Week of May 19th This past weekend we traveled down to EIU in Charleston for the IHSA State Track Meet. Junior Kennedy Ruff competed in the 100m and 300m Hurdles, Junior Emilija Sinkevicius competed in the High, Long, and Triple Jumps, and Senior Anya Patel competed in the Pole Vault. What a season! Week #17 Anya, Emilijia and Kennedy all got to experience the IHSA State Track and Field meet.
We were not sure what the weather would bring, earlier in the week it looked like it would be chilly and windy (just like most of our season) and on Thursday night our practice time was cut short due to rain, luckily Friday and Saturday were beautiful days for competition. 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 12:00pm with the long jump. Emilijia was seeded in the second flight and then spent the next four hours jumping. Moving from Long Jump to High Jump and then to Triple Jump. Unfortunately, things didn’t work in our favor, but what an amazing season for our Junior Emilija Sinkevicius.
Next up was the Pole Vault. Anya had a great first day in the pole vault. She cleared 3.45m to qualify for the finals on Saturday. On Saturday Anya ended her season in 10th place. Another amazing performance from one of our athletes. We look forward to what Anya will accomplish next year as she continues to vault at UC Berkeley
Finally, Junior Kennedy Ruff. Day one was a long one. It was all about keeping Kennedy relaxed and out of the sun for her two events. Kennedy was racing at 1:26pm and then again at 5:06pm 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. Unfortunately Kennedy did not make the finals in the 100mH, her first event of the day. Getting Kennedy refocused for the 300mH was our main goal. Kennedy in lane 5 ran an amazing PR of 43.72 to qualify for the finals on Saturday. 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 - which she loved the idea of chasing down her competition. She did great. 2nd place, runner up, and on the podium stand for the second year in a row. So many more great things to come from this talented young athlete.
Week of May 12th IHSA Sectional: On Wednesday 5/14 we headed to DGS for Sectionals and it was a great evening and such an outstanding season for so many of our athletes. I wanted to take a moment and share some information from our sectional host last night - Coach Doug Plunket at DGS, his words really emphasize the competition that our girls encountered last night in one of the toughest 3A sectionals in the state.
"It's amazing what a little good weather and a lot of great competition will do. We had extra qualifiers in 17 out of the 18 events with the pole vault (10 qualifiers), the 4x100 (9 qualifiers), and the 4x200 (9 qualifiers) leading the way. And as another testament to the depth of competition, all 16 teams advanced at least one event to State."
Our small and mighty team placed 6th out of 16 teams last night, had 16 season best performances, and qualified 3 athletes in 6 events to state. A special congratulations to Senior Anya Patel - Pole Vault Qualifier - 2nd place Junior Kennedy Ruff - Sectional Champion in the 100mH and 300mH Junior Emilija Sinkevicius - Long Jump, Triple Jump, and High Jump Qualifier
Week of May 5th WSC Conference: It has been a crazy two weeks and with having meets mid week, it kind of threw off my timing a bit. We headed Morton West for our Outdoor Conference championships on 5/7. Even though the weather during the day was beautiful, Mother Nature had other ideas for us come competition time. The temperature dropped about 30 degrees and the winds were 15-20mph! This definitely made our goal of having many PRs to end the season a bit more challenging. Especially when half the track was a wind tunnel. You will notice that we had 8 Season Best performances and seven events that earned all conference performances. Overall the FS team placed 6th of 7 teams and the Varsity team placed 3rd of 7 teams.
Congratulations to our All Conference Athletes: ●Lexi Fedinec - Shot Put 2nd Place ●Emilija Sinkevicius - 1st Place LJ and 2nd Place TJ ●Anya Patel - 1st Place Pole Vault ●Kennedy Ruff - 1st Place 100mH and 2nd Place 300mH ●4x400m Relay (Katie Joseph, Anna Frankel, Isabel Rios-Tejeda, Kennedy Ruff)
Week of April 28th Our Team had a busy week. Monday we traveled to Downers Grove South for an open meet with only a few distances. This was a great way to see the facilities that we will be at for Sectionals as well as to get times and distances on some of our athletes before our conference meet next week.
