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Post date: Apr 14, 2017 9:50:56 PM
On Wednesday the seniors gathered for a picture before a practice. They frowned. They folded their arms. The final product showed a scowling group of ruffians. People you wouldn’t want to mess with.
You couldn’t have taken that picture Thursday night after the Minooka Invitational, which doubled as Senior Night. The seniors had indeed showed you didn’t want to mess with them, but by that point, they were all smiles.
And they should have been. There was plenty to smile about both for the seniors and the rest of the team. Minooka won both the varsity and JV levels of the 8-team meet, held in favorable, sunny conditions.
There were a heckuva lot of first places won and meet records broken. Not to mention personal records established.
One of the favorite parts of my job is telling athletes they just set a new personal record. The conversation goes something like this:
Coach: “What is your PR in that?”
Athlete: “Sixty-four flat.”
Coach: “No, it’s not.”
Athlete gives perplexed look.
Coach: “You just ran 63.3.”
Athlete jumps/screams/high-fives.
I had a version of that conversation many times Thursday night.
Sometimes I was on the other end of that conversation. Sydney Andreano bounded over to tell me she threw a PR in the discus, a state-qualifying distance that put her in second for the night and 6th all-time for Minooka. About 20 minutes later, she finished fourth in the triple jump with another new PR that put her 5th all-time at MCHS. And a little after that, she earned fifth in the shot put with her third PR of the night.
Emma Wiegmann got me twice. First her big smile revealed she joined the 30-foot club and set a new PR in the triple jump on her second jump. Later, she got me again when she told me jumped even further in another attempt. She won the event and set a JV meet record. I got her back later when I told her split in the JV 4x400 was a PR.
Jenelle Burke smiles all the time anyway, but it was bigger when she told me she hit a PR to win the JV level of high jump. It also tied a meet record.
We’re just getting started with stuff to smile about.
Harley Graham won the JV discus and set a meet record.
Erin Matthias PR’d in the 100-meter hurdles, and had an outdoor best in the triple jump.
Abby Rivara finished 2nd in the both JV 100-meter hurdles and the 300-meter version. She PR’d in both.
Katelyn Gall finished 2nd the varsity pole vault and PR’d. Meghan Marchio won the JV pole vault.
Brooke McNally finished 3rd with an outdoor best in the long jump.
The JV 4x800-meter relay of Olivia Kics, Angelica Leal, Maddie Olenick and Sarah Weed won and set a new JV meet record.
The JV 4x100-meter relay of Makayla Roberts, Sophie Darden, Lauren Larsen, and Maryam Williams brought home a victory. The varsity team of Madison Thompson, Cierra Bachmann, Eryn Renison, and Sydney Forrest finished third, but with much-improved handoffs, ran a season-best time.
Julia Dames won the JV 3200-meter run and set a meet record.
Kaylee Ratcliff set a PR in the JV 800-meter run where she finished 4th in the event won by Kics.
The varsity 4x200-meter relay of Thompson, Forrest, Cierra Bachmann, and Aaliyah Young capitalized on more good handoffs in finishing 3rd in another season-best time.
In the 1600-meter run, Amanda Wilson set a PR on the JV level, finishing 2nd. Right behind her with another PR was Gall. Emily Shelton won the varsity level.
Lots of PR splits happened in the 4x400-meter relays. The varsity of Kylie Wissel, Mackenzie Callahan, Lindsay Freese, and Cierra Bachmann, finished 3rd with a season-best time.
And now to the seniors. There were plenty of teeth being shown by and because of them Thursday night.
Abigail Boland won the JV shot put with a PR.
Danielle Stubner finished 4th in the varsity shot put with a PR that placed her 9th all-time.
Desiree March set a PR in the high jump. Her partner in crime, Riley Seput, finished 5th on the varsity level, and also set a PR.
Brooklyn Bachmann won the varsity pole vault.
The varsity 4x800-meter relay,of Shelton, Vivian Van Eck, senior Gwen Barnes, and senior Ashley Tutt, not only won, but also set a meet record.
Allison Lyman ran a season-best in the 3200-meter run.
Mackenzie Callahan won the varsity 3200-meter run.
Ashley Tutt won the 800-meter run with a PR.
And finally, Lindsay Freese hit the trifecta in the JV 300-meter hurdles. She won it, established a new PR, and set a meet record.
Coaches have mixed emotions on Senior Night — sad that the athletes are almost finished with their high school careers, proud of what they’ve done over four years. Thursday, we were all smiles, too.
Go Minooka!
— Coach Thomas
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