Harlem varsity, junior varsity teams 2nd in NIC-10 girls track

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK – Harlem’s girls varsity track team tied Belvidere North for second place in the NIC-10 track meet, held May 5, while the Lady Huskies junior varsity squad finished alone as the runner-up.

Hononegah won at both levels, scoring 114 poinds and 192 points respectively. Harlem and Belvidere North each compiled 98 points in varsity competition, with Harlem’s JVs amassing 149 points.

The varsity won five of 14 events with one second and one third.

Senior Taiah Gallisath fared best among Harlem competitors, winning the long jump (15 feet, 1.75 inches) while placing second in the high jump (5 feet even).

Catie Daily won the discus with a throw of 123 feet, 9 inches, a full 4 feet farther than second-place Alexandra McCoy of Hononegah. And Olivia Lewis won the triple jump with with a total of 34 feet, 11.50 inches. That was 7.25 inches better than second place Baylee Alderman from Freeport.

Other first-place winners were Harlem’s 4-by-200 and 4-by-400-meter relay teams.

Aaliyah Forsell took third in the pole vault, clearing 9 feet even.

Others finishing in the Top 10 for the Lady Huskies were Jordynn Warren and Kathleen Washington, 7-8 in the 100-meter dash; Katie Dietmeier and Washington, 9-10 in the 220-meter dash; Emma Platzbecker, fourth, and Cali Haun, eighth, in the 400-meter dash; and Platzbecker and Klaire Boisvert, 4-5 in the 800-meter run.

Also, Julia Fewell and Maryssa Kiely, 7-8 in the 1,600-meter run; Payton Hartman and Emma Garcia, 9-10 in the 3,200-meter run; Megan Kempthorne and Tambryn Hecox, 6-7 in the 100-meter high hurdles; and Hecox, fifth, and Blake Ashford, 10th, 300-meter low hurdles.

Harlem’s 4-by-800-meter relay team placed second while the 4-by-100 team was third.

In field events, Lewis was third in the high jump; Reagan Cejka, sixth in the pole vault; Dietmeier, 10th in the long jump; Maliyah Woodard, seventh in the triple jump; Kaleigh Logan, fourth, and Brittany Bodnar, sixth, in the shot put; and Emily Kern, fifth in the discus.

Junior varsity results

Some of the junior varsity races were extremely close.

One of Harlem’s five first-place winners was Brook Mirshak, who took the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.83 seconds. That was .01 of a second faster than the runner-up, Jordan Foote of Rockford Auburn.

The 200-meter dash also was a nail-biter with .17 of a second separating first place from second.

Other meet champions for the Lady Huskies were Emily Johnson, winner of both the high jump (4 feet, 10 inches) and triple jump (34 feet, 4 inches);Levi Goodall, who won the 100-meter high hurdles in 17.80 seconds; Katie Fare, whose discus throw of 97 feet, 10 inches, was best of the day; and Harlem’s 4-by-200-meter relay team in 1:53.95, 2 seconds in front of runner-up Rockford East.

Madi Burke was second in the 800-meter run while Miranda Dooley took second in the 1,600-meter run. Also finishing second were Harlem’s 4-by-400 and 4-by-800-meter relay teams, with the 4-by-100 team in third.

Additional Lady Huskies who placed in the Top 10 were Abby Bruner, fourth, and Mirshak, eighth, in the 200-meter dash; Goodall, fifth, and Sophie DeMuth, seventh, in the 400; Katie Scholz, seventh in the 800; Ingrid Akcala, fourth in the 1,600-meter run; and Haleigh Gilligan, sixth, and Amber Fagerstrom, 10th, in the 3,200.

Also, Samantha Flaningam, sixth in the 100-meter high hurdles; Keri Iong, third in the 300-meter low hurdles; Camryn Lockinger, fourth in the high jump; Annie Meyers, third, and Molly Hulmes, sixth, in the pole vaule; Goodall and Flamingam, 4-5 in  the long jump; Fare, third, and Sara Reese, eighth, in the shot put; and Reese, 10th in the discus.

There were 18 events in the JV meet.