On Friday night we had a great weather night as we traveled to Elk Grove Village for the 7 team invitational. It was a great night for our small and mighty team. Overall we took 3rd place. Three Relay's Earned Season Best Times and 11 Individuals earned Season Best times or Distances. This was a great way to end our regular season and move into our Championship Season with Season Best marks. Hard work over the last three months has paid off and we are seeing the peaks in marks at the point we should. Looking forward to seeing what this team can do moving forward. Highlights from Elk Grove are listed below:
* → Season Best Time or Distance Field Events: ●E. Sinkevicius - 1st Place Triple Jump - 11.41m* / 1st Place long Jump - 5.40m* and 2nd Place high Jump - 5’0”* ●A. Patel - 1st Place Pole Vault - 11’10”* ●E. Glashin - 6th Place Pole Vault - 7’6”*
Running Events: ●4x800m Relay - 3rd Place (10:49*) - Frankel, Rios-Tejeda, Esposito, Koehler ○ All relay members had personal best splits! ●100mHH - 1st Kennedy Ruff - 15.6 ○ 6th - E. Glashin - after being impeded by a runner and falling - Emma got up and finished. Then moments later was given the chance to race again solo - she did and earned 6th place!! ●800m Run - 5th Place - A. Frankel - 2:40* ○ 7th place - A. Esposito - 2:41* Both had personal bests improving their splits from earlier in the night for the 4x800! ●400m Dash - 3rd Place - K. Joseph - 1:02.6* ○ I. Rios-Tejeda - 1:06.3* ●300mH - 1st Place - K. Ruff - 45.23 ●1600m Run - 7th Place - Emma Koehler - 6:10* ●4x400m Relay - 2nd Place (4:19*) Joseph, Frankel, Rios-Tejeda, Ruff ○ All four athletes had season best split times!
Week of April 21st This week brought some better weather for practices and then our home Invite on Friday 4/25. Thankfully the rain decided to end just in time to have a great evening for the Hornets! We started the evening by celebrating our nine Seniors - Ali, Andy, Lexi, Caitlin, Katie, Victoria, Anya, Isa, and Lauren. This was also a bittersweet night for me as there were many seniors in this group that I have had the pleasure of coaching for the past four years - you will be missed. I have loved watching your dedication and determination and tracking all your improvements over these four years! I am so proud of each and every one of you.
We had a great night full of PR's - we welcomed 13 - seventh and eighth graders from Cass and Burr Ridge Middle School for our 4th Annual event - our largest group, and the team finished 2nd out of the 7 teams. Highlights from the meet are below:
* = Personal Best for outdoor season Field Events: ●Emilija Sinkevicius - 1st Place (LJ - 5.12m / TJ - 10.90m* / HJ - 4’10”) ●Lexi Fedinec - 1st Place Shot Put - 10.13m* ●Caitlin Fisher - 4th Place Discus - 23.78m* ●Anya Patel - 1st Place - Pole Vault - 9’9”
Many girls even though they may not have medaled earned personal records at our invite: ●Tejiyha Jones - 14.40 - 100m / 30.01 - 200m ●Anna Frankel - 2:42 - 800m ●Andy Esposito - 2:46 - 800m ●Isabel Rios-Tejeda - 1:09 - 400m ●Emma Koehler - 6:18 - 1600m ●Tree Koepfle - 6:18 - 1600m ●Gianna Picardi - 7:05 - 1600m ●Briasia Satterfield - 29.66 - 200m
Week of April 14th
