Girls track and field: York runs away with Rolling Meadows sectional crown

On the morning of Wednesday's Class 3A Rolling Meadows girls track and field sectional, York junior Elaine Paul woke up feeling tired.

"I was hoping that would go away. It did, thank goodness."

Paul then had an eye-popping night at the meet, finishing first three times and qualifying for state in a fourth event, as York's Dukes ran away with the sectional title by totaling 124 points to runner-up Lake Park's 82.

Paul sped to first in the 100- (12.29) and 200-meter (25.41) dashes, helped the Dukes' 800 relay capture gold (1:44.35, with Mia Hanger, Norah Peiffle and Katelyn Pratt) and scooted 100 yards for the second-place 400 relay (49.01, with Hanger, Pratt and Morgan Navarre.

The state meet will be held May 18-20 on the campus of Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

Glenbard North superstar and Notre Dame-bound Grace Schager raced to the state championship there in the 3200 last spring. Wednesday at RM, she clocked a first-place 10:27.04 in the 3200 and topped the 1600 field in 4:58.62.

Panthers teammate Skyler Libel had an eventful night, winning the long jump with an 18-01.5 effort and then thinking her season had ended in the 100 hurdles after finishing fifth with a time of 15.92.

Glenbard North assistant Gary Heilers gave a disappointed Libel some super news shortly thereafter.

"I told her, 'You made it,' " Heilers said. "She was convinced she was done. But she made it on the dot (the state qualifying standard in the event is 15.92)."

Glenbard North finished third (53 points) in the team standings, followed by Glenbard West (53) Conant (49), Wheaton North (43), Schaumburg (34), Hoffman Estates (31), RM (22), Elk Grove (18), Glenbard East (18), Willowbrook (18), Addison Trail (10), Bartlett (3) and Fenton (1).

The gathering featured 10 DuPage County schools and five Cook County schools.

Other champions: 3200 relay (Glenbard West, 9:44.88; Moira Ahern, Maia Kaslewiscz. Mackenzie Gilbert and Carlin Hass); 400 relay (Conant, 48.99; Margaret Owens, Anna McGrail, Gianna Hill and Sophia Galiano-Sanchez); high jump (Lake Park's Karmen Kurow, 5-5.75); 100 hurdles (Conant freshman Daisha Brunson, 14:76); discus (LP's Sereana Vulaono, 115-07); pole vault (LP's Evalina Bach, 11-00.75); 800 (Glenbard West's Gilbert, 2:19.22); 400 (York's Navarre, 59.73); 300 hurdles (Wheaton North's Kitty Noland, 47.6); triple jump (LP's Imani Ogunribido, 36-11.5); and 1600 relay (York, 4:04.22; Margaret Maston, Galiano-Sanchez, Ariya Shah and Navarre); and shot put (Hoffman Estates' Amaya Hendrickson, 40-03.5).

"It was super exciting," said Conant coach and former Cougars standout Kalli Dalton (Class of 2009). "Our team has so much passion for track and field. They own it. They like to say, 'This is my sport.' We had a girl fall in the 300 hurdles (she got up and finished), and seven of her teammates rushed to her to support her after the finish."

More than 50 entrants qualified for next weekend's state meet. The top two finishers in each event automatically made it to state.