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8.0 years ago

Brown, Mans, Wagner all qualify for IHSA State Girls Track Meet - STLToday - 5/15/2015

O'Fallon wins 3A sectional team title

 

O'FALLON, ILL.  O'Fallon had only one first-place finish Friday but its depth proved powerful enough for the team title at the Class 3A O'Fallon Sectional girls track and field meet.

The Panthers finished with 109 points, well ahead of second place Bloomington with 56.

"Overall, I think you've got to say it's a great day," O'Fallon coach Neil James said. He then rattled off the list of events in which the Panthers qualified for state — some had more than one athlete.

They included all four relays, where the Panthers were sectional runners-up in all four. Junior Sam Tidwell captured the 3,200 (11:25.74) followed closely by second-place finisher and senior teammate Noelle Gilster (11:26.00). Tidwell's victory was the only one for O'Fallon.

Mya Watson-Blake and Tamya Houston qualified in the 200, while Angela Buch took second in the 1,600. Tami Cardenas did the same in the 800 but still had her best time of the year (2:16.45). Sophomore Mackenzie Ryan qualified in the triple jump (35-10.5).

"Any time you get that many kids (at state), that's a great accomplishment," James said. "Our kids really competed today and got after it. Was there some disappointments? Sure. But we still ran some of out best times. We'll get everybody rested up and ready to go next week. I'm excited to head up and see what we can do."

 

Individually, Belleville East senior Miya Dorsey had the best day at the meet.

She won the 100 hurdles and the 300 hurdles, which were both hard-fought victories that took a lot out of her, but she managed to anchor the Lancers surprise winning 1,600-meter relay team to close the night.

"I just wanted to win it for the team," Dorsey said. "We wanted to go to state."

Dorsey trailed an O'Fallon runner with about 110 meters to go but used a solid kick around 100-meter mark to secure first place for the Lancers.

In the 300 hurdles, Dorsey edged Alton's LaJarvia Brown after the final hurdle. In the 100s, she outdueled Autumn Harris of Edwardsville.

"I was just pushing myself," Dorsey said. "I wanted it so bad, so I just went with it."

Alton's Brown won the long jump (17-11.75) and triple jump (38-10.5). Brown passed on her last three attempts in the triple jump.

"I qualified and that's the main thing," Brown said. "I'm going to rest until Monday and then be back at it on Monday."

O'Fallon's Mackenzie Ryan (35-10.5) also qualified even though she was third. Her mark beat the standard for the event. The top two finishers from each event go to state, which begins Thursday at Eastern Illinois University. Those that exceed standards for their event also qualify regardless of finish.

East St. Louis senior Aaliah Herron won the shot put (42-00.25) and was second in the discus (125-02). Sophomore teammates Jazmyn Poole also made it to state in the discus. Granite City senior Catherine Jakich and Alton's Jewel Wagner qualified in the shot put.

West's Ni'Jia McNamee took first place in the 400 (57.78) and was second in the 200 (25.46).

The high jump was especially productive for area athletes. Freshman Katie Mans of Alton won with a leap of 5-5. Also qualifying were Watson-Blake of O'Fallon (5-3), Tamar Mosby of East and Abby Carney of O'Fallon (5-3).

Edwardsville's 3,200 relay team of junior Danielle Bohannon, sophomore Victoria Vegher, sophomore Bailey McGuire and freshman Lori Cashdollar opened the running portion, delayed for more than two hours because of rain, with a first-place finish. It was the Tigers first qualifying relay team in two years.

"In Charleston, our ultimate goal is to make it top eight and be all-state," Bohannon said. "To do that, I think we need to go at least 9:33." The team won in 9:41.89.

Still, after running times well over 10 minutes during indoor season, the quartet has steadily improved and thinks it still has another gear.

"Last year, we had no hope," Bohannon said.

McGuire agreed: "We couldn't get below 10:20. It's hard to believe where we are now. I'm super-stoked. It's my first time going to state. I know were going to work hard and go for it."

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