By Bobby Narang
CHARLESTON – Several area girls were standouts in last week three-class state track and field meet held at Eastern Illinois University’s O’Brien Stadium.
On the team front, El Paso won the Class 1A state title with 56 points, edging out Tuscola (49) and Father McGivney (48). West Carroll’s Emma Randecker had a meet to remember, winning the 100 dash, 200 and 400.
In Class 2A, Normal ran away with the team title with 64 points. Unity took second with 49 points and North Chicago placed third with 35.
In 3A, Homewood-Flossmoor topped the field with 56 points. Prospect, led by a strong showing in the relays, finished second with 52 points.
On the individual front in 2A, Sandwich junior Sunny Weber was one of the main stars of the weekend. In November, she won the 2A state cross country championship. She won the 1,600 and 3,200 state titles on Saturday to claim the Triple Crown in running.
She ran a time of 10:29 in the 3,200 and clocking a time of 4:41 in the 1,600.
“I just tried to block it out and not get too much into my mind all weekend,” Weber said. “I just tried to not think too much and run. I’m very happy and amazed that I did it.”
North Chicago sophomore Rege Cooper-Smith made her mark in Charleston and in the North Chicago record books, becoming the first three-time state champion – and she did it all in one meet – in program history.
Cooper-Smith captured the 100-meter dash in a time of 11.92 seconds, claimed the 200 state championship in 24.34. and ran the third leg of North Chicago’s state title 800-meter relay (1 minute, 41.61 seconds). She also ran in the Warhawks’ 400 relay which placed fifth in a time of 48.37.
“I had good form all weekend at state,” Cooper-Smith said. “I kept my knees up. I just knew I was going to do well at state because I had motivation and had confidence. My teammates told me to go for it and that pushed me to do more. In the relays, the handoffs were the main key. “I worked on a lot of things, plus also not looking back when running,” Cooper-Smith said. “I got stronger in the weight room and outside on the track. I spent a lot of time practicing.”
Last season, Cooper-Smith gained some confidence and motivation by not advancing past the prelims in the 100 but notched eighth place in the 200.
“She’s a humble kid, but when she steps onto the track, she has that switch and it’s go-time,” North Chicago coach Mary Dillow said. “We could tell when we got downstate that the switch was one. She was locked in and ready to go. You could see it in her eyes and demeanor.”
Westmont junior Kayla Babb cemented herself as one of the best distances runners in recent years, winning the 3,200 run in a time of 10:32.52 to add to her third-place medal during the cross country season in November.
“I never thought I would get even top five at state, let alone third in cross country and now second at (state) track,” Babb said.
Rosary junior Katie Kostro won the high jump state championship with a top lead of 1.70 meters.
“I’m really happy with how I jumped,” Kostro said. “I think I really focused on my speed and acceleration and made sure to take a deep breath before I went and really believed in myself.”
In 3A, Huntley senior Dominique Johnson closed out a prolific career by winning the state triple jump title for third straight season. The Miami recruit also won the long jump title for the first time in her career.
“It was the perfect ending to my high school career,” Johnson said. “The long jump title is something I’ve been chasing for four years, so to end the meet with a long jump and a triple jump title was perfect.”
Conant junior Daisha Brunson won a state title for the third straight season. Brunson blew away the field in the 100 hurdles in a time of 13.75 to set in motion the possibility of winning four straight 100 hurdle titles next season. She also placed fourth in the 200 dash and fifth in the 100.
“I’m happy to be a three-time state champion,” Brunson said. “I feel I had little more confidence than in the past.”
Barrington sophomore Mia Sirois won the 3,200 run for the second straight season, besting the field with a time of 10:01. She also placed third in the 1,600.
“It was little bit bittersweet because I was close to breaking the 10 in the 3,200 which was sort of my goal, but I was super happy to be a state champion again in the event,” Sirois said.
Prospect’s foursome of Veronica Znajda, Ireland Wildhart, Mary Laba and Meg Peterson won the 4×800 relay to extend the program’s streak to five straight 3,200 state crowns.
