Geneseo Girls Track & Field
“Failure after long perseverance is much grander than never to have a striving good enough to be called a failure.”
- George Elliot
Geneseo
Girls Track & Field
Conference Championships:
1974, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1998, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2019, 2021, 2022
Sectional Championships:
2012, 2013, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022
Top 25 State Finishes:
2011 (9), 2012 (16), 2013 (18), 2015 (21), 2017 (17), 2018 (11), 2019 (12), 2021 (2), 2022 (3)
Individual & Relay State Champions:
Annie Wirth - High Jump - 2022
4x400m Relay (Addison Pischke, Alison Bowers, Annie Wirth, Ali Rapps) - 2021
4x200m Relay (Addison Pischke, Alison Bowers, Annie Wirth, Ali Rapps) - 2021
Annie Wirth - High Jump - 2021
Erika Furbeck - Long Jump - 2018
Erika Furbeck - Long Jump - 2017
Marcie Claeys - High Jump - 1991
Sue Fortune - Discus - 1976
Sue Fortune - Discus - 1975
Geneseo Claims Third Place Team Trophy at IHSA 2A State Finals
Front Left: Coach Bonham, Jaide Flowers, Savannah Reisner, Ali Rapps, Addison Pischke, Alexa Jolly, Joselyn Reisner, Coach Timmerman
Back Left: Coach Hurlbut, Coach Morey, Allison Reade, Phoebe Shoemaker, Sierra Krueger, Annie Wirth, Johnna Shoemaker, Olivia Marshall, Annie Turpin, Coach Puent, Coach Rakestraw
For the second time in as many years, the Geneseo Girls Track and Field team is bringing home a team trophy. The team finished with 47 points, behind Kankakee (74) and Normal University (51). Going into the final event of the day, Geneseo was sitting in 4th place. They needed to finish sixth or better in the 4x400m relay to end up on the podium and accomplish a goal that was set at the beginning of the season. It took a lot of guts, perseverance, and teamwork to put them in this position.
This was the first time since the 2019 State Track Meet that the IHSA was back to a two day State Track Meet. Prelims were conducted on Friday with warm temperatures and a wind gusts of up to 20 mph. Annie Wirth competed in the high jump and long jump prelims at 8 am to start the competition. She would only need one attempt to advance to finals in the high jump, which would prove to be vital if she wanted to compete in four events Friday come back to compete in those same four events less than 24 hours later. After a challenging start in long jump, Wirth proved her mental fortitude and advanced to day two with the second best jump in the field. By this time Johnna Shoemaker was making her first attempts in the pole vault competition. She would ultimately clear 9' 6" to finish 16th in class 2A. Next up was discus thrower Olivia Marshall. Marshall had a toss of 113' 5 1/2" which was good enough to advance to finals as the 12th and final competitor, which is where she would eventually finish.
The first running event of the day for Geneseo was the 4x100m relay. The team of Addison Pischke, Allison Reade, Sierra Krueger, and Ali Rapps took to the track and had a blazing fast start from leadoff runner Pischke. At the first exchange there was a tie up of feet and the two Geneseo runners went down. Luckily, no one was seriously injured in the fall and the girls were able to pick each other up and shake off the crash. Ali Rapps would take to the track a few moments later in the 100 meter hurdles. Rapps ran to a personal best and school record time of 14.93 seconds to advance to finals. Pischke looked to replicate the start she had in the 4x100m relay in the next event on the track, the 100m dash. She raced to a personal best time of 12.70 seconds, which is 5th best in school history, but would not advance to finals in an incredibly deep field of sprinters. Jaide Flowers ran a gutsy 800m prelim in the challenging wind and eventually finished 13th in class 2A, one place away from advancing to Saturday's finals. Next on the track was the 4x200m relay team of Pischke, Wirth, Phoebe Shoemaker, and Krueger. The team ran 1:45.00 to finish second in their heat and a chance to race in the nine team final on Saturday. Less than 30 minutes later Wirth would punch her 4th ticket to finals in the 300m hurdles by winning her heat. Rapps followed suit and won her heat of the 300m hurdles, showing Geneseo's dominance in the event with two finalists in the nine person race. The final race of the day was the 4x400m relay. Krueger, Pischke, Shoemaker, and Rapps would cruise to a victory in their heat and a chance to earn valuable team points on Saturday.
Wirth claiming her second High Jump State Championship in as many tries.
