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player ready...Runners and jumpers from area schools won five events last weekend at the Illinois Top Times track meet at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington.
The invitational meet is considered the unofficial indoor state track meet as the participants had to attain a qualifying time/height/distance at an indoor meet this winter in order to compete at IWU.
The area winners included Warren senior Brittny Ellis in the Class 3A girls 60- and 200-meter dashes, Waukegan senior Cheyenne White in the 3A girls long jump, Lakes senior Corey Hertz in the 3A boys 400, and Vernon Hills senior Noah Agnew in the 2A boys high jump.
Ellis won the IHSA state title in 400 in 2012 and 2013, and finished third last spring. But after going a 3A record 7.61 in the 60, she was disqualified for a false start in the 400 before coming back to win the 200 in 24.75.
It’s been so long since Ellis’ only other false start — in an AAU meet at Disney World — she can’t remember if she was 10 or 11 then.
This time, “I watched the video several times,” she said. “I can’t find anything (wrong), but I have to respect the decision of the officials. They said they saw me move.”
Everyone saw her move in the 200 final.
“I always have a hard time getting myself naturally angry,” Ellis said. “This time, the motivation was just provided for me.”
Waukegan’s White is very much a wild card for the coming track season, as she was not part of the school team for last spring’s outdoor season.
At last May’s 3A state meet, the winning distances were 18-10.75 in the long jump and 40-3.5 in the triple jump. Saturday, White won the long jump at 18-7 and was second in the triple jump at 38-9.
In the 2014 IHSA state finals, Hertz finished fifth in the 400. Last Saturday, he won the race in 49.02.
The other area winner was Agnew, who cleared 6-6 to win the 2A high jump. Last May, the winning height at the state meet at Eastern Illinois University was 6-8.
In addition to the champions, Lake County had six second-place finishes, including White in the triple jump.
In 3A, Grayslake Central’s Katherine Schroeder cleared 12-0, which was second in the 3A girls pole vault; Mundelein’s Bryce Richards was second in the 3A boys 1,600; Vivian Overbeck of Vernon Hills was second in the 2A girls 3,200; Carmel’s David Biondi cleared 14-0 to finish second in the 2A boys pole vault; and Vernon Hills’ Shane Williamson was second in the 2A boys 3,200.
Other top-five finishes at IWU were posted by Alexa Schmitt of Grayslake Central in the 3A girls long jump; Danielle Griesbaum of Lakes in the girls 3A high jump and 800; Mundelein’s Katie Stanczykiewicz in the 3A girls high jump; Edward Smoliak of Highland Park in the 3A boys pole vault; Warren’s Dustin Macuiba and Stevenson’s Sam Oh in the 3A boys 3,200; Grant’s Timmy Brundidge in the 3A boys 60 hurdles; Warren’s Isaac Walker in the 3A boys 400; and Vernon Hills’ Jordyn Bunning in the 2A girls 60 hurdles.
Mike Clark contributed to this report