What a season! Week #17 and Amerie (MiMi), Anya, and Kennedy all got to experience the IHSA State Track and Field meet. We headed to Charleston after a wonderful send off at Hinsdale South. Thank you to all the friends, family, and staff from Hinsdale South that spent time out of their morning to cheer on our athletes.
We were not sure what the weather would bring, earlier in the week it looked like storms, but luckily the weather held out for us. Thursday night we had a good practice and dinner and then were ready to go for Prelims on Friday. State is a long day with class 2A prelims going in the morning and then 3A prelims in the afternoon. The day started for us at 1:00pm with Shot Put and Pole Vault. MiMi was seeded 15th overall and we knew she would have to throw an even bigger PR than she had at Sectionals to make it to the finals. Unfortunately, things didn’t work in our favor, but what an amazing season for our Senior Amerie Flowers.
Next up was the Pole Vault. Anya had a great first day in the pole vault. She cleared 3.4m to qualify for the finals on Saturday. On Saturday the class 1A vault was delayed a bit which threw off many of the class 3A vault finalists and some did not have their best day. Anya ended her season in 15th place. Another amazing performance from one of our athletes. We look forward to what Anya will accomplish next year.
Finally, Sophomore Kennedy Ruff. Day one was a long one. It was all about keeping Kennedy relaxed and motivated for finals which for her, meant she wasn’t running until 5:15pm. We worked through our normal routines and she was ready. We said our goodbyes at the clerks tent and I walked upstairs to watch from the stands. Kennedy in lane 7 ran an amazing PR of 44.71 to qualify for the finals on Saturday. Originally, Kennedy was the 18th seed overall - so 7th after prelims was amazing. We went back, had a great dinner and then got the girls ready for day 2. Kennedy was racing at 3:15pm and this time in lane 2. She kept her 7th place finish on a much warmer and sunnier day than we ever expected. She did great. 7th place, a medal, and on the podium stand. So many more great things to come from this talented young athlete.
Week of May 6th
Here we are Week #16 - Sectionals week. This is the week the girls worked so hard for all season. By luck of the draw, we again were assigned to one of the toughest 3A Sectionals in the state of Illinois - nicknamed “mini state”. This week was all about keeping the girls motivated and encouraged to go out and give it their all on Thursday night.
As the week progressed it looked as if rain was going to be with us Thursday night - the call was made to try and get the meet in. We packed up our 20 girls, got into two mini buses, and headed to DGN. After getting girls and implements certified and warm ups started, the call was made to halt all field events and then postpone the meet until Friday. After a few discussions and some individuals not being able to race on Friday, we made a few scratches to our line up, but were ready to travel and compete at DGN.
Such a great night for some track and field. The meet began with flight 2 of prelims in Shot Put going first. Senior MiMi Flowers stepped into the ring and on her second attempt, threw a state qualifying distance! Then PR’d later in finals to take 2nd place overall with a PR of 11.62m.
At the Pole Vault, Junior Anya Patel vaulted over 10-3 to qualify and then later cleared 11-3 to take 2nd place overall.
At 6:15pm running events began and the girls shined on the track as well. Sophomore Kennedy Ruff placed 5th in the 100mH with a new PR time of 16.01 narrowly missing a SQ time. Next up was Sophomore Janelle Lewis who took 5th in the 400m dash with a time of 1:00.3 which was just ½ second away from a SQ time. Kennedy came back to the track for the 300mH where she took 3rd and ran a new personal best time of 46.08 which also earned her a trip to state. And last but, certainly not least, Senior Annabella Ramirez, got on the track for the 1600m run. Annabella ran a new PR of 5:37 to take 16th place overall. It was a great end to her high school running success.
The team looks forward to next week at EIU where Mimi, Anya, and Kennedy will compete!
