Lady Hubs qualify three relay teams for state meet

400-meter relay group sets new RTHS outdoor record

Russell Hodges
Posted 5/12/17

Morgan Baker had nothing but clear space ahead of her.

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Lady Hubs qualify three relay teams for state meet

400-meter relay group sets new RTHS outdoor record

Posted

GENOA — Morgan Baker had nothing but clear space ahead of her.

After helping the Lady Hubs track and field team’s 800-meter relay group finish first by .02 seconds in the IHSA Class 2A Sectional at Genoa-Kingston High School, Baker took the baton for the final leg of the 1600-meter relay Friday evening. The junior crossed the finish line with roughly a 10-second lead over Rockford Boylan to lock down Rochelle’s second top performance of the night as well as the team’s third state qualification.

“It was exciting to be in the lead and know you’re going to have it,” Baker said. “Coach [Kyle Kissack] was telling me the times and at that point I was just trying to get the school record and a better seed time to help us earn a better place at state… It feels good to win the event after three years of hard work.”

Baker is one of five girls who will represent Rochelle’s three qualifying relay teams in the IHSA State Meet in Charleston next Thursday through Sunday. Another is junior Cesca Vardman, who ignited the 400-meter relay team with a strong showing in the first leg to help the Lady Hubs take third in the event and break the Rochelle Township High School record in addition to qualifying for state with a time of 49.62 seconds. The team consisted of Vardman, freshman Macey Ryan and juniors Morgan Knight and Jacie Wyatt.

“When you’re starting the relay you’re forced to get an early lead for your team,” Vardman said. “A little bit of pressure is on you because you need to run your hardest, but it feels amazing to set the school record. That was our goal so I’m glad we reached it.”

Vardman also ran first for the Lady Hubs in the 800-meter relay, with Knight, Baker and Wyatt following her. Rochelle trailed only Kaneland at the beginning of the final leg, but Wyatt quickly erased the gap, surging forward on the outside and sprinting side-by-side with the Knights’ Carly Elliott over the final 10 meters of the race.

In what can only be described as a photo finish, the Lady Hubs won the event with a time of 1:44.86, while Kaneland took second at 1:44.88. With nothing but crowd noise ringing in her ears, Wyatt pushed everything out of her mind except the white line in front of her.

“I went out a little faster than usual because all of my adrenaline kicked in, so I had to slow down a little bit to get the baton,” Wyatt said. “Down the stretch I was thinking that I could actually catch this girl… I’m really excited. Last year we only went for one event, but this year I think the state meet will be more fun for us.”

With two events in the bag and perhaps their strongest event still to come, the girls (Wyatt, Knight, Vardman and Baker) took the track for the 1600-meter relay looking to reach the state meet as a foursome for the second straight year. Beginning in lane No. 5, Wyatt went from fourth to first within the first 200 meters of the race, and she passed the baton to Knight with about a 5-second lead.

Knight pushed Rochelle’s lead even further, and it was more of the same from Vardman and Baker, leaving no doubt that the Lady Hubs would take the event and go back to the state meet as a group.

“We’re a little crazy honestly,” Knight said. “During warm-ups we’ll just play around, and after we get stretched out we box with each other. We just try to relax and not focus on the pressure of the race, but about how much fun we have with each other… We can experience the whole state meet and not just run one race.”

Results

Rochelle landed in eighth place out of 16 teams, scoring 26 points total. Junior Allysa Harding and freshman Gabby Harding qualified for the sectional finals in the discus throw, with Gabby placing seventh with a distance of 99-4 and Allysa taking ninth at 94-3. Freshman Cristina Alfano placed 11th out of 31 participants in the shot put with a heave of 30-11 ½.

Setting a personal record in the high jump was freshman Katie Van Hise, who cleared 4-7 for eighth place overall. Junior Alexis Bialas tied her personal best in the pole vault with a clearance of 7-6 to finish 11th, while Van Hise (14th in the long jump at 14-2) and freshman Maddie Ohlinger (18th in the triple jump at 29-3) recorded Rochelle’s top marks in the two respective events.

Freshman Emma Smith teamed up with Van Hise and sophomores Cam Turner and Anne Hickey to place ninth in the 3200-meter relay with a time of 10:53.51. Freshman Britney Baez (13:51.45) took 12th as Rochelle’s lone competitor in the 3200-meter run, with sophomore Katherine Bakken (14th with a time of 5:47.12) leading the Lady Hubs in the 1600-meter run.

Two Lady Hubs went first and second in the second heat of the 100-meter hurdles, with sophomore Abby Tilton (17.58 for ninth overall) clocking in just ahead of sophomore teammate Cheyene Watson (18.15 for 15th overall). Tilton earned her second top-10 finish in the 300-meter hurdles, placing 10th with a time of 50.94.

Macey Ryan’s time of 13.44 in the 100-meter dash put her in ninth place overall, and the freshman clocked in at 27.53 to win the third heat and finish seventh in the 200-meter dash.