Winning events has pretty much become commonplace for Homewood-Flossmoor senior Jaimie Robinson.
But sometimes, even in a resounding victory, Robinson finds little ways to surprise herself.
The Alabama recruit won four events Friday night in the SouthWest Suburban Blue Meet at Bolingbrook, and each one of the wins seemed to provide a different kind of joy.
The first surprise emerged in the long jump.
Robinson confirmed the long jump is the event she’s struggled with the most lately, but she uncorked a 20-foot leap in the preliminary round. It marked the first time she’s ever jumped 20 feet.
“Yeah, that was nice,” a beaming Robinson said. “The long jump is the event I’ve had trouble with recently, but I need it for everything else that I do. I didn’t realize it was 20, I thought it was like 19 or something.”
Next came the 100 meters, where Robinson obliterated a talented field to win in 11.95 seconds. It also was a personal record for Robinson. Considering the ease of the victory, when pressed, she’s likely to go considerably faster.
Then it was back to the field events, where Robinson unleashed a 42-8 in the triple jump, two feet farther than any jump she’s had all season. She’s just 3.5 inches short of the national record for high schoolers.
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Robinson finished off the incredible day with a flourish by winning the 200 in a blistering time of 23.55, just one hundredth of a second slower than the best time in Illinois.
“This is definitely the beginning, because I’m going to college and I have four more years of this,” Robinson said. “I just have to keep motivating myself.
“They say that it comes when you least expect it. I’ve heard that so many times and I just got so anxious. But (Friday) it was nice. I just came out here and tried to jump as well as I could and run as hard as I could.”
Even without Robinson competing, the Vikings delivered powerful efforts in winning the 400, 800 and 1,600 relays. The 800 relay of 1:41.65 is the third-fastest time in Illinois this season.
Lockport took down the other relay, the 3,200, and also had outstanding performances in the middle distance races.
Jaclyn Greci ran away from a talented field in the 400 to turn in a personal-best 57.75 in her win, while Kayla Isom dropped the hammer down and didn’t let up for a second in the 800 to win in 2:18.18, outdistancing the nearest competitor by over seven seconds.
“I try to go out as fast as I can, but I went with a little bit different plan today,” Isom said. “After going out to the front, I kind of settled into a slower pace and then I really kicked it in at the end, and it felt great.”
A hotly contested team race saw Lincoln-Way East winning the conference title with 132 points, while H-F placed second with 130. Lockport and Bolingbrook tied for third with 113.
Lincoln-Way East earned two wins as Lauren LaDere took the shot put and Ololade Ayoola breezed to victory in the high jump.
Steve Soucie is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown.