CHARLESTON, Ill. — When it was pointed out to Asia Brown that she had more state titles than her sister, Aaliyah, she couldn’t resist a friendly barb for the sprinter who started Lincoln-Way East on its state championship run.
“Take that, Aaliyah,” Asia said with a smile. “Aaliyah left a legacy and I surpassed the legacy. I’m really thankful for that.”
With seniors Asia Brown, Alexis Pierre-Antoine and Kayla Hylton leading the way, Lincoln-Way East scored 83 points in 10 events Saturday to win the Class 3A state title by 46 points over runner-up Alton at Eastern Illinois O’Brien Field.
“I don’t have the words to say,” Asia Brown said when she got back on her feet after anchoring the 1,600-meter relay to first place with a time of 3:49.84. “My dad, coach (Angelo) Brown, he always tells us, ‘This is your last year. You’ve got to go out with a bang. You’ve got to keep pushing, no matter how hard it gets.'”
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That mentality helped East claim its fourth consecutive team title. The Griffins also won state titles in the 400 (46.86), 800 (1:39.11) and 1,600 relays.
Hylton, a Lincoln-Way North transfer in her only year on the team, placed second in the 100 (11.84) and 200 (24.30) and anchored the 400 and 800 relays.
Pierre-Antoine ran on the 400 relay before she took third in the 100 hurdles (14.25) and second in the 300 hurdles (43.41).
“It’s pretty awesome to have four state titles and be a part of that for four years and contribute points to that,” Pierre-Antoine said.
The Purdue recruit met the challenge during her high school career of competing in relays and then the intricate hurdle races.
“Whenever it’s time to do a hurdle race, I dial into that,” Pierre-Antoine said. “Once that’s over, I’ve got a relay race or something, I don’t think about the 100 hurdles or 300 hurdles. I think about what’s about to come up.”
East also received points from Ololade Ayoola in the high jump (fourth, 5-6), Lauren LaDere in the shot put (seventh, 41-0) and Asia Brown in the 400 (sixth, 58.12) and 100 (seventh, 12.36).
Sophomore Hannah Morris won the long jump title (19-3) to lead Bloom to sixth place with 26 points among the 70 schools that scored. Morris was eighth in the state last season.
“Last year I was very nervous because all the girls were bigger than me and older than me,” Morris said. “This year I came in and thought, ‘OK, I came last year. I can do this.'”
Nebraska-bound teammate Kierra Griggs was the state runner-up in the 400 (55.96).
“I wanted to break 55 (seconds), but it’s all in the start, and I could have gotten out faster,” Griggs said. “I’m happy with it. It was fun. I ran a faster time than I ran last year.”
Bloom junior Jelena Rowe, a 6-foot-4 volleyball player, contributed second place in the high jump (5-7).
“I started high jump last year,” Rowe said. “I couldn’t get over five feet indoor. Then Lockport outdoor meet, I magically came up to 5-7. Ever since then, I’ve just been working hard.”
Shepard senior Jada Jackson was state runner-up in the discus (140-11).
Homewood-Flossmoor junior Jaimie Robinson placed third in the triple jump (39-10.75).
In 2A, Rich South’s 800 relay of India Lee, Taylor Valladay, Brittany Hollie and Amber Jones won the state title in 1:41.98.
“I was nervous because I knew how good these other teams were,” Jones said. “Last year we missed it and got second. This is my senior year. I’m like, ‘I gotta go. I gotta go for my team.’ That’s what I did.”
Tim Tierney is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown.