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Richwoods freshman runs four state track prelims, qualifies in three

May 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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By JANE MILLER (jmiller@pjstar.com)

Journal Star

CHARLESTON —

Drained after a day of running four events, Brenna Detra still managed a smile.

The Richwoods freshman qualified for Saturday’s Class 2A girls track and field state finals in all three of her individual events — the 100-meter hurdles in :15.68, 300 hurdles in :45.98 and 200-meter dash in :25.91.

The only event she didn’t advance in at O’Brien Field was the 4×200 relay.

Detra’s 300 hurdles time was the second fastest of the preliminaries. Amber Farrell, a junior at the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora, has the top seed time in the finals, :44.42.

“I just really wanted to make sure I got my spot in the finals,’’ Detra said. “I’m going to focus on tomorrow now.’’

The rainy weather, which plagued the meet much of its first two days, left puddles during the 300 hurdles.

“There was that, and you don’t get much of a break and you’re tired and I just thought, ‘You’ve just got to push through,’ ’’ she said.

Despite her loaded schedule for the finals, which begin at 11 a.m. Saturday at Eastern Illinois University, Detra will not be pacing herself.

“I’m going to just run — it’s the last meet and I want to show something as a freshman,’’ she said.

For Metamora senior Amanda Duvendack, it is her last state meet, and she definitely showed something in her races Friday.

The defending 800 champion is the top seed in that event by almost six seconds after she ran 2:13.71 in the second of two preliminaries.

Duvendack will be joined in the 800 finals by East Peoria teammates Emma Preston and Cassie Lohmeier and Notre Dame freshman Maureen Lawless.

“It wasn’t quite as fast as I wanted, but hopefully the weather tomorrow will allow me to do what I want to do,’’ said Duvendack, who wants a crack at the overall state record of 2:07.3.

Duvendack also anchored Metamora’s qualifying 4×400 relay in a season-best 4:00.20. Duvendack had to come from behind to win that race and took the baton with a look of determination.

“I knew when Ellen (Goins) gave me the baton in that race, that those girls did everything that they could,’’ Duvendack said about Goins, Jolie Zwick and Patricia Goettler. “I couldn’t have asked any more. And I knew I needed to do everything I could to get us there. And we’re going. So that was the motivation there.’’

Preston ran her second consective 2:15 in the 800 and finished second in the first heat of that race. She also raced in perhaps the most difficult conditions of the day as a heavy rain began to fall just as her heat came to the line.

“I like rain, though,’’ she said. “It makes things interesting.’’

Preston was supposed to run the 1600 but scratched out of that event.

“She’s had a sore ankle and we figure she has plenty of years of big races,’’ East Peoria distance coach Tim Broe said. “We decided to put all our eggs in one basket this year rather than double.’’ 

Notre Dame junior Molly Dahlquist anchored the team of Lawless, Jessie Wynn and Maggie Clark to a spot in the 4×800 finals, in 9:47.68. But Dahlquist missed qualifying in the 1600 after she ran 7.8 seconds slower than her seventh-ranked sectional seed time.

“The mile didn’t go quite as I wanted,’’ she said. “I just didn’t have it today.’’ 

Galesburg qualified its 4×800 relay of Becca Ladner, Dorothy Mangieri, Hanna Hawkins and Jackie Kennedy in 9:47.40 and advanced — barely — in the 4×200 with Cierra Latta, Sharron Diggins, Rainee Sibley and Bailey Jackson. The Silver Streaks suffered a bad handoff, which hampered their time.

“We had one bad handoff and we’re definitely going to work on it because we were right neck and neck with (top seed Springfield) Southeast before that,’’ Jackson said. “We can give them a run for their money.’’

Dunlap sophomore Lexi Hobbs competed in four events Friday and advanced in one — the long jump, where she has the fifth-best preliminary performance, at 18-8.25. LaSalle-Peru sophomore Ellen Renk also advanced in the long jump (17-8) and is seeded third in the triple jump (37-3).

Alycia Welch of Streator also advanced in triple jump.

Metamora senior Morgan Ryan and Notre Dame sophomore Grace Shadid moved on in the pole vault.

In the weights, Richwoods senior Raven Robinson, Dunlap senior Emily Waldman and Galesburg junior Amy Blucker made the finals in the shot put and discus.

Morton senior Maggie McMurtrey and Galesburg sophomore Myra Diggins advanced in the discus.

CLASS 3A: Pekin freshman Kara Toel advanced to the finals of the 400 meters with the eighth-best prelim time, :58.19.

“There’s a lot of really quick times out there,’’ said Toel, who immediately after the race wasn’t sure she had made it. “I was kind of nervous, but when you get into it, it’s just going just like usual.’’

