Geneseo Claims Third Place Team Trophy at IHSA 2A State Finals

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.

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.

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