GRANITE CITY • It is now-or-never time for the O'Fallon High girls track and field team.
With just more than a week before sectionals, the Panthers are getting down to business.
O'Fallon took a huge step toward postseason success by toasting the competition at Southwestern Conference championship meet Wednesday on a warm day at Granite City High School.
"The girls really understand that it's time to crank it up," O'Fallon coach Neil James said. "They know they have to turn it up a notch."
The Panthers did just that, finishing with 180.5 points, well ahead of second-place Belleville East (108) and third-place Edwardsville (104). East St. Louis (93.5) Alton (71), Granite City (45), Belleville West (42) and Collinsville (28) rounded out the eight-team field.
The rout started with a victory in the 400-meter relay when the Panthers' quartet won in a brisk time of 49.07. By the meet's third event, the 3,200, it was apparent O'Fallon was going to be nearly impossible to beat.
Junior Sam Tidwell took first (11:53.68) in the 3,200 and senior Rachel Russel was second (11:55.82). The one-two finish gave the Panthers 18 quick points.
"We've been running together a long time," Russel said. "Since I was in seventh grade and she was in sixth. It doesn't matter who wins. We support each other and we support the rest of the team."
Added Tidwell: "We don't think about the points when we are running. We're trying for a good times."
Russel then added: "It's nice when you realize after the race that you actually contributed to your team winning a trophy."
Sophomores Kersten Douglas and Nautica Lockett then went one-two in the 100 to give the Panthers another 18 points. Douglas' winning time was 12.91.
Senior Tami Cardenas and junior Caitlyn Clinton finished first and second, respectively, in the 800 to give the Panthers another point boost. Cardenas, who has been awarded an appointment to the Air Force Academy, led the entire way, but Clinton was never far behind.
Cardenas won in 2:21.36. Clinton recorded a 2:21.82.
"We expect to win this," Cardenas said of the conference meet. "We're humble. We don't think we are that much better than everyone else. We feel we have put in the effort and time to be successful. It's big for us to win. It makes all the work we put in at practice worth it."
The one-two finish was planned.
"I told her to stay on my hip," Cardenas said. "The better Caitlyn gets, the better I will run."
The 800-relay team also posted a first-place finish as did the 1,600-relay team. For good measure, the Panthers placed first and second in the 1,600. Senior Noelle Glister was first with a 5:16.78 and senior Angela Buch was second at 5:19.15.
"We're very fortunate to have a lot of depth and we can move kids around," James said. "Some of our JV kids would have been top four or five (in the varsity races). We've really built it up through the cross country team. This is (1,600 winner) Glister's first year running track, but we are also very fortunate that our sophomore sprint class is absolutely loaded."
While O'Fallon dominated individually and on the team side, there were still some athletes who had big days.
Belleville East's Miya Dorsey took the 100 hurdles and edged Alton's LaJarvia Brown in the 300-hurdles — the closest race of the meet. Her effort helped the Lancers finish second overall.
"She's a senior. She does things right and has been working hard," East coach Bryan Mitchell said.
Dorsey edged Edwardsville's Autumn Harris in the 100 hurdles, finishing in 15.57. She ran a 43.70 to win the 300s. She broke the meet record of 45.75 set last year by Kristen Dowell of Edwardsville. Brown also broke the mark with her 43.78.
"I knew (Brown) was my competition," Dorsey said. "It was all heart on the straightaway."
Brown didn't get her usual triple, but she did set a meet mark winning the long jump with a leap of 18-1.5. She bested the old mark by almost a foot. In the triple jump, she set the meet record with a 39-1.5. The old mark of 37-0 was set last year by Kayla Marshall of Collinsville.
East St. Louis junior Aaliyah Herron also earned two conference first-place medals with a toss of 130-5 in discus and a meet record-breaking 42-10 in the shot put. The old record was 41-11.5 set by Aaliyah Covington of Edwardsville in 2014.
Edwardsville won the first running event, the 3,200 relay, as the Tigers' quartet of junior Danielle Bohannon, sophomores Bailey McGuire and Victoria Vegher and freshman Lori Cashdollar ran a 9:44.20.
Edwardsville had another first when junior Gabriella Romano won the pole vault (8-0).
Another first-place finish went to freshman Katie Mans of Alton in the high jump (5-4). Freshman Brea Marshall picked up the only first-place finish for Collinsville when she clocked a 1:00.58 in the 400 meters.