Week of April 29th
This week our championship season began with Conference. Everything that the team has worked hard for all season long comes down to Conference, Sectionals, and State. The girls were ready, they have been motivated since March 15th when we placed 3rd at the indoor conference meet. We began the week with that reminder. The goal this week was to remember that feeling, to work hard as a team, motivate each other, continue to give 110%, and perform to the best of their ability on Thursday night.
Thursday, May 2nd we made our way to Proviso East high school. After a small weather delay at the start of the meet we got down to business and the girls gave it their all and didn’t hold back as evident from all the personal bests, and medals that were achieved that night. We had two relay PRs and 18 individual season best performances which earned us the 2nd place title behind DGS! This team has much to celebrate. It has been a great season. Highlights from Thursday are listed below. The team will compete next Thursday, May 9th, at the DGN Sectional. Our top performances are listed below:
TOP Field Event Performances ● M. Flowers - 1st - SP - 10.97m ● A.Patel - 1st - PV - 3.42m (Conference Record and School Record) ● E. Sinkevicius - 3rd - HJ -1.47m / LJ - 5.22m / TJ - 10.49m
TOP Running Event Performances ● 4x800 - 2nd Place - 10:36 (Drabchuck/Frankel/Esposito/Ramirez) ● J. Lewis - 1st - 400m - 1:00.1 ● A.Ramirez - 4th - 1600m - 5:49 ● K. Ruff -2nd 100mHH - 16.58 / 1st 300mH - 47.08
Week of April 22nd
Well this week Mother Nature really decided to throw a wrench into things and our meet at Elk Grove Village was canceled. With one week to go until our WSC Outdoor Conference meet, this actually turned into a small blessing. Giving our team the much needed rest day their bodies have been silently asking for. Track is a very long season and this rest will be what our team needs to go into the conference meet full force on Thursday. Come on out to Proviso East to cheer on your Hornets!
Week of April 15th
The crazy April weather continued this week. We started our week with warmer than normal temperatures and then ended our week with lots of wind and cooler than normal temperatures on Friday for our Hornet Invitational. We welcomed Morton, OPRF, Riverside Brookfield, St. Lawrence, West Chicago, and York to our track. With the conditions we persevered and placed 1st out of the seven schools. It was a great evening for our Hornets - especially starting the day by celebrating our six seniors - Cailyn, Faith, Yuliya, Amerie (MiMi), Ali, and Annabella. We ended the night with 8 individual outdoor season best performances.
Hosting our home invite is always a busy experience and even with some last minute changes due to injuries this small and mighty team did great! I am happy with the way our “family” stepped up and filled in when called upon. We also welcomed thirteen 7th and 8th graders from our feeder schools who competed in an open 100m dash and an open 800m run. It was a great experience for the girls to see what a high school track meet was like. And in our 2nd annual senior night tradition the teams joined us in ending the night with the TuTu 4x100m relay. Always a fun way to end the night celebrating our seniors.
Our top finishers from Friday night are below: ● 4x800m Relay - 3rd (Drabchuck, Esposito, Frankel, Ramirez) ● 4x100m Relay - 3rd (Ruff, Noblin, Joseph, Drynan) ● 3200m Run - E. Koehler (14:19)* ● 4x200m Relay - 1st (Joseph, Patel, Noblin, Drynan) ● 400m Run - Janelle Lewis - 1st - 1:03 - Yuliya Drabchuck - 4th - 1:07 ● 300mH - K. Ruff - 1st - 49.46 ● 1600m Run - A. Ramirez - 6th - 5:59 ● 4x400m Relay - 1st (Joseph, Noblin, Lewis, Lewen) ● High Jump - E. Sinkevicius - 1st - 1.47m - V. Noblin - 6th - 1.22m ● Long Jump - E. Sinkevicius - 2nd - 4.90m - J. Lewis - 4th - 4.45m ● Triple Jump - E. Sinkevicius - 1st - 10.02m ● Shot put - A. Flowers - 1st - 10.97m A. Fedinec - 2nd - 9.79m ● Discus - H. Stephens - 2nd - 22.92m ● Pole Vault - A. Patel - 1st - 3.23m
