Girls track and field: There's no stopping Huntley
What was an otherwise thrilling night for Huntley - with 12 state-qualifying entries, several personal-record performances and another team championship - came with one major dejection.
The Red Raiders accomplished just about everything they wanted, but had to fight through the sadness of seeing junior Sophie Amin suffer a gruesome injury in the 100-meter high hurdles, a race she was leading with two hurdles to go.
Huntley, again, was on top of its game as it won the Class 3A girls track and field sectional Wednesday night at Red Raider Stadium with 109 points. Prairie Ridge (80) was second, Guilford (78) was third and Hononegah (64) was fourth.
Huntley senior Alex Johnson qualified in four events and will head to the state meet next Friday and Saturday in Charleston to defend her titles in the long and triple jumps. Her sophomore sister Dominique Johnson qualified in three events, also making it in the long and triple jumps.
Prairie Ridge's Rylee Lydon, the defending state high jump champion, qualified in four individual events (high and long jump, 100 hurdles and 400).
But Amin's hard fall and left foot injury put a damper on the meet. She had a slight lead on Lydon and Cary-Grove's Lindsey Kownick, who finished first and second. After Amin's trail leg hit the hurdle, she landed hard on her left leg and crumpled to the track.
Amin, a state qualifier last year, laid on the track for more than 10 minutes while she was attended to by trainers. An ambulance came to take her to the hospital.
"She was having the race of her life," Red Raiders coach Jason Monson said. "She was on her way to breaking the school record. You're talking about somebody who works so incredibly hard, so it's gutting to have her season end that way. She's somebody who will come back strong and fight. We call her a gamer, she's always going to rise to that challenge."
Lydon felt badly about Amin, with whom she is friends. The two compete in the offseason with TNT Track and Field Academy in Mount Prospect.
"I saw her go down, it looked like her lead leg almost caught it and then she tumbled with it," Lydon said. "It was scary to see that. That really hurt to see, I just had to keep going. She's a teammate of mine. I'm praying for her and hoping everything's all right."
Alex Johnson had a nervous moment early in the meet when she scratched on her first two triple jumps, but she landed a 12.24-meter effort (40 feet, 2 inches) on her third preliminary jump and was done for the meet in that event. She also won the long jump at 6.25 (20-6), a personal best.
"(The triple jump) was so nerve-wracking. The worst feeling ever, very anxiety-inducing," Johnson said of her scratches. "I just went back and just wanted to get my mark and get in (to the finals). Then it was one of my better jumps.
"I felt very energized and very bouncy. The weather helps. I felt very fast today. I felt very comfortable and very loose. It was a good day for me."
Temperatures were near 80 degrees with little wind, which made for strong performances for most competitors.
Dominique Johnson was second in triple at 12.11 (39-8 3/4) and Dundee-Crown's Paulina Tinajero also made it at 11.35 (37-3). Lydon was second in long jump, with Dominique Johnson and Tinajero also advancing in that event.
Huntley's 4x100 relay of Amin, Vicky Evtimov, K'Leigh Saenz and Alex Johnson set a school record with its 47.68 to win. The Raiders' 4x200 team of Saenz, Dominique Johnson, Emily Byers and Evtimov also won in a school-record time of 1:41.91.
Huntley's Breanna and Brittney Burak (both in the 3,200) and Ally Panzloff and Sienna Robertson (both in discus) were its other qualifiers. Alex Johnson also made it in the 100 and Evtimov advanced in the 200.
The 3,200 was a fast race, with Breanna Burak in second, Crystal Lake South's Bella Gonzalez in third, Brittney Burak in fourth and McHenry's Danielle Jensen in fifth, all making it to state.
Other state qualifiers were C-G's Annika Nordin (shot put) and Kate Aniolowski (300 low hurdles), Hampshire's Hailey Caraway (high jump) and 4x800 relay team (Alyssa Garcia, Hudson Szymonik, Hannah Jones and Ella Perrone).
Panzloff will be one of the top seeds in the discus, but was ecstatic that Robertson is going with her.
"I knew (Robertson) was going to qualify. I kept telling her, 'You're cooking up something big. I can see it. You just have to put everything together,' " Panzloff said. "I was so excited for her. I was more excited that she qualified than me. It was that perfect throw she's been chasing all season."