Harlem’s girls take first, second places in pair of indoor track meets

Harlem’s girls take first, second places in pair of indoor track meets
By Bob Balgemann
REPORTER
Freshman Hannah Bilodeau took first place in both the 55 and 60-meter dashes as Harlem’s girls track meet won the Sycamore Quad and took second in the Huntley Invitational indoor track meets.
Her winning times were 8.14 and 7.70 seconds, respectively.
The Lady Huskies ran away with the Sycamore competition, amassing 167 points to 44 for runner-up Aurora Central Catholic and 32 for third-place Sycamore. Suburban Barrington won the 14-team Huntley Invitational with 94 points, while Harlem rang up 77 1/2 points and host Huntley 77 1/4. NIC-10 members Belvidere North finished sixth with Hononegah in eighth.
Harlem also won the junior varsity meet at Sycamore, totaling 111 points to 71 for the host team and 53 for Crystal Lake Central.
In boys track, Harlem competed at the Huntley Invitational with senior Nick Ngo winning the triple jump event, clearing 42 feet, 8 1/2 inches. He edged the runner-up, David Zieba from Rolling Meadows, by one inch.
The Lady Huskies had multiple entries in some varsity events at Sycamore, such as the 55-meter dash where they claimed eight places. Bilodeau was first followed by senior Zakia Buchanan in second; junior Michaela Day, third; senior Sierra Schaffer, fourth; senior Tamari Stamper, fifth; freshman Emily Zammuto, 10th; freshman Kaitlynn Zintak, 11th; and freshman Zoei Watts, 18th.
In all, the Lady Huskies brought home 10 first-place finishes.
Junior Bailee Blecker, fresh from the varsity basketball team, won the 200-meter dash with a time of 29.42 seconds. Senior Olivia Lewis came in fifth; Stamper, sixth; Zintak, eighth; and Watts, 12th.
Senior Breanna Sheldon was the only runner in the 400-meter dash and she was clocked in 1:08.16.
Juniors Alyssa Kuehne and Alexis Kuehne were 3-4 in the 800-meter run, clocked at 2:41.04 and 2:41.65. Sophomore Jadyn Totz was seventh; senior Taylor Darif took eighth.
There only was one distance event, the 1,600-meter run, which was won by senior Ingrid Alcala in a time of 6:16.57. Another senior, Katie Perkins, was close behind, taking second in 6:17.47. Miranda Marocco finished fifth; junior Mercedes Cox, sixth; junior Tara Ryan, seventh; and senior Miranda Dooley, eighth.
The only hurdles event was the 55-meters, which was won by junior Chloe Fare in 9.54 seconds. Second was Lewis, timed at 9.66 seconds. Fare also competed in a field event, the long jump, which she won by going 16 feet, 10 1/2 inches.
Two of Harlem’s three relay teams, the 4-by-160 and 4-by-400, placed first; the 4-by-800 team was second.
In field events senior Katie Fare won the shot put with a throw of 40 feet, 5 inches. Another senior, Illinois State University recruit Catie Daily, went 37 feet, 10 inches, which was good for second. Freshman Emma Rich was seventh.
Sophomore Kaylin Reese won the high jump by clearing 4 feet, 10 inches, with freshman DeVana Franco-Daye in third. The pole vault went to senior Reagan Cejka, who cleared 9 feet, 6 inches. Senior Molly Hulmes was third; sophomore Tessa Appelgren, fourth.
Senior Kahleea Washington was second in the long jump, clearing 15 feet, 8 inches; Bilodeau took sixth. And sophomore JaMiya Myles was second in the triple jump, with a distance of 29 feet, 10 inches; freshman Stekenya Gibson was fourth, close behind at 29 feet, 7 inches.
Huntley Invitational
In addition to Bilodeau’s effort in the 60-meter dash Harlem came home with one other first-place finish, that by Katie Fare in the shot put. Her toss was 40 feet, 8 inches. Daily was third, at 36 feet, 9 1/2 inches; senior Aulana Muhammad was sixth.
Lewis was second in her specialty, the triple jump, clearing 37 feet, 2 inches. She is the Harlem record holder in that event and a state qualifier the past two years.
Buchanan was 10th in the 200-meter dash, timed at 28.38 seconds, while Schaffer was 11th and Franco-Daye, 32nd. Washington took seventh in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:05.22. Also placing were Zammuto, in 15th, and Reese in 26th. Sheldon was sixth in the 800-meter run, clocked at 2:35.48; Alcala came in 17th with Blecker in 18th.
In the distance events Alexis Kuehne was 18th in the 1,600-meter run, with a time of 6:04.66. Totz was 30th; sophomore Faith Procopio, 31st. Alyssa Kuehne finished 13th in the 3,200-meter run, at 12:58.05. Perkins took 17th; Marocco was 20th.
The field events saw Reese finishing seventh in the high jump, clearing 4 feet, 10 inches, with Franco-Daye taking 20th. Hulmes and Brynn Schlaht tied for 10th in the pole vault, each clearing 7 feet, 6 inches; Sheryl Wehde tied for 20th.
Lewis was fifth in the long jump, going 16 feet, 1 3/4 inches, while Schaffer was 12th. And in the triple jump Schaffer was eighth; Stamper came in 12th.
Junior varsity
There were lots of competitors on the junior varsity side of the Sycamore Quad, with as many as 38 participating in a single event. Such was the case with the 55-meter dash where Harlem won the first 10 places, led by Zariya Ashford in first and Kaylin Reese in second. Their times were 8.55 and 8.61 seconds, respectively.
Next in line in the 55 were Djella Jao in third place; Nadalie Flock in fourth; Aaliyah Rogers in fifth; Taliyah Rogers in sixth; Alaijah Biffle in seventh; Alyssa Cook in eighth; and Helen Rogers, tied for ninth.

From there Harlem finishers in the 55 numbered Tessa Appelgren in 14th; Elizabeth Nelson, 16th; Kimora Hammond, 17th; Brianna Hartigan, 29th; Keyana Bailey, 30th; and Emily Jackson, 31st.
Another event winner was Katie Suhr in the shot put, with a throw of 29 feet, 2 inches. The Lady Huskies numbered five finishers in the Top 8 including Elixus Elgin in second at 27 feet, 3 inches; Baylee Tank, fifth; Delaney Lopez, seventh; and Kiona Scott, eighth.
Emily Jackson won the high jump, clearing 4 feet even.
Other contributors included Stekanya Gibson, second place in the 200-meter dash and timed at 31.27 seconds; Madelyne Castle, second in the 400, at 1:17.29; Emma Clausen, sixth in the 800-meter run, clocked at 3:27; and Katie Scholtz, seventh in the 1,600-meter run, at 7:30.68.
Harlem had five finishers in the Top 10 of the 55-meter hurdles led by Clausen, in fifth with a time of 11.78 seconds. Watts was sixth; Castle, seventh; Flock, eighth; and Emma Rosalez, 10th. Marissa Cleviston finished right behind that group, in 11th.
The Lady Huskies had four relay teams in the 4-by-160-meter event and they swept the first four places. There were three in the 4-by-400 competition and they finished second, third and fifth.