| Charleston High School
Girls Invitational
March 14th, 2009
hosted by
Eastern Illinois University
|
Date: March 14, 2009
Location: Lantz Field House; Eastern Illinois University
Time: Class A- 8:30a; Class AA- 1:30
Class 2A Preview
A total of 75 teams will take part in the Charleston H.S. Invitational on the campus of Eastern Illinois University. This uniquely ran invite is actually split into two meets just like the outdoor state championship prelims. Class A host their competition in the morning and Class AA performs in the afternoon.
The team scoring sheet will remain the same despite the IHSA moving to a three-class system. 3A will be listed as 2A in the official results. Samller 2A and all 1A schools will be considered class A.
E. St. Louis Sr. and Chicago Morgan Park will look to do battle for the team title. ESL is the defending state champion with a boatload of veterans from the ’08 squad. This will be only their second competition on the season. The Flyerettes don’t particularly have a heavy indoor season. However, they will be pumped in this big team affair on the campus where they obviously have enjoyed so much success.
Morgan Park appears to be on their way back to the top. The Mustangs have quietly engineered a great indoor season that has produced several outstanding performances. This latest test will prove whether or not they can take back their place among the elite teams in the state.
Event by Event look (actual order of meet)
Track-
4x200 relay-
Meet record: 1:44.20 (Chicago Morgan Park 2001)
IPTT auto qualifying mark: AAA=1:48.24; AA= 1:53.64
Analysis: The first track final battle will pit E. St. Louis vs. Chicago. That’s Chicago’s Morgan Park. The Mustangs have the meet record and nice quartet to boot. ESL may be slightly better in this one if Chelsey Robinson runs. Mather and Homewood-Flossmoor appear to be looking strong out of the pre-championship heat- they both should score big points.
4x800 relay-
Meet record: 9:31.72 (Mt. Vernon 2007)
IPTT auto qual: AAA= 9:59.14; AA= 10:39.94
Analysis: this is a solid field led by SICA rivals Lincoln-Way Central and Lincoln-Way East. They both will look for IPTT births. LWC will have long distance ace Monica Hahn on the relay since there is no two-mile. LWE will probably anchor one of the top 800m runners in Maggie Sutor.
55 High Hurdles-
Meet record: Hilary Werth 8.35 (Chatham-Glenwood 2004)
IPTT auto qual: AAA= 8.94; AA= 9.64
Analysis: natural rivals Timeka Watkins of E. St. Louis and Laquitsha Bejoile of Cahokia are the best here. Bejoile has the top mark coming in.
 55 meter dash-
Meet record: Tamika Robinson 7.10 (Chicago Morgan Park- 2007)
IPTT auto qual: AAA= 7.24; AA= 7.74
Analysis: this event is loaded to the brim with talent. It’s unfortunate that several speedsters will miss out making finals. One sprinter who is sure to make finals and possibly win it is newcomer Jeronda Womack (left) of Homewood-Flossmoor. Womack has been among the fastest short sprinters this indoor season. She is a transfer from Knoxville West High School in Tennessee where she placed third in the 100m State Final. Womack was also a teammate of the great hurdler Jackie Coward (US #1 in ’08). E. St. Louis sprinter Chelsey Robinson will present a fierce battle should they meet in the final. Add Morgan Park’s Tiffany Edwards to the mix as she has produced several good marks this indoor season.
800 meter dash-
Meet record: Sarah Rinker 2:18.18 (Pontiac- 2003)
IPTT auto qual: AAA= 2:23.14; AAA= 2:30.34
Analysis: Maggie Sutor of Lincoln-Way East is the favorite here. She is a top middle distance runner in the 800 with a best of 2:15. If she should receive any challenges it will most likely come from the Beattie sisters Elise and Kayla of Woodstock. Mt. Vernon’s Margo Richardson steps down in distance to work on some speed. Richardson won the 2A cross country title this past fall.
400 meter dash-
Meet record: Tierra Russell 58.72 (Chicago Morgan Park 2007)
IPTT auto qual: AAA= 1:01.14; AA= 1:01.64
Analysis: downstate flavor should rule here. Jessica Lenoir of Alton and Deara McNeal (E. St. Louis Sr.) will battle for first place. Lenoir clocked 56.07 last year in her run for state. McNeal ran 57’s but hasn’t been committed to the event. This could be the year with the influx of talent on the Flyerette team.
 1600 meter dash-
Meet record: Ashley Verplank 5:04.25 (Bloomington- 2008)
IPTT auto qual: AAA= 5:21.84; AA= 5:37.14
Analysis: this is arguably the top overall event on the meet schedule. Expect a very fast time as well as a number of season bests to come out of here. Woodstock’s Kayla and Elise Beattie will push the pace with Monica Hahn (left) of Lincoln Way Central. Mt. Vernon’s Margo Richardson will be featured here. She may not be at the 5:11 indoor shape as in 2008 with this being her first competition of the season. Janina Roche of Bloom Twp is another contender to watch out for. Add Chicago Mather’s Aden Alemu in the conversation for top honors.
200 meter dash-
Meet record: Alexandria Anderson 24.40 (Chicago Morgan Park- 2004)
IPTT auto qual: AAA= 26.64; AA= 27.74
Analysis: Chelsey Robinson (E. St. Louis) is the heavy favorite here. Robinson finished a fine third place at last year’s state championship. The young and up and coming Kellion Gordon of Chicago Mather will make a race out of it.
4x400 meter relay-
Meet record: 4:00.80 (Chicago Morgan Park- 2001)
IPTT auto qual: AAA= 4:09.94; AA= 4:21.54
Analysis: the meet record is a little soft considering some of the competition in this field. But the question is will Morgan Park and E. St. Louis load for the show stopper or will they hold back? It will probably come down to which team is leading in the score at that point in the meet.
-Field-
Long Jump-
Meet record: Mary Cobb 19-1.5 (E. St. Louis Lincoln-1985)
IPTT auto qual: AAA= 17-0; AA= 16-3
Analysis: Triad’s Trisha Gall has leaped 17-0 this season. She is considered the favorite.
High Jump-
Meet record: Jerelene Cummings 5-10 (Decatur MacArthur- 1984)
IPTT auto qual: AAA= 5-4; AA= 5-1
Analysis: Karly Kasten (Carbondale) and Katie Forshey (Mahomet-Seymour) share the top mark of 5-2.
 Pole Vault-
Meet record: Diana Noonan 11-6 (Frankfort Lincoln-Way East- 2005)
IPTT auto qual: 10-3 AAA; AA= 9-0
Analysis: Lauren Saffran (left) of Lincoln Way East becomes the heavy favorite because her state leading teammate Megan Weller is at the Nike Indoor National Meet.
Shot Put-
Meet record: Daniella Bunch 44-6 (Mahomet-Seymour- 2008)
IPTT auto qual: 39-0
Analysis: this will be Bunch’s big meet debut. She played basketball for much of the indoor season. Recently, she threw 43’ in a low-key meet. Those in attendance should expect a breakout performance. The next best performer is Ashley Gaston. Gaston threw 37-8 last year.
Triple Jump-
Meet record: Malaikah Love 37-6.75 (Carbondale- 2008)
IPTT auto qual: AAA= 35-11; AA= 34-6
Analysis: this event is wide open with several athletes having an opportunity to excel. Trisha Gall of Triad has the best marks coming in. |
