For as long as Carmel freshman Aileen Hull can remember, she’s found joy in running.
As a child, her mother, Maureen Hull, led runs around the neighborhood near the family’s Mundelein home. There was always plenty of company.
“I’m the second youngest. There’s seven of us,” Aileen Hull said.
While her five older brothers and sisters pursued other sports, Aileen Hull stuck with running. Early in her competitive career, it’s proving to be the right decision.
At the Lake County Invitational at Lake Zurich on April 30, Hull earned top-10 finishes in both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter run. Her 3,200 mark of 11 minutes, 43.05 seconds placed her sixth, high enough for a medal. Her 1,600 time of 5:30.48 put her in ninth place.
Hull’s performance was noteworthy for this reason — she and Libertyville freshman Melissa Manetsch were the only runners to finish in the top 10 in both long-distance races.
“She’s good. One of the hardest workers I’ve coached,” said Carmel coach Jim Halford, who is in his 20th season as the Corsairs girls track and field coach. “I’ve been really happy.”
Halford’s delight with Hull began during the indoor season. In her first varsity race, Hull ran a 1,600 time of 5:34. It was nine seconds off the state standard mark. Hull said she prefers the mile to the two-mile run.
“I know how I need to run it,” Hull said. “At 400, I know my time. I know by the third lap to push, then in the fourth lap, I really push. So I know how to make it fun.”
Carmel has a young and inexperienced team in 2015. Another freshman, Emily Silge, is making an impact in all three relays. At the Lake County meet, Silge ran legs in relay events that earned top-20 finishes. The best mark was in the 4×100, where senior Nissiya Adjei, juniors Isabella Smith and Grace Duffy and Silge ran a fifth-place time of 52.66. In the 4×400, seniors Kally Morozin and Riley Felicicchia, Duffy, and Silge placed ninth in 4:19.14.
Silge ran the third leg of the Corsairs’ 10th place 4×200 relay (1:53.93). Adjei, Smith and junior Valerie Jarencio ran the other legs. Carmel also got a top-10 finish in the long jump. Senior Katie Smith tied for ninth place with Lake Forest sophomore Ashlynne Pomerich with a jump of 14-06.50.
“All we’re doing is figuring out what direction we’ll go in two weeks,” said Halford, referring to the Class 2A Vernon Hills Sectional on May 15. “We’re too small to make an impact as a team.”
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At Lake County, Carmel finished 17th out of 17 teams.
Expect Hull to run the 1,600 at sectionals (and possibly the 3,200). She said her goal is to run a sub-5:20 mile, a time that would easily qualify her for the May 21-23 state meet at Eastern Illinois.
Only a freshman, much is in front of Hull. While her siblings involve themselves in other activities, she continues to run.
“I have a lot of older siblings. I fell in love with [running],” Hull said. “It’s a hard thing to love sometimes. But I’m sticking with it.”
Kerr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter: @prepspioneer