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Girls track: State meet in photos
By Gargoyle sports staff
Posted Sunday, May 20, 2007, The OG, girls track & sports & photo galleries
CHARLESTON — Although none of the six Illineks who competed in Friday's Class A girls state prelims qualified for Saturday's final round of competition, the future of Uni's track program appears strong. Only two of this year's qualifiers will graduate in June, so look for more trips to Charleston in the springs to come.
The 3,200-meter relay squad of sophomore Lizzy Warner, senior Aria Collopy, and juniors Shivani Khanna and Ruthie Welch finished with a time of 10 minutes, 12.77 seconds to place sixth in its 14-team heat and 17th out of 41 teams overall. Only the top 12 teams overall advanced to Saturday's final.
In the 1,600 run, freshman Elizabeth Russell clocked in at 5:53.40 to place 12th in her heat and 32nd out of 34 runners overall.
In the pole vault, senior Paige Martin peaked at 9 feet to finish 14th in her flight and 19th out of 41 competitors overall.
For impending graduates Collopy and Martin, it's off to Caltech and Harvard, respectively. For the rest of the Uni qualifiers, it back to training for next year as they try to become the first Uni female track athletes to win a state medal since Cindy Wang acheived that feat twice in 1995.
photos by David Porreca
Sophomore Lizzy Warner (in blue) rounds the south end of the track at O'Brien Stadium during Friday's Class A state prelims. Warner ran the first leg of Uni's 4x800 relay. (Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)
Senior Aria Collopy turns up the speed as she runs the second leg of the 4x800. (Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)
Junior Shivani Khanna tries to expand her lead over Newman Central Catholic's Katie Kipping in the third leg of Uni's 4x800 prelim heat. The Illineks beat the Comets for the sixth spot by almost 6 seconds. (Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)
Junior Ruthie Welch tries to close the gap in the final leg of the 4x800. (Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)
Warner set a personal record Friday for her split in the relay. (Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)
Collopy ran her final race as an Illinek Friday. She plans to attend Caltech in the fall. (Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)
Khanna will be back next year for a last shot at a state track medal, something a Uni female athlete hasn't won since Cindy Wang did it twice in 1995. (Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)
Welch pulls away from Newman Central Catholic's Emily Ferris en route to Uni's sixth-place finish. The Illineks' time of 10:12.77 was almost 3 seconds slower than the 10:09.8 they ran Monday at the News-Gazette Honor Roll Meet. If they had duplicated their News-Gazette time, they would have advanced to Saturday's final. (Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)
Freshman Elizabeth Russell stays close to the pack early in her 1,600 prelim heat Friday. (Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)
Russell finished with a time of 5:53.40, about 14 seconds behind the pace she set at sectionals a week before (5:39.23), when she placed second. With her skills in the high jump and triple jump as well as in other running events, she is one of Uni's most versatile track and field athletes. (Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)
Senior Paige Martin gets ready for her prelim flight in the pole vault. (Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)
Martin begins one of her three attempts to clear 9 feet, 3 inches. Her best vault this year was 10-6, at Monday's News-Gazette Honor Roll Meet. (Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)
Despite three tries, Martin was unable to clear 9-3. She hopes to continue in the sport next year at Harvard. (Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)
2007 GIRLS VARSITY TRACK & FIELD RESULTS (OUTDOOR)
March 29: Gibson City Meet (at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley H.S.)
• TEAM FINISH: 5th (out of 5 teams), 30 pts
• STORY: Relay teams run season bests at Indoor Classic (Outdoor results included in story)
• EVENT RESULTS (top 3 finishes):
— 100: Rachel Skoza (so), 2nd, 14.35
— 3,200: Elizabeth Russell (fr), 3rd, 13:56.7
— 4x200 relay: Skoza, Katherine Allen (fr), Angie Jin (jr), Lizzy Warner (so), 3rd, 2:03.08
— 4x400 relay: Skoza, Allen, Russell, Warner, 2nd, 4:41.6
— high jump: Russell, 3rd, 4-8
— triple jump: Russell, 1st, 30-0
March 31: Champaign County Meet (at Urbana H.S.)
