TOLONO — Senior Ruthie Welch won the 1,600-meter run and placed second in the 800 as the Illineks finished seventh overall at the Unity Girls Invitational Friday evening in Tolono.

Twenty-one teams competed in the meet, making it Uni's biggest challenge of the outdoor season so far.

The Illineks finished with 40 points, just behind sixth-place St. Joseph-Ogden (41.5) and fifth-place Macon Meridian (42). Central A&M (58) won the meet.

Uni's performance represented a significant improvement over 2007, when the Illineks placed 11th out of 21 teams and scored 20 points.

This was all the more impressive given the heavy winds and cold temperatures that made Friday's meet an endurance test. Also, some of Uni's top athletes, such as juniors Lizzy Warner and Rachel Skoza, had to leave early because of ACT testing the next day, which might have cost the team a few points and a couple of places in the final standings.

Only top-six finishes earned points in each event: 10 for first place, eight for second, six for third, four for fourth, two for fifth, one for sixth. Uni athletes earned points in eight events, up from four events last year.

Welch had the Illineks' only first-place performance, winning the 1,600 in a time of 5 minutes, 48.96 seconds. She beat Central A&M's Regan Alymer (5:50.90) by almost two seconds.

But Welch's best performance may have come in the 800, in which she placed second behind 2007 state qualifier Erika Ramos of Hoopeston Area.

Despite the wind, Ramos ran a near-record time of 2:26.46, only three-tenths of a second off the meet record set last year by Central A&M's Lauren Adcock (2:26.14).

Welch recorded a 2:28.11, just 1.65 seconds behind Ramos and more than eight seconds ahead of Adcock, who placed third this year.

Also scoring points for the Illineks in individual events were Warner, sophomore Tuli Bera, and freshman Ashley Huddson.

Warner and Hudson each placed in the 400 dash, with Warner's time of 1:04.11 good for third and Huddson's 1:05.68 for sixth.

Bera continued her outstanding first season in track with third place in the triple jump (31 feet, 4 inches) and fourth in the 100 dash (14.21).

Two Uni relay teams also scored points.

The 4x200 — consisting of Skoza and sophomores Cheyenne Stewart, Katherine Allen, and Rachel Harmon — placed sixth with a time of 2:01.03.

The 4x100 (Harmon, Warner, Skoza, Bera) finished fourth with a 54.86.

The next big meet for the girls will take place on Friday, when Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley hosts the Lady Falcon Invitational.

MORE PHOTOS: UNITY GIRLS INVITATIONAL

Junior Lizzy Warner heads toward a third-place finish in the highly competitive 400-meter dash at the Unity Girls Invitational. Gargoyle photo (click any photo to create your own slideshow)

Sophomore Tuli Bera and her counterparts try to keep warm before the start of the 100-meter dash.

The heavy winds and cold temperatures made for a brutal setting for an outdoor track meet.

Bera gets in place for the final heat of the 100.

Only in her first year on the Uni track team, Bera has already made it to the state indoor finals as a sprinter.

The race begins. Bera is flanked by Central A&M's Slone Henderson (left), Macon Meridian's Lauren Doyle (near right), and Oakwood's Stephanie Denius (far right).

Forty-six girls ran the 100.

Bera finished fourth overall (14.21 seconds), while Macon Meridian's Doyle won the event (13.78).

Junior Deborah Ladd sets the pace in the second heat of the 800.

With a time of 3:03.71, Ladd placed seventh in her 15-person heat and 20th out of 35 runners overall.

Senior Ruthie Welch eyes Hoopeston's Erika Ramos, who qualified for state last year in the 800.

Welch completed the 800 in 2:28.11, right behind Ramos (2:26.46). The two runners were clearly the elite in their event; the third-place finisher ran 8.31 seconds behind Welch.

Sprinters Rachel Harmon (left) and Cheyenne Stewart (right) brave the cold with a teammate as the meet extends into the evening hours.

TEAM SCORES: Unity Girls Invitational

1. Central A&M 58
2. Pana 52
3. Vandalia 51
4. Monticello 45
5. Macon Meridian 42
6. St. Joseph-Ogden 41.5
7. UNI HIGH 40
8. Unity (Tolono) 34
9. Oakwood 33
10. Bismarck-Henning 31
11. Jamaica 24
12. St. Teresa 17
13. Clinton 15
13. St. Thomas More 15
15. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 14
16. Olympia 13.5
17. Hoopeston Area 12
18. Heritage 7
18. Paxton-Buckley-Loda 7
20. Tuscola 4
21. Sullivan 2

TIMING: Fully Automatic (F.A.T.)

UNI RESULTS: Unity Girls Invitational

4x100-Meter Relay
4th Place (54.86) — Uni High (Rachel Harmon, Lizzy Warner, Rachel Skoza, Tuli Bera)
Class A qualifying standard: 52.0 manual timing / 52.24 fully automatic timing (F.A.T.)

Discus Throw
40th Place (53-3) — Linda Song
Class A qualifying standard: 107-6

100-Meter Dash
4th Place (14.21) — Tuli Bera
14th Place (15.31) — Rachel Harmon
Class A qualifying standard: 12.7 manual / 12.94 F.A.T.

800-Meter Run
2nd Place (2:28.11) — Ruthie Welch
20th Place (3:03.71) — Deborah Ladd
Class A qualifying standard: 2:27.0 manual timing / 2:27.24 F.A.T.

Long Jump
14th Place (13-5 1/2) — Angie Jin
22nd Place (12-8) — Rachel Skoza
Class A qualifying standard: 16-4

4x200-Meter Relay
6th Place (2:01.03) — Uni High (Rachel Skoza, Cheyenne Stewart, Katherine Allen, Rachel Harmon)
Class A qualifying standard: 1:51.5 manual timing / 1:51.74 F.A.T.

400-Meter Dash
3rd Place (1:04.11) — Lizzy Warner
6th Place (1:05.68) — Ashley Huddson
Class A qualifying standard: 1:01.8 manual / 1:02.04 F.A.T.

1,600-Meter Run
1st Place (5:48.96) — Ruthie Welch
Class A qualifying standard: 5:36.0 manual timing / 5:36.24 F.A.T.

Shot Put
34th Place (21-8) — Linda Song
Class A qualifying standard: 35-6

200-Meter Dash
25th Place (33.37) — Linda Ly
28th Place (33.47) — Angie Jin
Class A qualifying standard: 26.8 manual timing / 27.04 F.A.T.

4x400-Meter Relay
9th Place (4:50.10) —Uni High (Ruthie Welch, Katherine Allen, Cheyenne Stewart, Ashley Huddson)
Class A qualifying standard: 4:16.5 manual timing / 4:16.74 F.A.T

Triple Jump
3rd Place (31-4) — Tuli Bera
Class A qualifying standard: 33-5