As good as the weather was on Friday, Mother Nature had other plans for Saturday. They day started with rain and thunderstorms that moved long jump and high jump indoors. Battling hamstring tightness and a changing schedule, Wirth jumped to a third place finish in the long jump, her second All-State appearance in the event. As long jump was finishing up the 2A high jump was already underway. The outdoor events were put on a weather delay so the field house was packed with spectators, athletes, and coaches. The deep field of jumpers and the electric energy in the room made for a memorable high jump experience. Wirth battle through some early misses and outlasted the competition. As it became clear that Wirth would win her second high jump state title after clearing 5' 8" she moved the bar to 5' 10". The clearance on her second attempt broke her own school record in front of an exhilarated crowed. She would make 3 great attempts at 5' 11 1/4" - which would have been the 2A State Meet Record - but the toll of 20 attempts and a full slate of events the previous day did not leave her quite enough energy to clear the height. Nevertheless, Wirth claimed her second All-State performance of the day and her second straight state championship in the high jump, finishing with a clearance of 5' 10" and the 11th best performance in the nation.
After nearly a two hour weather delay, the track was once again open for competition. Ali Rapps completed the 100m hurdles with her second best time of the year and finished 4th. She medaled each season in the event, which is something no other hurdler in Geneseo High School has ever accomplished. The 4x200m relay team of Pischke, Wirth, P. Shoemaker, and Kruger was the next to compete and they raced to a 5th place team finish, earning 5 crucial points in the team competition. The weather became an issue once again with heavy rain, but this time without the lightning. Rapps and Wirth would take the line in the 300m hurdles for the last time as a pair. Wirth was able to grind her way to a 5th place finish in a time of 45.38 seconds and her fourth medal of the weekend. Rapps ran a flawless race in the downpour, crushing her second school record of the weekend in a 44.01 seconds. The time was nearly eight tenths of a second better than the previous school record and was the second fastest 300m hurdle time in class 2A this season. The 5th and 2nd place finishes in the 300m hurdles put Geneseo into the 4th position as a team heading into the final event of the day, the 4x400m relay. Geneseo was sitting three points behind St. Viator who was not competing in the final event, which meant the team needed to place 7th to tie or 6th or better to claim third. The team of Krueger, Pischke, P. Shoemaker, and Rapps did not disappoint. They ran their best time of the year coming in at 4:02.80 seconds, third best in school history, to earn 4th place and securing the team trophy.
All Photo Credits go to Amelia Henkhaus, the best team photographer in the game.
Rapps finishing the 4x400m Relay.
The team celebrates the third place team trophy in the rain at O'Brien Field.
Maple Leafs Claim Third Consecutive Conference Title, Second in the Western Big Six
The Geneseo Girls Track and Field team claimed their second Western Big Six team championship in as many tries and their third consecutive conference championship. The team finished with 158 total points to outpace second place United Township by 34.5 points. The Leafs got off to a fast start in the field events winning four of the six events. Olivia Marshall won the discus with a throw of 34.81 meters (114 feet 2.5 inches). Jillian Beneke edged out teammate Johnna Shoemaker for the conference title, both clearing 2.74 meters (approximately 9 feet), and teammate Grace Schilling took fourth with a jump of 2.43 meters (approximately 8 feet). Annie Wirth claimed the victory in long jump (5.09 meters) and cleared a personal best 1.75 meters (5' 9") in the high jump to break her own school record. Wirth's clearance in high jump is tied for the best in Illinois and 20th best in the nation for high school girls.
The 4x800m relay team of Ella Toom, Alexa Jolly, Phoebe Shoemaker, and Jaide Flowers came from behind to finish second in the relay. The 4x100m relay team of Addison Pischke, Allison Reade, Sierra Krueger, and Ali Rapps claimed the conference title with a time of 49.82 seconds. In the 3200m run Lacey Laxton raced to a personal best time of 12:41.59 and an 8th place finish. The 100m hurdles were never in doubt as Ali Rapps claimed the individual title running 15.63 seconds, besting the field by over a second and a half. Earning valuable points in the 100m dash were Addison Pischke and Sierra Krueger, who took 5th and 6th places respectively. The next race on the track was the 800m run. Jaide Flowers was coming off a personal best split in the 4x800m relay and doubled down on her strong performance. Flowers ran another personal best time of 2:26.70 to take silver in the event. The 4x200m relay team of Addison Pischke, Allison Reade, Phoebe Shoemaker, and Joselyn Reisner raced to a second place finish with a time of 1:48.90.
Sierra Krueger ran a brilliant 400m race, pushing the top seeded Anna Venvertloh to a photo finish. Krueger ran a personal best time of 1:01.48, 5 hundredths of a second from claiming an individual conference title. Alexa Jolly also ran a personal best time in the event, claiming 7th place with a time of 1:06.48. The 300m hurdles saw a similarly exciting race between a pair of Maple Leaf runners. Ali Rapps came away with the victory in 44.93 seconds and Annie Wirth took silver with a time of 45.08 seconds. Both girls ran personal best times approximately one second faster than their previous bests. The pair were more than five seconds ahead of the eventual third place finisher. These times were good for second and third in class 2A to this point in the season.