• TEAM FINISH: No overall team standings were compiled
• STORY: Uni athletes take first in three events at county meet
• EVENT RESULTS (top 5 finishes):
— 400: Lizzy Warner (so), 4th, 1:09.8
— 3,200: Elizabeth Russell (fr), 5th, 14:01
— 4x200 relay: Rachel Skoza (so), Katherine Allen (fr), Cheyenne Stewart (fr), Warner, 4th, 2:00.1
— 4x400 relay: Skoza, Allen, Linda Ly (fr), Warner, 1st, 4:49
— 4x800 relay: Shivani Khanna (jr), Elaine Gu (so), Aria Collopy (sr), Ruthie Welch (jr), 1st, 10:48
— high jump: Russell, 3rd, 4-6
— long jump: Angie Jin (jr), 4th, 14-1
— triple jump: Russell, 1st, 29-11
April 10: Gibson City Tri-Meet (at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley H.S.)
• TEAM FINISH: 2nd (out of 3 teams)
• STORY: Uni athletes win 11 events against GCMS, PBL
• EVENT RESULTS (top 3 finishes):
— 200: Cheyenne Stewart (fr), 2nd, 31.04
— 400: Aria Collopy (sr), 1st, 1:07.41; Ruthie Welch (jr), 2nd, 1:08.6
— 800: Shivani Khanna (jr), 1st, 2:40.1; Elizabeth Russell (fr), 2nd, 2:45.6
— 1,600: Katie Easley (sr), 2nd, 6:56.8
— 3,200: Elaine Gu (so), 2nd, 13:02.6
— 4x200 relay: Rachel Skoza (so), Katherine Allen (fr), Stewart, Lizzy Warner (so), 1st, 2:00.6
— 4x400 relay: Welch, Khanna, Skoza, Warner, 1st, 4:38.7
— 4x800 relay: Warner, Collopy, Welch, Khanna, 1st, 10:48.9
— long jump: Angela Jin (jr), 3rd, 12-1
— triple jump: Russell, 1st, 28-9
April 13: Unity Girls Invitational (at Unity H.S.)
• TEAM FINISH: 11th (out of 21 teams)
• STORY: Relay teams run seasonal bests at Unity Invite
• EVENT RESULTS (top 10 finishes):
— 400: Lizzy Warner (so), 8th, 1:04.87; Aria Collopy (sr), 9th, 1:06.17
— 800: Ruthie Welch (jr), 3rd, 2:32.51
— 1,600: Elaine Gu (so), 4th, 5:55.02
— 4x400 relay: Welch, Elizabeth Russell (fr), Collopy, Warner, 5th, 4:33.48
— 4x800 relay: Welch, Collopy, Russell, Gu, 2nd, 10:39.24
— long jump: Angie Jin (jr), 8th, 13-07.25
— triple jump: Russell, 8th, 29-07.50
April 20: Falcon Invitational (at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley H.S.)
• TEAM FINISH: 11th (out of 16 teams)
• STORY: Illineks tune up for sectionals with Falcon Invitational
• EVENT RESULTS (top 5 finishes):
— 800: Ruthie Welch (jr), 5th, 2:35.77
— 1,600: Elizabeth Russell (fr), 3rd, 5:46.41; Shivani Khanna (jr), 5th, 5:47.14
— 4x400 relay: Welch, Khanna, Aria Collopy (sr), Rachel Skoza (so), 5th, 4:37.85
— 4x800 relay: Welch, Collopy, Khanna, Elaine Gu (so), 2nd, 10:31.07
— Distance medley relay: Skoza, Gu, Linda Ly (fr), Katherine Allen (fr), 3rd, 4:56.25
April 24: Unity Dual Meet (at Unity H.S.)
• TEAM FINISH: 2nd (out of 2 teams)
• STORY: none. In several of the events, Uni faced no competition; in others the competitors were overwhelmingly from Unity High. The meet gave both teams a chance to experiment with different lineups. “The best thing about the meet was we learned how to compete against ourselves — how to push ourselves,” said junior Shivani Khanna.
April 27: Monticello Lady Sages Invitational (at Monticello H.S)
• TEAM FINISH: 14th (out of 21 teams)
• STORY: Martin, 4x800 team excel at Lady Sages Invitational
• EVENT RESULTS (top 15 finishes):
— 200: Rachel Skoza (so), 12th (semifinals heat), 29.79
— 400: Lizzy Warner (so), 10th, 1:05.84; Aria Collopy (sr), 12th, 1:06.55
— 800: Shivani Khanna (jr), 5th, 2:31.17; Ruthie Welch (jr), 7th, 2:33.44
— 1,600: Elizabeth Russell (fr), 5th, 5:49.10; Elaine Gu (so), 7th, 5:51.76
— 300 low hurdles: Paige Martin (sr), 14th, 55.60
— 4x200 relay: Skoza, Katherine Allen (fr), Cheyenne Stewart (fr), Rachel Harmon (fr), 10th, 2:01.31
— 4x400 relay: Welch, Khanna, Collopy, Warner, 7th, 4:26.79
— 4x800 relay: Warner, Khanna, Gu, Welch, 3rd, 10:15.50
— Triple jump: Martin, 7th, 30-0; Russell, 11th, 28-10.5
— Pole vault: Martin, 2nd, 9-0
May 4: Lady Spartan Classic (at St. Joseph-Ogden H.S.)
• TEAM FINISH: 9th (out of 18 teams)
• STORY: Shorthanded Uni turns in strong performance at Lady Spartan Classic
• EVENT RESULTS (top 6 finishes):
— 1,600: Elizabeth Russell (fr), 6th, 5:52.63
— 4x200 relay: Rachel Skoza (so), Katherine Allen (fr), Cheyenne Stewart (fr), Rachel Harmon (fr), 5th, 1:57.11
— 4x400 relay: Skoza, Russell, Aria Collopy (sr), Lizzy Warner (so), 6th (tie with St. Thomas More), 4:31.28
— 4x800 relay: Warner, Shivani Khanna (jr), Collopy, Ruthie Welch (jr), 3rd, 10:22.01
— Triple jump: Paige Martin (sr), 2nd, 31-6
— Pole vault: Martin, 1st, 10-0
May 10: Class A Sidell (Jamaica) Sectional (at St. Joseph-Ogden H.S.)
• TEAM FINISH: not applicable (this was for pole vault only)
• STORY: Martin wins sectional title in pole vault
• EVENT RESULT:
— Pole vault: Paige Martin (sr), 1st, 9-9 (IHSA state qualifier) (automatic state qualifying standard: 8-6)
May 11: Class A Sidell (Jamaica) Sectional (at Catlin H.S.)
• TEAM FINISH: 8th (out of 16 teams)
• STORY: Illineks advance to state meet in three events
• EVENT RESULTS (top 6 finishes):
— 400: Lizzy Warner (so), 6th, 1:05.55 (automatic state qualifying time: 1:02.04)
— 800: Ruthie Welch (jr), 4th, 2:35.83; Shivani Khanna (jr), 5th, 2:35.97 (automatic state qualifying time: 2:27.24)
— 1,600: Elizabeth Russell (fr), 2nd, 5:39.23 (IHSA state qualifier) (automatic state qualifying time: 5:36.24)
— 4x800 relay: Warner, Aria Collopy (sr), Khanna, Welch, 1st, 10:12.34 (IHSA state qualifiers) (automatic state qualifying time: 10:23.74)
— Triple jump: Paige Martin (sr), 5th, 31-6; Russell, 6th, 30-10.5 (automatic state qualifying standard: 33-5)
May 14: News-Gazette Honor Roll Meet (at U of I Track & Field Stadium)
• TEAM FINISH: not applicable
• STORY: Illineks impress at News-Gazette Honor Roll Meet
• EVENT RESULTS (all finishes):
— 1,600: Elizabeth Russell (fr), 6th, 5:49.15
— 4x800 relay: Lizzy Warner (so), Aria Collopy (sr), Shivani Khanna (jr), Ruthie Welch (jr), 2nd, 10:09.8
— Pole vault: Paige Martin (sr), 1st, 10-6 (school record)
May 18: Class A State Meet (at O'Brien Stadium, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston)
• TEAM FINISH: not applicable
• STORY: see above
• EVENT RESULTS (all finishes):
— 1,600: Elizabeth Russell (fr), 12th (in prelim heat), 32nd (in prelims overall), 5:53.40
— 4x800 relay: Lizzy Warner (so), Aria Collopy (sr), Shivani Khanna (jr), Ruthie Welch (jr), 6th (in prelim heat), 17th (in prelims overall), 10:12.77
— Pole vault: Paige Martin (sr), 14th (in prelim flight), 19th (in prelims overall), 9-0
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