Week of April 8th
This was a very busy week for our Girls. On Wednesday - April 10th - we traveled to Leyden for our first outdoor invite. The team did great! The Hornets placed 1st in the 8 team invite with 3 relay season bests and 6 individual season best performances. Overall it was a great evening. I enjoy watching the family that this team has become and love seeing how they all motivate and cheer on each other. Here were some outstanding performances at Leyden: ● Janelle Lewis - 1st place 400m Dash with a HUGE PR of 1:01.3 ● Kennedy Ruff - 1st in 300m Hurdles with a time of 46.97 ● Annabella Ramirez - 1st in 1600m - 5:49 ● Brynn Diedrich - 1st in 200m - 27.45 ● 4x400 - 1st with a 7 second PR - 4:13.1 - (K. Joseph/V. Noblin/J. Lewis/K. Ruff) ● Emilija Sinkevicius - 1st in HJ 5’0 / 1st in LJ 4.9m / 2nd in TJ 9.71m ● MiMi Flowers - 10.47m
Then a quick turn around and off to Hinsdale Central on Friday - April 12. With such a quick turn around between invitationals, with many girls out of town and not competing, and with the toughest competition we have seen this season, we placed 3rd of 9 teams. So proud of the effort that everyone gave.
This meet was a challenge in so many ways. The field events are at the farthest location possible from the track which made things very difficult for all of us. We talked to the girls ahead of time on how all of us coaches would be extremely busy with field events and they would have to be watching out for each other to be sure girls were warming up and showing up to their events on time - and this family did just that. We are very thankful for the leaders of our team. All in all it was a good evening. Shout outs to the following: ● Abi Rios Tejeda for taking 4th in FS discus ● MiMi Flowers - 1st in varsity shot put ● Our 3rd place 4x200 relay of (K. Joseph, A. Patel, V. Noblin, B. Diedrich) ● Janelle Lewis - 3rd in the 400m Dash ● Our 3rd place 4x400m relay team of (K. Joseph, V. Noblin, J. Lewis K. Ruff) ● And Kennedy Ruff 1st in the 100m hurdles, 300m Hurdles, and part of our 4th place 4x100 and 3rd place 4x400 relays.
Week of April 1st
This past week brought week #12 of our season and our first “official” outdoor week of practice. Although Mother Nature decided that it was still winter time. Cold, snow, and rain delayed our transition a little bit and canceled our first home outdoor meet, but on Friday, April 5th we traveled to Leyden. This was a triangular meet with Leyden and Addison Trail with a little different format - all relays. This is exactly what this team needed a break from the norm and something to get them excited about the sport they all love. Friday gave us the opportunity to run girls in events they normally would not be able to do. I would sum up the meet the following way: Tonight I saw “family”!!! - I saw everyone cheering for everyone - I saw sprinters giving pointers to our throwers for the mixed relay - I saw girls stepping up to fill events - I saw and heard laughter and enthusiasm for a sport you all love.
I am so proud of this young team and I can’t wait to see what the rest of our season has in store for them.
Week of March 11th
This week was week number nine of our season and our eighth and final indoor track meet. Even though the past few weeks were a little rocky dealing with injuries and illness, everything came together well on Friday, March 15th. After school on Friday, the team loaded up and headed back to Morton West, we were all prepared for a long night. This week we focused on all our hard work all season long, coaches reminded athletes that workouts were designed in such a way that the girls would peak tonight. We continued our motivation from winning the invite last week at Morton and we walked into the fieldhouse at Morton West feeling excited and motivated about competing on the same track as last week.