Elanor DeBlieck and Jessalyn Belvel each ran season best times in the 1600m run. DeBlieck ran 6:17.63 and Belvel ran 6:24.37. All three of the Maple Leaf 200m runners earned points in the event. Sierra Krueger claimed 5th place, Allison Reade took 6th place, and Joselyn Reisner finished in 8th place. The 4x400m relay team of Addison Pischke, Phoebe Shoemaker, Annie Wirth, and Ali Rapps cruised to a 12 second victory, running a time of 4:08.68. For the first time in Western Big Six history, coaches voted on an athlete of the meet. Junior Annie Wirth split the votes (four to four) with Quincy's Anna Schuering who won the 800, 1600, and 3200. Wirth finished the meet with conference titles in the jong jump, high jump, and 4x400m relay as well as a silver in the 300m hurdles.
Maple Leafs Shine at IHSA State Meet
2021 Runner-Up Team Finish
Geneseo Girls Track and Field makes history at Charleston earning the team's first ever team trophy. The team compiled a total of 60 points to finish second behind Chicago (Latin) who scored 69 team points. Geneseo was led by record setting performances in the field events, sprint relays, and hurdles. Sophomore standout, Annie Wirth, started the team scoring with a state championship finish in the high jump and a second place finish in the long jump. Wirth was the only high jumper to clear 1.67 meters (5 feet 5 3/4 inches) and narrowly missed breaking her own school record attempting 5 feet 8 3/4 inches. She finished with a personal best jump of 5.69 meters (18 feet 8 inches) in the long jump, just 0.01 meters or approximately 1/2 inch out of first. This achievement was even more impressive when it was taken into consideration that Wirth was competing in both events simultaneously, moving between runways after each attempt. Senior pole vaulter, Evie Wilson, vaulted a personal best and school record height of 3.39 meters (11 feet 1 1/2 inches) to claim the bronze medal in the event and earning 7 valuable team points. Wilson cleared all but one height leading up to her school record setting height on first attempts which gave her the bronze over three other competitors who cleared the same height. Abby Reakes (sr) also competed in the high jump, earning a trip to the state track meet in all three seasons (the 2020 outdoor season was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic). Hannah Rakestraw (sr) earned her second trip to state in the pole vault where she had to battle a flight that was drug out for the entire duration of the track meet that was conducted on a day that reached 93 degrees. She would eventually finish 15th with a vault of 3.04 meters (approximately 10 feet). Rounding out the field events for Geneseo was freshman Olivia Marshall. Marshall was the only freshman in a highly competitive class 2A discus field where she placed 17th, gaining her invaluable experience and confidence with three more years of eligibility.
The Geneseo 4x800m relay team of Avery Magerkurth (sr), Jaide Flowers (so), Phoebe Shoemaker (so), and Esther Brown (sr) raced to a 15th place finish in Geneseo's first running event of the day. Brown followed that race with a season best time in the 800m run and another 15th place finish. Sophomore sprinter, Addison Pischke, ran a personal best time of 12.80 seconds in the 100m dash to claim the 18th best time in class 2A.
Junior hurdle specialist, Ali Rapps, took the track for the first of four times in the 100m high hurdles. Rapps ran a personal best time of 14.92 seconds to claim the silver medal and her second All-State honors in as many trips in the event. Rapps would follow that performance by running the anchor leg of the state championship 4x200m relay. The team of Pischke, Alison Bowers, Wirth, and Rapps bested the field by nearly two seconds running a time of 1:42.55, which also shattered the previous school record time of 1:43.80. Their relay was the first state championship relay in Geneseo Girls Track and Field history. This event win was made even more special by the resiliency the team showed. The same team members had the number one ranked 4x100m relay time in class 2A before mishandling a baton exchange at the sectional track meet. The team had never run the 4x200m relay together in competition, but proved they are the top sprint group in the state in definitive fashion. Rapps turned around to run the 300m low hurdles just 24 minutes after the completion of the relay, running a personal best time of 46.08 seconds and a third place finish. With two events yet to be scored, the pole vault and the 4x400m relay, Geneseo was sitting in third place in the team standings with 43 points. Geneseo's 4x400m relay team of Pischke, Bowers, Wirth, and Rapps took to the track knowing they would need to run a season best to move up in the team standings and they did not disappoint. The team claimed the second ever relay state championship by running a time of 4:03.17, holding off Aurora (Rosary) - 4:03.71 - in the final lap to help the team to a second place overall finish. Rosary would go on to finish third in the team standings. The Runner-Up finish in the team standings is the first team trophy in Geneseo Girls Track and Field history and marks the best team finish of any girls athletic team in Geneseo history.
The team finished with 8 personal records, 1 individual state champion, 2 relay state champions, 2 individual second place finishers, 2 individual third place finishers, and 2 school records to go along with their second place team finish.
