The boys and girls track and field teams each finished their seasons at the state championships — May 28-30 for boys and May 21-23 for girls — after multiple runners earned first or second at the sectional championships. Among those who competed at state, Taara Sajdeh was the only runner to advance past her preliminary heat.
Boys track and field
The boys track and field team concluded its season at the IHSA Class 2A state meet on May 28-30 at Eastern Illinois University. No runners on the boys team advanced past their preliminary heats. Connor Lane placed 33rd in the 3,200-meter run, where there is no preliminary heat.
Connor described the results as a letdown after the team’s strong performance at sectionals and overall momentum throughout the season.
“We had a lot of strong performances at sectionals and conference,” he said, “and we had a pretty strong build up in the past couple of weeks, and while we did pretty well, we were looking for, you know, we were looking for a little more.”
On May 20, the boys team competed at the IHSA Class 2A Sectional meet at South Shore International College Prep, where the team placed third and multiple runners placed first or second in their events.
Senior Osvaldo Carretero, the long distance captain for the boys team, emphasized the number of runners who broke their personal records throughout the season, even among those who did not qualify for state.
In particular, junior Ryen Williams broke his previous records three times. At sectionals, where the top two runners advance to state, Ryen placed third in the triple jump.
“Although he didn’t qualify for state, I still think the improvement he did was very impressive,” Osvaldo said.
Boys state meet results:
800-meter run: Mikey Skolarus did not advance past preliminary heat
1,600-meter run: Connor Lane did not advance past preliminary heat
3,200-meter run: Connor Lane placed 33rd (10:01)
4×800-meter relay: Team of Kai Long, Sean Niro, Mikey Skolarus, Sam Koh did not advance past preliminary heat
High jump: Ty Quiles did not advance past preliminary heat
Triple jump: Ayedin Khan did not advance past preliminary heat
Boys sectional meet results:
800-meter run: Mikey Skolarus placed first (2:11.53)
1,600-meter run: Connor Lane placed second (4:33.36)
3,200-meter run: Connor Lane placed second (11:06.99)
High jump: Ty Quiles placed first (1.87m)
Triple jump: Ayedin Khan placed second (12.47m)
4×800-meter relay: Team of Kai Long, Sean Niro, Mikey Skolarus, Sam Koh placed first (9:10.07)
— Boys season wrap-up by Lila Coyne
Girls track and field
The girls track and field team wrapped up its season at the IHSA Class 2A State meet on May 21-23 at Eastern Illinois University where junior Taara Sajdeh placed fourth in the 3,200-meter run and sixth in the 1,600-meter run.
Girls state meet results:
800-meter run: June Ridgway, 32nd; Ledya Wreden, 33rd — each girl ran a personal best time
1,600-meter run: Taara Sajdeh, 6th in finals; Celia Lukas, did not advance past preliminary heat
3,200-meter run: Taara Sajdeh, 4th in finals; Celia Lukas, did not advance past preliminary heat
4×800-meter relay: Team of June Ridgway, Ledya Wreden, Suna Choi-Hortaçsu, Anya Shi did not advance past preliminary heat
Ledya, a junior, who ran a personal best in the 800-meter run, said that a challenge for her was acknowledging that she would not be able to overcome her competition, even with her fastest time.
“We can see who’s going to be running, and I did know that I was probably going to be one of the slowest there,” Ledya said. “So it was difficult to feel like I was back at the bottom.”
“I think next year, I want to work on getting better at taking it out fast and then knowing what pace to settle into to achieve my goal,” Ledya said.
A week earlier, on May 14, the girls team placed third at the IHSA Class 2A Sectional meet at South Shore International College Prep, placing first in multiple running events. Six runners, all on the mid-distance and distance teams, qualified for the state meet.
At the sectional meet, Suna ran the opening leg of the 4×800-meter relay. She said the team’s primary focus was making sure that they got off to a good start, as only the top two teams made it to state.
“I have a tendency to go out too fast on the first lap, and I think my teammates knew that,” Suna said. “So when we were discussing strategy, they said to just pace yourself for the first lap and try to at least stay in the top three and then move on.”
Girls sectional meet results:
June Ridgway: first place, 800-meter run (2:43.24)
Ledya Wreden: second place, 800-meter run (2:44.29)
Taara Sajdeh: first place, 1,600-meter run (5:28.32)
Celia Lukas: second place, 1,600-meter run (6:01.17)
Taara Sajdeh: first place, 3200-meter run (11:20.42)
Celia Lukas: second place, 3200-meter run (12:19.89)
4×800 Relay team of Anya Shi, Suna Choi-Hortaçsu, Ledya Wreden, June Ridgway: first place (11:23.90)
— Girls season wrap-up by Husain Asif
