CHARLESTON • Alton High senior LaJarvia Brown was fighting back tears late Saturday.

Almost 12 hours earlier, she was on the track early in the morning attacking her warm-ups with a fierce desire. Brown wasn't happy with her long jump or triple jump marks in Friday's preliminaries. So she came out for some extra prep work Saturday at O'Brien Stadium on the campus of Eastern Illinois University.

It worked.

Brown closed out her stellar career with two state titles at the Illinois Girls Track and Field Championships. She added a second and third-place finish. Along the way, she set school records in three events and most importantly to Brown, gave Alton something it never had before - a second-place finish in the team standings.

"When I get around competition, I don't know, I just knew I wanted to win," said Brown, who is headed for Texas A&M in the fall. "There were several girls that were over 40 (feet in the triple jump) coming in. I was seeded, like fifth. I just wanted to get that record."

Brown started her day with a second-place finish in the long jump (19 feet, 2.5 inches). She was a half-inch behind winner Hannah Morris of Chicago Heights Bloom Township.

In the triple jump, Brown was at her best. She set the state record with a 42-01.75. It shattered the old mark of 41-05 set in 1996 by Deanna Simmons of Decatur MacAthur.

It was the third consecutive year Brown has won the event at the state meet.

In the hurdle events, Brown won the 100 (13.89) and was third in the 300 (43.47), although she held the lead for the first 270 meters. Both times were Alton records.

"(The start), that was my main focus," Brown said. "My starts have gotten a lot better as the season has gone on. I knew I had won it at the eighth hurdle. I just had six more steps to go."

Brown scored 35 points. Sophomore Katie Mans jumped 5-6 in the high jump to earn a seventh-place finish and give the Redbirds a pair of points. The 37 points was unprecedented in the long history of Alton athletics.

Frankfort Lincoln-Way East won the Class 3A state for the fourth successive time with 83 points.

"I'm not going to cry," Brown said as a few tears welled in her eyes. "I don't cry. I don't cry."

She then smiled as the second-place trophy was handed to the handful of Alton faithful on the field.

"I'm going to miss her," Alton coach Terry Mitchell said. "She's special. She grown up in front of us and accomplished some great things."

 
 
 
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Also in 3A, East St. Louis was eighth with 21 points. The Flyers picked up a second-place finish in the 1,600 relay (3:53.29) with freshmen Jariah Turner and Shonjahnea Griggs and seniors LaJeanai Keltee and Rokelle Stanley. East Side picked up another eight points when sophomore Evangeline Harris tossed the shot put 45-07.25.

O'Fallon had 11 points, its best effort was a second-place finish in the 800 relay by its team of all juniors Kersten Douglas, Tamya Houston, Taliah Reese and Mya Watson-Blake. The Panthers also picked up a seventh-place finish in the 1,600 relay. The team was made up of juniors Mackenzie Ryan, Tailah Reese, Watson-Blake and senior Caitlyn Clinton.

Cahokia needed a big effort from junior Mariya Hudson in the 200 and she obliged taking first place and scooping up 10 points in the next to last event. It gave the defending champion Comanches 53 points - 10 more than Maple Park Kaneland in the 2A.

But Kaneland had a team in the 1,600 relay, the final event of the day, and Cahokia did not.

Kaneland, which had the third-best prelims time in the event, did the improbable and won the the final event to tie Cahokia for the team title.

Before Hudson's big victory in the 200, the Comanches were off their game a bit. Hudson had dominant runs in the 100 and 400 in the prelims, but finished third in the 100 (12.19) and fourth in the 400 (56.83).

A miss in the long jump also hurt the cause. Hudson was suffering from some leg pains, but put it out of her mind to win the 200.

She's unsure if she will run this summer, but noted she will be more than motivated to reclaim the state title in the 100 and 400 - events she won as a sophomore.

"When I saw my coaches, they were like, 'go out there and have fun,'" Hudson said. "I knew that meant go out there and win. I know he wanted me to win, so I did what I had to do."

Even at less than their best, the Comanches are still state co-champions.

"We moved up in the 4 by 1 and 4 by 2 relays," senior Paris Jacobs said. "But we could have done better in the 4 by 4. Overall, we did our best, so were happy."

Triad finished 30th in Class 2A all 11 of its points were courtesy of senior Allison Richter who placed four in the discus and seventh in the shot put.

Highland picked up a fourth place finish in the 3,200 relay with the quartet of senior Allison Zobrist, freshman Kate Marti, junior Sarah Beth Wiegman and sophomore Rece Portell. Freeburg was ninth in the same race to earn its only point. The team was made up of sophomore Kayla Whitworth and juniors Hannah Bouas, Ashley Gilmore and Kristen Collier.

In Class 1A, Casey Berberich finished fourth in the long jump to scored six points for Lebanon. It was the only points manufactured by area 1A teams.