The finish of the 60m at the Winter Grand Prix
Lake Villa, IL - This invite has become one of the top meets of the year with many of the same teams returning from the HF ABC Invite last week. This year's version of the event provided the same amount of hype, if not more than the previous installment.
The action got off with a bang with the girls 4x800m which saw some emerging relays compete. Hononegah found themselves the champions as they crossed the line in 9:59.35 over a St. Ignatius team that made a massive comeback on anchor in 10:00.48.
One of the more underrated races of the day was the 3200m which Whitney Young senior, Nikki Chopra got the win-win 11:00.80 for a new PR. Danielle Jensen of McHenry and Jade Lavallee of Whitney Young had a good battle throughout the race for second, but Chopra remained untouched for most of the race.
The highly anticipated 60H race was the next event on the track. Emmi Scales of St. Viator got the win in 8.37, upon further research this mark seems to be the best mark in state history for the 60H. Ana-Liese Torian of Homewood-Flossmoor took 2nd in 8.80, which is still an awe-inspiring time for this season.
Scales had to book it back to the starting line after her hurdle race to go up against the #1 60m runner in Asia Thomas of Kenwood. From the gun though, Thomas looked smooth and in control as she got the win in 7.58.
The 800m was much more intriguing with Annika Swan of Chicago St. Ignatius blazing her first 200m going through at 31 seconds and dragging the field through to a fast start. Around 64 seconds at the halfway point the freshman was clear out in front of her competition. She brought it home in a 2:16.73 effort.
The 4x200m was the next on the track with it consisting of a few teams looking to shake up the early season 4x200m leaderboards. The current state leader Kenwood ran an "A-B team" here and is still impressed taking a 1st place finish in 1:45.48. They were without Jaliyah Shepherd who was snowed in on a college visit.
The 1600m took center stage with names such as Stella Davis of Evanston, Caroline Schoen of Homewood-Flossmoor, and Brittney Burak of Huntley leading a talented field. Much like the 800m this race was strung out early due to the fast-paced first lap. Davis led the field from the gun and didn't look back. She ran 5:03.36.
The 200m followed with Angela Alozie of Homewood-Flossmoor winning her only event of the day in 25.50. Nobody challenged the standout sprinter as she cruised.
The track events were capped off by an excellent race in the 4x400m relay. A highly tested battle between New Trier and Whitney Young. The Trevians stormed down on the final leg to make a comeback on the Dolphins to win in 4:11.73.
In the field, marks such as Alex Johnson of Huntley jumped 20-0.50 in the long jump, Dominique Johnson of Huntley jumped 40-0.25 in the Triple Jump, and Rylee Lydon of Prairie Ridge jumped 5-7.75 in the High Jump, all ranked in the top five performances for the respective events indoors. Alex's mark is ranked in the top five nationally.
Overall, the meet had a little bit of something for every fan, and as we start to close the indoor chapter of the season.
