By JANE MILLER (jmiller@pjstar.com) MEET RESULTS
MORTON —
Coming into the final event of the girls Mid-Illini Conference meet on Thursday, Dunlap’s 4×400 relay team knew what it had to do.
The Eagles led 10-time defending track and field champion Metamora by four points, but the Redbirds were favored in the 4×4 and Dunlap couldn’t finish more than one place behind Metamora.
But the Eagles ran six seconds faster than they had all year to finish second to the Redbirds and grab the conference title with 137 points to Metamora’s 135. Morton was third with 105.
“We’ve kind of struggled in this conference to get where we want to be,” Dunlap coach Duane Peterson said. “I think this is an indication we’ve finally gotten there. This is just huge for our kids and us.”
The Eagles won six events to Metamora’s eight but finished 1-2 in the long jump with Lexi Hobbs and Claire Peterson, and had a key 1-3 finish in the 200, with Peterson first and Hobbs third.
“That was big and the fact that Claire won that was a nice thing for the old man,” Peterson said of his daughter.
Katie Maloof anchored Dunlap’s 4×400 relay, crossed the finish line and burst into tears as she fell into the arms of her screaming teammates.
“I am on the best team in the conference,” she shouted. “I was thinking about my team the whole time in that race. This is the happiest day of my life right now.”
Norris Akpan, who won the 300 low hurdles in :48.25; Kiara Brown and Victoria Rychener also were on the 4×400 team, which ran 4:14.77.
Metamora’s winning team was Patricia Goettler, Ellen Goins, Joelie Zwick and Amanda Duvendack in 4:05.33 — the best in the area this season by five seconds.
Duvendack capped her final conference meet by winning four events. She also anchored the Redbirds’ 4×100 of Meghan Heman, Lindsey Wille and Ellen Goins (:50.27); cruised to the 800 title in 2:13.98, also her fastest this year; and came from behind to nip Pekin freshman Kara Toel in the 400 in :58.30 to Toel’s :58.39.
“In the 800, I wanted it and decided before I even stepped on the track that I wasn’t going to let (a recent) injury hurt my spirits,” she said. “In the 400, my legs were not going to lose. My mind was like, ‘I am exhausted.’ but my legs kicked in.”
Still it was a bittersweet ending. “We knew it was going to be tough, and one thing we wanted to do is go and congratulate them if we won,” she said — and the Redbirds did that.
“That’s what Metamora’s about,” Duvendack added.
Metamora coach Ron Bachman gave credit to Dunlap.
“We did some things on the track that were better than what we were expected to do, but Dunlap came up and they surpassed everything they were supposed to do. So, they deserve all that,” he said. “We’re proud of how we competed … but they were good enough to flat beat us.”
ALSO: Other Dunlap winners were Emily Waldman in the shot put (36-31/4) and discus (117-3); Hobbs in the long jump (16-3); and Leah Brooks in the 3200 (11:32.2). … Metamora senior Morgan Ryan won the pole vault (10-6) and 100 high hurdles (:16.33); Heman took the 100 (:12.86) and the 4×200 team of Heman, Goettler, Gretchen Giesler and Wille ran a season-best 1:48.76. … Other M-I champions were Cassie Lohmeier of East Peoria in the 1600 (5:17.29); Kelsey Kirk of Morton in the high jump (5-2); Ann Chapman of Washington in the triple jump (33-3); and Canton’s 4×800 relay team of Lydia Smith, Anna Yontz, Madison Lefler and Jessica Thum (10:10.26).
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