Field events started us off in great fashion taking 1st place in three of the five field events and taking 2nd and 3rd in the last two. In total our field event athletes had five individual season bests. We used that momentum and excitement to continue into the running events where we saw 10 individual season best performances and two relay team season bests. All night long we were going back and forth with Willowbrook for the title of runner up in conference. Our girls knew it would take all they had and come down to the last race of the day to see where the official team places would end up. Our 4x400 relay team of Yuliya Drabchuck, Victoria Noblin, Katie Joseph, and Kennedy Ruff accepted that challenge. Every athlete ran a season best split and our relay took over the first position with one lap to go and held on to take 1st place and run a season best time of 4:20.1 which is seven seconds faster than what this team has done all season long. It was a great end to our indoor season. On varsity we ended the night in 3rd place as a team. This small and mighty team is outstanding! Highlights from the meet are listed below:
Fr/Soph: ●Shot Put - A. Mladenik - 1st place - 9.00m* ●300m Dash - M. Monae - 6th place - 49.59*
Varsity: ●Shot Put ○1st Place - A. Flowers - 10.3m ○4th Place - A. Fedinec - 9.15m* ●Pole Vault ○1st Place - A. Patel - 10’6”* ○6th Place - E. Glashin - 7’0”* ●HighJump - E. Sinkevicius - 2nd Place - 1.47m ●Long Jump - E. Sinkevicius - 1st Place - 5.07m* ●Triple Jump - E. Sinkevicius - 3rd Place - 10.59m ●4x800m Relay - 4th (Drabchuck, Schulte, Esposito, Ramirez) - 10:59* ●300m Run - 1st Place - K. Ruff - 43.19* ●3200m Run - 6th Place - E. Koehler - 14.17* ●55m Dash ○S. Drynan - 3rd - 7.59 ○K. Joseph - 6th - 7.82* ●400m Run - J. Lewis - 3rd - 1:06* ●200m Dash - 4th - S. Drynan - 28.03 ●4x400m Relay - 1st Place - 4:20.1* (Drabchuck, Noblin, Joseph, Ruff)
Week of March 4th
Things came together perfectly this week. Our team has a lot to celebrate this week. Practices and workouts were great. We had a strong feeling that if everything came together on Saturday, we could win the 7 team invitational. The encouragement and motivation worked. The girls trusted the process and competed tough and we WON the meet on the Varsity level and placed 5th on the JV level. We have a very young team and some individuals were still missing due to injuries or other school events. We traveled with 23 girls to Morton. 16 of those girls competed on the Varsity level and 7 girls competed on the JV level. Winning on Varsity and placing 5th on JV was an amazing accomplishment.
What really made this accomplishment amazing was the fact that girls stepped it up and raced hard for the team. Girls competed in new events and even multiple events. The girls came together at just the right time and were excited about our back to back win at the Morton Invite. We are now going to carry this motivation into our conference meet next week when we travel back to Morton on Friday, March 15th
Highlights from the meet are listed below: (*) - Season Best performance
Varsity Level: ●Hinsdale South took 1st place in 8 of 16 events. ○4x800 - (Drabchuck-Schulte-Esposito-Ramirez) - 11:06* ○300m Dash- Kennedy Ruff - 44.15 ■2nd place - Katie Joseph - 46.47 ○55mH - K. Ruff - 8.91* ○4x160 - (Ruff, Noblin, Joseph, Drynan) - 1:29.10* ○4x400 - (Drabchuck, Noblin, Joseph, Ruff) - 4:27.35* ○High Jump - Emilija Sinkevicius - 5’1”* ○Triple Jump - E. Sinkevicius - 10.60m* ○Pole Vault - Anya Patel - 10’0”* ●Other top performances on the Varsity level were: ○3200m - Emma Koehler - 3rd place ○400m Dash - Y. Drabchuck - 4th place ○1600m - Annabella Ramirez - 2nd Place - 5:55* ○200m Dash - Siena Drynan - 2nd place - 27.85* ○Shot Put - Abi Rios-Tejeda - 2nd place - 8.3m* ■Heather Stephens - 4th place - 7.86m
JV Level: ●We had PR’s all around - top performances were: ○Shot Put - Ari Mladenik - 2nd place - 8.04m* ■Aly Barajaz - 4th place - 6.88m*
Week of February 26th
Week #7 indoors means that we are one step closer to indoor conference. This week was a more relaxed week for our team, and one which was really needed for the girls right now. We are still battling the injury and illness train, but we headed into our home meet feeling confident.
