One day, during a winter indoor track practice, Barrington senior Nina Hodges observed several teammates working out.
As she watched them run through drills with intensity, one runner after another sprinting hard, she came to a realization about Barrington’s 2015 girls track and field team.
“It was something I’d never seen before,” Hodges said. “I said, ‘This is going to be a really good team.’ “
Several months later, Barrington validated Hodges’ belief. For the first time since 2008, the Fillies won a sectional. That earned them a team berth in the state meet that begins May 22 at Eastern Illinois in Charleston.
Barrington won the Fremd Sectional on May 15 with a team score of 104.25. Warren finished second with 88 points.
While the Blue Devils are mainly a one-person team (senior Brittny Ellis won the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes), the Fillies are a picture of balance. Consider this — in 11 events, 12 athletes earned state-qualifying marks.
“The girls did a great job focusing on their events. We had a nice number of PR’s [personal records],” coach Jody Gitelis said. “It was very exciting all over the place. A big team effort.”
No individual stood out more than Hodges. A runner-up to Ellis in the 100 and 200, Hodges also ran legs for the Fillies championship 4×200 relay (1 minute, 42.01 seconds) and third-place 4×100 relay (49.09).
Hodges was a member of last year’s state-qualifying 4×200 relay that did not make it out of preliminaries. She said this year’s group of herself, senior Liz Nykaza, junior Sara Kate Capel and sophomore Kelsey McLaurin is peaking at the right time of the season.
“This year we have a better chance to make it to finals,” Hodges said. “The determination this team has, we push each other to get better times.”
McLaurin is Barrington’s other four-event qualifier. She will compete in Charleston in all three relays — 4×100, 4×200 and 4×800 — and in the triple jump. Her jump of 37-02 at sectionals broke the Barrington school record and earned her a runner-up medal.
“Triple jump is a technical event. All the technique hit at once. She had it all together,” Gitelis said of McLaurin.
Capel qualified for state in three events — the 4×100 and 4×200 relays and the 300 hurdles. Capel finished second in the 300 hurdles to sophomore teammate Addison Coy. Coy won the event with a blistering time of 44.17, besting Capel (45.90) by almost two seconds. Barrington had one other individual state champion, freshman Jocelyn Long. Her time of 10:52.63 easily won the 3,200 meter run. Long will also run the 1,600 this weekend after finishing under the state standard mark at Fremd with a time of 5:11.06.
When the Fillies walk onto the O’Brien Field track at Eastern Illinois on Friday, there will be athletes of different ages. Senior captains Hodges, Steph Bergren and Lauren Cropsey will lead a youthful contingent highlighted by Coy, McLaurin and Long.
All have earned their way into the state’s season-ending meet. And all are there to win.
“We all work really hard and we want to achieve that goal at state,” Hodges said. “It will be a very memorable moment.”
Kerr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
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