CHARLESTON, Ill. — The goal for Homewood-Flossmoor senior Jaimie Robinson was a substantial one in Saturday’s Class 3A state track meet at Eastern Illinois.
And while Robinson didn’t sweep the four individual events she was hoping for, the Alabama recruit had nothing but smiles after a resounding win in the 200 meters, her third title on the day.
Robinson combined that win with convincing victories in the long and triple jumps. The only event where she didn’t emerge victorious was the 100, where Robinson didn’t have the burst she usually does in the stretch and finished fourth.
Robinson netted 36 of Homewood-Flossmoor’s 43 team points, good for second place in the team race. Glenbard West, which dominated in the distance events, won the state title with 47 points.
“I kind of took it all in and was like this is my moment,” Robinson said. “I had to just give it my all.”
Robinson opened her busy day with a win in the long jump where her 19-foot, 10.5-inch jump in the preliminaries held up.
Then it was back to the track, where a loaded field saw five runners break 12 seconds. Robinson couldn’t better a strong surge from winner Amira Young of Young and took fourth in 11.92.
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It didn’t take long for Robinson to bounce back. Her specialty, the triple jump, remained. In her last jump, she cleared 42-8.5 and destroyed the state record. The previous mark was 41-5, set by Deana Simmons of MacArthur in 1996.
Then Robinson went back to the track looking to finish off her day in style.
It didn’t end up being very difficult. Robinson jumped out early and held a comfortable lead on the backstretch before fending off Young and Danville’s Ameia Wilson to win in 24.82.
“I’ve honestly been working the hardest at the 200 — we’ve had the hardest 200 practices all season,” Robinson said. “I was like, I’m not going to sit here and do bad in this 200 after the blood, sweat and tears I’ve had at practice.”
H-F’s 800 relay of Akila White, Jacqueline Bassey, Trelyn Newkirk and Olivia Oliver combined to take third place in 1:41.55 and account for the remainder of the Vikings’ team points.
Bloom’s Jelena Rowe swears that high jumping isn’t as easy as she sometimes makes it look.
Rowe cleared 6-feet to win the event and establish a new state record, which was her ultimate goal. Rowe easily outdid runner-up Kameesha Smith of Thornwood, who went 5-8. No other jumper went higher than 5-5.
The previous state record was 5-11, set by Melinda Morris of Tri-City in 1980. Rowe narrowly missed three attempts at 6-1 to set a personal record, but she was all smiles regardless.
“I was just glad to win and make everyone happy,” Rowe said. “I’m still satisfied that I was able to get 6 feet. I was going to win either way, but I was happy to clear that because I know that’s what I’m capable of.”
Thornton’s Mya Robinson also had a strong day. She ran a smooth and effective race in the 100 hurdles in taking the title in 14.24.
She looked poised to complete the difficult hurdle double after breaking out quickly in the 300. However, she was run down by Naperville North’s Halle Bieber and settled for second in 45.0.
Lincoln-Way East’s drive to claim a fifth straight state title was not in the cards. But the Griffins finished at O’Brien Field with a flourish as the 1,600 relay of Ololade Ayoola, Keto Nkeme, Sam Myers and Taylor Wright won in 3:51.62.
Rich Central’s Jayla Campbell was the top local performer in 2A. Campbell placed second in the triple jump (39-1) and fifth in the 400 (57.0). She also ran a leg of the 400relay with Jayla Morgan, Karah Polk and Zaria Criswell that grabbed an eighth-place medal in 48.95.
Steve Soucie is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown.