By Gargoyle sports staff


Posted Friday, May 11, 2007, The OG, girls soccer & girls track & sports

[Note: Check back this weekend for separate stories about the track and soccer sectionals.]

GIRLS TRACK: Illineks advance to state in three events

CATLIN — For the second year in a row, Uni's 3,200-meter relay team has won a sectional championship.

The 4x800 squad of sophomore Lizzy Warner, senior Aria Collopy, junior Shivani Khanna, and junior Ruthie Welch placed first in the Class A Sidell (Jamaica) sectional today with a season-best time of 10 minutes, 12.34 seconds.

Bismarck-Henning finished second with a time of 10:17.88.

Both teams will advance to the IHSA state meet, which will take place May 18-19 at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

Last year the 4x800 team of Khanna, Welch, then-freshman Laura Hazlett (who has since moved), and then-senior Josie Chambers won the Gibson City sectional with a time of 10:16.00.

Also today, freshman Elizabeth Russell qualified for the state meet by placing second in the 1,600-meter run. She clocked in at 5:39.23.

Cara Feeney of St. Thomas More won the event in 5:35.22.

On Thursday at St. Joseph-Ogden High School, senior Paige Martin qualified for state by winning the sectional title in the pole vault.

Martin vaulted 9 feet, 9 inches. Sarah Schaefer of Unity placed second with a vault of 9-0.

GIRLS SOCCER: Encouraging season ends with shutout loss

URBANA — The visiting Monticello Sages upset Uni 2-0 today in the first round of Class A sectionals.

The loss ends the Illineks' season. The team finished 7-8-2, a major improvement over last year's record of 4-15.

Uni entered the match seeded eighth in the 10-team Williamsville sectional, while Monticello was ninth.

The Sages opened the scoring in the first half with a goal by Brittany Gallivan, assisted by Lindsey Cresap.

Cresap clinched the game for the visitors with an unassisted goal in the second half.

Senior goalkeeper Mandy Grill recorded 6 saves for the Illineks. Her counterpart for Monticello, Colleen Donohue, made 3 saves.

The Sages are now 4-8-3. They will play top-seeded Williamsville on Monday.

Highlights for the Illineks this year included winning the East Central Illinois Conference title with a 4-0-1 record and defeating Class AA Mattoon 1-0.