On April 16th the team headed to Leyden for the 7 team Leyden Invite. We placed second. As a team we had 9 first place finishes, two second place finishes, 2 relay PR’s and 8 individual PRs for the meet. It was a great night. Some highlights from the night include: ●2nd Place 4x800 - 10:57 (Frankel-Esposito-RiosTejeda-Koehler) ●1st Place 4x100 - 52.88 (Lewis-Patel-Shiltz-Joseph) ●1st Place 4x200 - 1:54.12 (Lewis-Noblin-Shiltz-Joseph) ●1st Place 4x400 - 4:19.34 (Lewis-Noblin-Joseph-Ruff) ●Kennedy Ruff ○ 1st place 100mH - 15.59 ○ 1st Place 400m - 58.30 ●Emilija Sinkevicius ○ 1st Place HJ - 1.45m ○ 1st Place LJ - 5.15m ○ 1st Place TJ - 10.14m ●Lexi Fedinec - 1st Place Shot Put - 10.13m
After a great showing at Leyden, the team packed up again the next day to head to Hinsdale Central for the 10 team two level invite. In this rare situation due to the holiday weekend, we had two meets back to back. It was definitely a challenging 48 hours, but our team persevered. The Fr. Soph team placed 8th and Varsity placed 6th. Some highlights from the night include: ●Kennedy Ruff ○ 1st Place - 100mH - 16.32 ○ 1st Place - 300mH - 45.75 ●Anya Patel - 1st Place Pole Vault - 11’0 ●Emilija Sinkevicius ○ 1st Place Triple Jump - 10.34 ○ 2nd Place Long Jump - 5.06 On the Freshman/Sophomore side highlights were: K. Spruill - 3rd High Jump - 4’6” 4x200m Relay - 3rd - 2:01.9 (Spruill-Pokusa-Te. Jones-Satterfield)
Next week we look forward to celebrating our Seniors at our Hornet Invite.
Week of March 17th Yesterday was a great day for our track team. I am so proud of everyone and the way they came together for both the Varsity and Fresh/Soph levels. Thank you to everyone who was there to watch the excitement in person and for all others who followed along online - we definitely felt your support! WSC Conference is the culmination of our indoor season and this team did it perfectly. Yes we ended the day in 3rd place for the Varsity level and 7th for the Fr/Soph level, but more importantly we ended the day with 20 Individual PR's, 1 Relay team PR, 1 meet record, and 1 School Record tie! This is what matters. The team trusted the process through our long indoor season and those who have been there with us each day worked hard and trusted the process and it showed yesterday. As I have stated many times before I am so proud of this small and mighty team. Some highlights are listed below: ** - PR Field Events: ●Pole Vault ○ Anya Patel 3rd - 11’6** - New meet record ○ Emma Glashin - 4th - 7’0 ●Shot Put ○ Lexi Fedinec - 3rd - 9.50 ●Triple Jump ○ Emilija Sinkevicius - 2nd - 10.49 ○ FR PR - from S Pahomovs - 6.82** ●Long Jump ○ FR PR - from J. Pokusa - 3.81** ●High Jump ○ E. Sinkevicius - 2nd Var - 4’11** ○ V. Noblin - 6th Var - 4’5** ○ Fr/Soph - K. Spruill - 2nd - 4’5**
Running Events: ●300m Dash ○ Kennedy Ruff - 1st 42.12 - Tied School Record ○ I. Rios-Tejeda - 5th - 47.4** ●3200m Run - A. Koepfle - 6th - 14:00** ●55mH ○ K. Ruff - 1st - 8.74 ○ E. Glashin - 6th - 9.93** ●800m Run ○ FR PR - G. Picardi - 3:17** ●400m Dash ○ K. Ruff - 1st - 1:00.9 ○ J. Lewis - 4th - 1:06.1 ●1600m Run ○ E. Koehler - 6:23** ○ G. Picardi - 7:25** ●4x400m Relay ○ VARSITY - 3rd - 4:29.0 ○ E. Sinkevicius. I. Rios-Tejeda, V. Noblin, K. Ruff
Week of April 7th After the indoor state meet the team had a much needed rest week for spring break and then made the transition to outdoor season. Our first meet of the season was cancelled due to cold and rain. Luckily the weather cooperated with us for Friday, April 11th at Addison Trail for our Relays kick off meet. This was the second annual outdoor kickoff relay meet. The girls had a blast. It was a great way to get some outdoor time for our athletes in a fun way. Running some events we normally do not do.