Ali Rapps racing to a silver medal in the 100m hurdles.
Annie Wirth soaring to a 2A State Championship in high jump
Bowers, Rapps, Pischke, and Wirth celebrate after winning the 4x200m relay and breaking the school record.
Evie Wilson stares down a school record and third place finish in pole vault.
2021 Sectional Champions
Team Scores: Geneseo 160, Galena 115, Sterling 54, Galesburg 44.75, Alleman 34, LaSalle Peru 31.75, Morris 30, Monmouth-Roseville 23.75, Streator 20, Kewanee 16, Rock Falls 14.75, Princeton 10, IVC 3
State Qualifiers
High Jump: Annie Wirth & Abby Reakes
Pole Vault: Evie Wilson & Hannah Rakestraw
Discus: Olivia Marshall
Long Jump: Annie Wirth
100m: Addison Pischke
100m HH: Ali Rapps
300m LH: Ali Rapps
800m: Esther Brown
4x200m Relay: Addison Pischke, Phoebe Shoemaker, Sierra Krueger, Alison Bowers
4x400m Relay: Addison Pischke, Alison Bowers, Annie Wirth, Ali Rapps
4x800m Relay: Avery Magerkurth, Jaide Flowers, Phoebe Shoemaker, Esther Brown
2021 Western Big 6 Conference Champions
Team Scores: Geneseo 190, UT 129, Quincy 84, Moline 73, Galesburg 65, Sterling 58, Rock Island 43, Alleman 39
To be considered All-Conference an individual must place in the top 3 in an event or be on a winning relay team.
2021 All-Conference Athletes
Ali Rapps (100HH, 300LH, 4x100, 4x400)
Alison Bowers (100, 4x100, 4x400)
Esther Brown (800, 4x800)
Sierra Krueger (400)
Joselyn Reisner (400)
Brooke Boone (300LH)
Annie Wirth (HJ, LJ, 4x100, 4x400)
Avery Magerkurth (4x800)
Evie Wilson (PV)
Hannah Rakestraw (PV)
Brenna McGuire (SP)
Maddi Barickman (Disc)
Addison Pischke (4x100, 4x400)
Jaide Flowers (4x800)
Phoebe Shoemaker (4x800)
2019 Track Highlights.mov2019 Highlight Video
Thank you seniors for an incredible ride! We look forward to following your successes in whatever comes next and want you to know that you will always be a part of the GHS Track and Field Family!
2019 Sectional Champions
State Qualifiers
High Jump
Abby Reakes
Pole Vault
Hannah Rakestraw
4x800m Relay
Julia Poel, Lauren Belvel, Esther Brown, Josie Brown
100HH
Ali Rapps
100m Dash
Ali Bowers
800m Run
Josie Brown
300LH
Ali Rapps
4x400m Relay
Julia Poel, Ali Bowers, Josie Brown, Ali Rapps
2019 Varsity and JV NIB-XII Conference Champions
Varsity Top 4 Teams: Geneseo 95, DeKalb 89, Yorkville 88, Sterling 81
F/S Top 4 Teams: Geneseo 139, Yorkville 96, Kaneland 68, Sterling 66
All-Conference Finishers
Lauren Belvel (4x800)
Alison Bowers (100, 200, 400)
Esther Brown (4x800)
Josie Brown (800, 4x800, 4x400)
Alex Horne (4x200)
Alexys Johnson (Pole Vault)
Brenna McGuire (Shot Put, 4x200)
Anna Pierce (4x400)
Julia Poel (800, 4x800, 4x400)
Hannah Rakestraw (Pole Vault)
Ali Rapps (100HH, 300LH, 4x200, 4x400)
Abby Reakes (High Jump, 4x200)
2019 Track and Field
Photo Credit: Chris Steele - Geneseo Republic
Brown and Verbeck Sign to Compete Collegiately
Josie Brown
Southern Illinois University
Tori Verbeck
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
2A Illinois Top Times Qualifications
The total number of declared participants for each event listed below will qualify to compete in the 2019 Top Times Meet. There is no set standard - you must have a mark in the top 12, 15, 16, or 24 for your event to be invited to this meet.
2018 Track and Field
2018 Highlight Video
Created by Anna Girten with contributions from her teammates
Conference Championships: 1974, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1998, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
Sectional Championships: 2012, 2013, 2018
Top 25 State Finishes: 2011 (9), 2012 (16), 2013 (18), 2015 (21), 2017 (17), 2018 (11)
Individual State Champions:
Sue Fortune - Discus - 1975
Sue Fortune - Discus - 1976
Marcie Claeys - High Jump - 1991
Erika Furbeck - Long Jump - 2017
Erika Furbeck - Long Jump - 2018
2018 Sectional Champions
Erika Furbeck competing at Plano High School during the IHSA 2A sectional competition.