Filed Under: Mid-State 6, Spotlight Tagged With: , , , ,

Richwoods boys run away with Mid-State 6 title

May 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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By JOHNNY CAMPOS

PEORIA —

Repeat winners were the story Thursday night in the Mid-State 6 Conference boys track and field championships.

Defending champs won seven of the 14 individual events at Peoria Stadium. And the Richwoods Knights kept with the theme by capturing the team title for the second year in a row.

Richwoods, which was favored by eight points, had a strong finish to pull away from Notre Dame and Central. Richwoods totaled 123 points, ND 101 and Central 94.

“We were the favorites coming in, but when you’re talking about eight points, that’s just a place change,” Richwoods coach Roland Brown said. “All of our kids ran hard and I believe pretty much held their seeds.”

Richwoods capped the victory by winning the 4×400-meter relay, behind the running of T.J. Cole, Nate Carter, Mike Davis and anchorman Thomas Harayda.

Davis, who repeated in the 300 hurdles in a school-record :39.5, trailed when he got the baton. But he was well out in front when he handed it to Harayda.

“After losing to (Marcellous) Rush, I knew I couldn’t lose any more races today,” Davis said about the 110-hurdles winner from Central.

Harayda, who also was on the winning 4×800 relay and third in the 1600, was carrying the team trophy after the meet.

“We’ve got four guys, not just one,” he said. “T.J. (second in the 400) does the open for us, and Nate has a huge kick.

“So, if we’re close, we’ve got a good chance. I trust in those guys, and they trust me, so I just go out there, run hard and see what happens.”

The biggest repeat winner was Notre Dame senior distance runner C.J. Elward. He won his specialties, the 1600 (4:30.9) and 3200 (9:52.3), for the fourth consecutive season.

“That’s never been done before,” Notre Dame coach Mike Sullivan said.

Elward also anchored the 4×800 relay, which finished second behind the Knights, and also won the 800 (2:01.7).

“I hadn’t run an open 800 since my freshman year,” Elward said. “It was kind of breezy, so I just wanted to run a tactical race.

“Some of the leaders were going too slow, so I took off with about a lap to go, and Grant (Inskeep, a teammate) came up right behind me. I knew we were going to go 1-2, but I wasn’t going to give it to him for free.”

Elward finished about a second ahead of Inskeep, won the 1600 by six seconds and the 3200 by about three seconds.

Host Central was without two of the three Jackson triplets, because of leg injuries. But the one healthy Jackson — Spencer Jackson — did all he could to keep the Lions in the hunt.

The junior sprinter won the 200 (:22.0), the 400 (:50.9) and anchored the winning 4×100 relay.

Other repeat winners were  Rush in the 110 hurdles (:14.9), Jake Hoelzel of Richwoods in the discus (153-8), Cornelius Thomas of Central in the triple jump (44-51/2) and Cameron Bridges of Richwoods in the pole vault (12-0).

A surprise winner was Central freshman Josh Augusta, who knocked off Hoelzel in the shot put with a 53-10 heave. The winning toss was almost nine feet better than Augusta’s best previous varsity throw.

Another freshman, Richwoods sprinter Kendrick Foster, won the 100 in :10.8.

Johnny Campos can be reached at 686-3214 or at jcampos@pjstar.com.

Filed Under: Mid-State 6, News Tagged With: ,

Mid-Illini, Mid-State 6 boys Conference Previews

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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Mid-Illini

What: Mid-Illini Conference track and field championships

Where: Dunlap (Washington is host)

When: Thursday. Field events 4 p.m., running events 6 p.m.

Defending champion: Metamora

Team favorite: Metamora

Contenders: Pekin, Morton, Canton

Defending individual champions: 100, 200, 400 – Jimmie Smith (sr.) Canton. 800, 1600, 3200 – John Crain (sr.) Dunlap. LJ – Colton Vinovich (sr.) Pekin. PV – Cody Durand (jr.) Dunlap.

Outlook: This could be the closest conference race in years. Metamora has won the last five titles, but Pekin was undefeated in the dual-meet season. Dragons coach Marshall Tucker doesn’t know if that will translate to a conference title. “Duals don’t count for anything (as far as final conference standings),” he said. “The only thing it’s done for our kids is confidence — and a little confidence can go a long way.” The sprints should be especially exciting between Canton senior Smith and Morton junior D.J. Zahn. Metamora senior Aaron Peters and Kyle Henderson of Pekin also enter in the mix here. Distance and middle distance favorites are Dunlap’s Crain, senior Ryan Van Fossen of Metamora, senior Zach Wiedeman of Canton, junior Jic O’Neill of Canton and sophomore Tyler Morse of Limestone. Relays are Metamora’s forte, but Pekin and Morton also have turned in some great times. In field events, look for East Peoria junior Chris Neely in the weights, Vinovich (Pekin), Brandon Lambiase (Metamora) and Zahn in the long jump and Dunlap’s Durand in the pole vault.