Week of March 24th
We wrapped up the indoor season by taking two athletes to Indoor State at Gately in Chicago. Anya Patel placed 1st in Pole Vault with a jump of 11’9”. Kennedy Ruff placed 4th in the 400m Dash - 57.90 and 13th in the 60mH - 9.37
Week of February 24th
This week was a challenging one for our team. The virus that seems to be knocking down many hit our team hard this week. Many of our athletes missed school and practice and then on the day of the meet many even were sent home from school and couldn’t compete. Our team persevered. Many girls stepped it up and filled in as alternates in events they normally would not compete in. The team ended up in 2nd place of the four schools behind the host school Glenbard South. Some highlights from the meet are listed below: ● Fr. B. Satterfield - PR - 8.55 in the 55m Dash ● 55m Hurdles ○ Jr. K. Ruff - 9.07 - 1st ○ Fr. A. Lu - 10.69 - 2nd ● 4x160 Relay - 2nd Place - 1:37.9 (Noblin, Pokusa/Te. Jones/Satterfield) ● 400m Dash ○ K. Ruff - 1:06 - 1st ○ I Rios-Tejeda - 1:13 - 5th ● 1600m Run - E. Koehler - PR - 6:36 - 4th ● 200m Dash - K. Ruff - 29.38 - 2nd ● High Jump - V. Noblin - 4’4” - 4th Long Jump - L. Schiltz - 4.07m - 2nd ● Shot Put - ○ A. Fedinec - PR - 9.56m - 1st Place ○ A. Lu - 9.22m - 2nd place ○ A. Rios-Tejeda - 8.50 - 4th Place ● Pole Vault - Fr. D. Cijunelis - 6’0” - 2nd Place
Week of February 17th
After a long weekend and a cold spell the team received some much needed rest on their legs and came back ready to go on Tuesday, February 18th to prepare for our first indoor invitational. The team traveled to Willowbrook high school for the 9 team invite. Our young team continued our motto of “Small But Mighty”. On the Varsity side we placed 3rd and on the JV side we placed 5th - it was a great day! We have so many new athletes joining us this year and their hard work over the past few weeks showed on Saturday. We look forward to the continued success of these athletes. Some highlights from the meet are below: ●Kennedy Ruff - 1st Place - 55mH - 8.62* ●3200m Run ○T. Koepfle - 4th - 14:19 ○E. Koehler - 7th - 14:56 ●300m Dash ○JV - A. Tagudar - 4th - 53.84 ○Var - K. Ruff - 1st - 42.80 ○I. Rios-Tejeda - 8th - 51.45 ●800m Run - A. Frankel - 8th - 2:45* ●4x160m Relay - Varsity - 2nd Place - 1:43.15 ○(Ruff, Spriull, Monday, Schiltz) ●400m Dash - ○Var - J. Lewis - 1st - 1:05.13 ○JV - D. Cijunelis - 1:14.9 - 3rd ●200m Dash ○JV - B. Satterfield - 31.20 - 3rd ○VAR - S. Monday - 7th - 30.47 ●4x400m Relay - Varsity - 1st Place - 4:28.93 ○(Sinkevicius, Lewis, Rios-Tejeda, Ruff) ●High Jump - Varsity - E. Sinkevicius - 1st - 4’9” ●Long Jump ○Varsity - 7th Place - L. Schiltz - 4.15m ○JV - D. Cijunelis - 3rd Place - 3.92m ●Shot Put ○Varsity - A. Fedinec - 5th - 9.17m
Week of February 3rd
We had a great week of practice which ended with our first home meet on Saturday, February 8th. It was a GREAT day. We began our season on January 23rd with our largest group ever - 35 athletes, 15 of which are freshman, and many more are first time athletes in our program. Which means today was a learning experience for many. We competed against Andrew, Benet, St. Francis, and Westmont. Since we were the hosts all of us coaches were busy running events and the team stepped it up. Juniors and Seniors looked out for our newer athletes and everyone competed very well. The meet was not FAT timed - some highlights are listed below: