Lady Hubs track and field team reaches final podium at IHSA Class 2A State Championships

1600-meter relay team places seventh, Bakken gets 13th in 3200-meter run

Russell Hodges
Posted 5/20/18

CHARLESTON — The chapters of many top track and field athletes from Rochelle Township High School closed after the IHSA Class 2A State Championships at Eastern Illinois University this past weekend. And while the state-qualifying seniors were able to end their high school careers strong, the Lady Hubs also provided a glimpse into the program’s future.

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Lady Hubs track and field team reaches final podium at IHSA Class 2A State Championships

1600-meter relay team places seventh, Bakken gets 13th in 3200-meter run

Posted

CHARLESTON — The chapters of many top track and field athletes from Rochelle Township High School closed after the IHSA Class 2A State Championships at Eastern Illinois University this past weekend. And while the state-qualifying seniors were able to end their high school careers strong, the Lady Hubs also provided a glimpse into the program’s future.

Rochelle qualified six athletes for this year’s state championships including sophomore Macey Ryan, junior Katherine Bakken and seniors Jacie Wyatt, Morgan Knight, Cesca Vardman and Morgan Baker. Bakken competed in the finals of the 3200-meter run this past Saturday, placing 13th out of 23 runners with a time of 12:04.96.

“My first state race was kind of intimidating and definitely challenging,” Bakken said. “I think that this experience allowed me to scope out future competition and it also showed me what I can work on mentally and physically to be a better runner in my next track and cross country seasons. I enjoyed spending time with my teammates and getting to watch some of the best runners I’ve ever seen.”

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The Lady Hubs qualified for three relays including the 400-meter relay (Vardman, Wyatt, Knight and Ryan) and the 800-meter relay (Vardman, Wyatt, Baker and Ryan). While neither group qualified for the state finals on Saturday, the girls were happy with how they performed. It was Rochelle’s second time in two years qualifying for state in both relays.

“I feel that we ran both relays as best and as fast as we could,” Ryan said. “We left everything on the track and put all of our hard work from the year into our races. The teams we were running against were all crazy talented and it was awesome being able to run against them… Seeing all of the amazing runners that I would be running against next year made me want to work harder over the offseason.”

Rochelle’s signature event over the weekend was the 1600-meter relay which featured Wyatt, Knight, Vardman and Baker. The girls qualified for the finals as the No. 9 team before finishing seventh in the finals with a time of 4:02.61.

“Anytime you finish your track season in the state finals, you know it was a successful season,” Baker said. “We were all focused on running for each other and leaving everything on the track. I enjoy seeing not only myself but my teammates improve throughout each season. It was very special seeing girls put in hard work and having the results come out.”

The seniors have combined to medal in the 1600-meter relay over each of the last three state championship meets after they took third in 2017 and seventh in 2016. Wyatt, Baker and Vardman were also members of the 1600-meter relay group that reached state in 2015.

“We placed better last year but I think this year was a way better experience,” Vardman said. “The competition was a lot tougher which made it even more fun. I enjoyed running with my friends the most and I will for sure miss running with them. They are the closest friends I have and they are all such great individuals.”

With the track and field season now over, the senior girls will prepare to graduate and leave behind a strong legacy of championships, school records and state medals for their younger teammates to follow. The girls are confident their teammates will continue carrying Rochelle’s mantle of success, and they’re happy with how their final seasons concluded.

“I hope that me and my teammates have been a positive influence on the younger girls,” Wyatt said. “I think we showed them how to have a good attitude and how that contributes to your future success. I think they will continue to keep the positive environment alive which will ultimately result in more success for them.”

“I enjoyed being with the team for one last weekend,” Knight added. “We were able to just have fun and live in the moment of our last track meet together. We all created so many new inside jokes and we became much closer together… The speeches and quotes that our coaches gave us are one that have inspired me to do more than I ever thought I could.”