By Annie Fehrenbacher
Gargoyle co-editor-in-chief
Posted Thursday, May 11, 2006, The OG, sports

Subfreshman Elizabeth Russell qualified for the Class A Illinois Elementary School Association track and field state final meet in the 1,600-meter run with a second-place finish at the Tuscola sectional on Saturday.

Although the top two finishers in each event automatically move on to state, Russell's time of 6 minutes, 00.47 seconds also beat the eighth-grade girls qualifying time of 6:05.00.

“She's incredible!” says sophomore Shivani Khanna, who also qualified for state in the 1,600 as a subfreshman. Khanna points out that the qualifying time has dropped by at least 10 seconds since she was in eighth grade.

“They're getting so much faster every year,” says Khanna. “We're really excited about having her on the high school team.”

Russell is seeded 18th among 42 qualifiers. The eighth-grade girls race will begin at approximately 5 p.m. Friday at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria.

In addition to her silver medal in the 1,600, Russell also placed fifth at sectionals in the 800 meter and the long jump.

Although none of the subbie boys qualified for state, Nathan Smith's 5:19 mark in the 1,600 was just four seconds short of the automatic qualifying time. He placed fourth at the Tuscola sectional. Smith and teammates Danny Ge, Terry Qi, and Jack Snyder placed fifth in the 4x400 relay.