On Wednesday, February 28th we welcomed teams from IMSA and St. Lawrence and had a nice small triangular meet. This gave us the opportunity to try girls in new events and see what success we could have moving forward for our next invites where we have two levels of competition. We had six (6) individual season best performances this week. Which is definitely something to celebrate. Next week brings our last home meet on Wednesday 3/6 and our two level Morton Invite on Saturday 3/9. Highlights from our Hornet Triangular are listed below:
Week of February 19th This week brought us to week #6 and our 4th meet of the indoor season, where we traveled to Glenbard South for a Quad meet with Glenbard South, Chicago Speer Academy, and Riverside Brookfield. The girls are feeling comfortable with our routines and working hard each and every day. Due to the order of events, we had to get creative on the distance side of things because most of our distance events were all jumbled together since running events began with the 55m dash and the 55m hurdles, but the team persevered and we had 7 individual season best performances this week, and placed 1st overall. The injury train also hit us this week and we did not compete with our full team. I am very proud of this family we are becoming, many girls stepped up to fill in for relay spots or open events that they were not used to. This was also our first meet with pole vault as a scored event. Next week we gear up for our second home Hornet Quad on Wednesday 2/28. Some top finishers for the night were: (*) - Denotes Season best performance
Week of February 12th This was definitely a hard week for Hinsdale South and our girls track team. We are now in week #5 of our season, and after mourning the loss of a beloved faculty member at Hinsdale South, we also had to focus on our first invite of the 2024 season. The girls pulled together and worked hard each day. Unfortunately, injuries and illness also hit our team hard this week. On Saturday, February 17th, we competed at the seven team invitational at Willowbrook. Without our full team in attendance, we still had great success and had 14 individual season bests performances and placed 3rd on the Varsity level. It was a great day for our Lady Hornets! Highlights are listed below:
●55mHH - Kennedy Ruff - 9.22 - 2nd place ●55m Dash - Siena Drynan - 7.52 - 1st ●800m Run - Tian Schulte - 2:58 - 6th ●4x160m Relay (Ruff - Noblin - Monae - Drynan) - 1:31 - 1st Place ●400m Run ○Janelle Lewis - 3rd - 1:08.0 ○Yuliya Drabchuck - 1:08.9 ●4x400m Relay (Drabchuck - Noblin - Lewis - Ruff) - 4:31 - 1st Place ●Triple Jump - Emilija Sinkevicius - 4th - 9.91m
Week of February 5th We had a good week of practice this week which then culminated with us traveling to Addison Trail on Friday 2/9 to participate in the AT Quad with Addison Trail, Fenton, and Trinity. The girls had a great meet and our team saw lots of improvements and some items that we are still learning and working on. Overall, we placed first with 75 points, Addison Trail was 2nd with 66 points, Fenton 3rd with 44 points and Trinity 4th with 26 points. We had 15 individual or relay improvements from our home meet last weekend. Four individuals from our team had stellar performances by competing in 3 or more events and placing in all of their events. Sophomores - Kennedy Ruff (300m dash, 55m Hurdles, 4x160, and 4x400), Emilija Sinkevicius (Long Jump, Triple Jump, High Jump), Janelle Lewis (300m, Long Jump, 4x400) and Freshman Emma Koehler (4x800, 800, 1600). Other highlights are listed below.
This week we prepare for our first big invitational of the season - The 6 team - Two Level Invite at Willowbrook with Conant, Kaneland, Morton, Trinity and Willowbrook on Saturday, February 17th.
Week of January 29th The week started as our 3rd official week of practice and our — first home indoor meet in two years. It was nice to host again, although also very hectic. We have a very young team, and still have athletes that have not been able to join yet due to finishing up their winter seasons. Many things to be proud of and even more good things to come.