Mid-State 6

What: Mid-State 6 Conference track and field championships

Where: Peoria Stadium (Central is host)

When: Thursday. Field events 4 p.m. Sprint prelims: 5:30 p.m. Running finals: 6:30 p.m.

Defending champion: Richwoods

Team favorite: Notre Dame

Other contenders: Richwoods, Central

Defending individual champions: 1600, 3200 – C.J. Elward (sr.) Notre Dame. 110HH – Marcellous Rush (sr.) Central. 300IH – Mike Davis (sr.) Richwoods. SP, D – Jake Hoelzel (sr.) Richwoods. TJ – Cornelius Thomas (jr.) Central. HJ – Ishmill Lindsay (sr.) Central. PV – Cameron Bridges (sr.) Richwoods.

Outlook: On paper, said Knights coach Roland Brown, Richwoods should defend its title. “By seeds, it should be us,” he said. “It’s going to be close, and the kids will have to hold seeds.” Notre Dame is coming out with guns blazing. Elward is expected to defend his titles in the 1600 and 3200 and also is entered in the 800 and 4×800. Richwoods freshman Kendrick Foster has run a :10.6 in the 100 meters, but ND senior Brian Garland is one-tenth of a second back. In the relays, Central and Notre Dame are close in the 4×100, Richwoods and Manual should battle in the 4×200 and 4×400, and the Knights top the Honor Roll in the 4×800. Hoelzel should defend his two weights titles.

Filed Under: Mid-Illini, Mid-State 6, News

Notre Dame girls capture Mid-State 6 title

May 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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 by DAVE REYNOLDS

Notre Dame easily captured the Mid-State 6 Conference girls track and field championship Thursday at Peoria Stadium, outdistancing runner-up Richwoods, 164-132.

But a Richwoods freshman stole the show.

Brenna Detra won three races — the 100- and 300-meter hurdles and the 200-meter dash. She also finished second in the long jump.

“There’s nothing but good things coming for Brenna,” Richwoods coach Shad Hickman said. “If she’s not already an all-stater, she will be in the future.”

Detra, who set the school record last week in the 300, nosed out Notre Dame senior Abby Ferlman by one-tenth of a second in the 100 hurdles Thursday, but won the longer hurdles and the 200 going away.

“I was so feeling the 100 hurdles and really pushed it at the end,” Detra said. “I sprinted all the way through the 300 hurdles. The 200 is my favorite race because I love when I come around the corner and hear everyone shouting. I just kept sprinting.”

Another freshman, Notre Dame’s Maureen Lawless, was also a triple winner, capturing the 400, anchoring the 4×800 and leading off the final race of the day, the 4×400.

Woodruff’s Andrea Porch also posted a razor-thin victory in the 100-meter dash, edging Notre Dame’s Grace Shadid by one-tenth of a second.

“I was last in the 100 last year because I’d taken a year off,” she said. “So it means a lot to win.”

Said Shadid, who also won the pole vault and anchored the winning 4×200: “The 100 was just a blur. I wasn’t sure who won, but I was happy with anything that gave the team points.”

Porch also captured the long jump, by 4.5 inches over Detra.

Richwoods’ Raven Robinson also won two events — the discus and the shot put.

Notre Dame dominated the distance events, winning every relay besides the 4×100 and finishing 1-2 in every race from the 400 to the 3200.

“The girls did very well tonight,” ND coach John Cummings said. “We had some surprises we didn’t anticipate, and that helped a lot. The girls stepped up and ran.

“They held or bettered their seeds in a lot of places. When you’ve got good (assistant) coaches and talented girls who are easy to work with, it works well.”

Cummings tried to maximize his team’s scoring ability by switching some girls around, most notably Molly Dahlquist, who ran the 3200 for the first time this season, beating second-place teammate Julie Hendricksen by 45 seconds.

Dahlquist, whose best race is the 1600, didn’t seem to mind doubling her workload.

“It’s the first time I’ve run the 3200 since last year’s conference meet,” she said. “I just wanted to go out and see what I could do. I’m still undecided what I’ll do (next week) for sectionals.”

Said Cummings: “A conference meet is a little different from any other meet because all that counts is places. We ran people in places to accentuate what we needed for points.

“So we used our depth to best ability. I tried to make sure our distance runners were fresh.”

Filed Under: Mid-State 6, News Tagged With: ,