for conference and the sectional," Henry added. "Ore has had a great senior season. She has dropped a lot of time from her races last season. She came in this year in tremendous shape after running cross country in the fall and doing gymnastics over the winter. She is a great kid and the coaches are really happy for her success this season."

Lauren Schiele won the 200 at the East Division meet, "and should have a strong showing in the 200 and 400 at conference and sectionals," Henry said. "Hannah, Ore and Lauren are ready to make a run at a good place at conference and potentially qualify for the state meet. They have been improving throughout the season and now have a couple weeks to get mentally and physically to be at their best the last week of the season."

Wheeling update:

Junior Brenda Torres is closing in on the state-qualifying marks for the 1,600 and 3,200 . She ran 11:27.31 to win the 3,200 MSL East title and came back later to take third in the 1,600. Later in the week, she booked a seasonal-best 5:12.80 in the 1,600 at Palatine Distance Night.

Senior Riana Hayes won the 100 at the MSL East, took third in the 200 and anchored the Wildcats' 400 and 800 relays that took second. Coach Tim Nowicki said a nice surprise has been senior Melissa Castro, who transferred from Christian Liberty. "We knew very little about her coming into the season," the coach said. "She has been consistently scoring big points for us in the long jump and sprints."

Conant update:

The Cougars were fifth out of 16 teams at the Lake Park invitational.

Of note individually for coach Kalli Dalton's club are Vashayla Bradley, who won the Long Jump at the Barrington invitational and ranks second on the school Top 10 list, and sophomore Eva Krakowski, who went 34-9 1/4 in the triple at Lake Park, which ranks fifth on the Conant Top 10 list.

"Vashayla is making the most of every opportunity to compete," Dalton said. "Eva is making her mark in the jumps in our school and conference."

Conant's 400 relay was second at Lake Park (52.31) and the 800 relay logged a second-place showing there as well (1:53.67). "The hard efforts of our athletes are being paid off with earning PRs, even at those very windy meets," Dalton said.

Schaumburg update:

The Saxons won a recent 10-team home invite at both levels, plus finished second at the Willowbrook invitational (10 teams).

Junior Chali Baumann won the 100 (12.98) at Prospect, won the 200 (26.64) at home and won the long jump at 18-0 1/4 at home. "Chali has worked so hard and is willing to try every event," Schaumburg coach Kristen Miller said. "She does what is best for the team and scores a lot of points for us on the track and in the field events."

Senior Layla Jessie won the high jump at Barrington (5-0) and won the triple at Prospect, with a mark of 34-11. "Layla also has been running 100 and 200 open events and relays this season," Miller said. "She has been a huge help on the track and scores many points in the field events, ever meet. She works hard all the time."

Freshman Kaylee Meyer went 5-0 in the high jump at Barrington. "Even after coming off a basketball injury, Kaylee has shown her skills in the high jump," Miller said. "She has only competed in a few meets after coming back from her injury, but has already jumped 5-0. She is a positive member of our team and sets high goals for herself."

Another bright spot has been freshman Amy Carhee (17.45 in the 100 hurdles at home and 27.91 in the 200 at Barrington). "Amy joined track and field after doing gymnastics at Schaumburg," Miller noted. "She has been a huge asset to the team and has continued to improve week after week."