Taylor Wells advances to IESA Class 2A track and field state meet
By Fred Kroner
Oakwood seventh-grader Taylor Wells will be her school’s lone representative in the girls’ IESA Class 2A track and field state meet.
Wells won the 800 meters sectional championship on Saturday (May 6) in a meet hosted by Kankakee Bishop McNamara. Her time was a personal-best 2 minutes, 45.8 seconds.
She also advanced in the 1,600 meters, placing second in a personal-best 5:57.4.
Winners in all 14 events qualified for state as did others who met pre-determined times or distances.
Teammate Peyton Frazier was second in both sprint races. She was timed in 14.0 seconds in the 100 meters and a personal-best 29.0 seconds in the 200 meters.
Oakwood had two other seventh-graders finish among the top 10 in individual running events. Leah Nicoson was eighth in the 1,600 meters (personal-best 7:14.4) and Brynlie Todd was 10th in the 200 meters (31.1 seconds).
Three Oakwood relays also fared well.
The 400-meter foursome of Todd, Graci Maddock, Evie Johnson and Frazier ended third in 58.7 seconds.
The 800-meter relay, which featured Stella Doss, Ella Ronk, Jadelynn McGuire and Jazmaya Gerrity, was seventh in 2:16.5.
Also placing seventh was the 1,600-meter relay grouping of McGuire, Nicoson, Karlee Mincey and Madilynn Brown. Their cumulative time was 5:39.3.
Five Oakwood athletes secured top-10 placements in field events, including Ireland Harrison in both the shot put (second at a personal-best 24 feet, 7 ¼ inches) and the discus (tied for eighth at 51 feet).
Other teammates among the top 10 from Oakwood were: Maddock (second in the high jump at 4 feet, 3 inches), Todd (third in the long jump at a personal-best 13 feet, 6 ¼ inches), Ronk (eighth in the high jump at 3 feet,10 inches) and Frazier (tied for eighth in the long jump at 12 feet, 7 ½ inches).
The Class 2A state meet will be held at the EastSide Centre, in East Peoria, on Friday (May 12) and Saturday (May 13).
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The top sectional placer for the Oakwood eighth-grade girls’ track and field team was Ashtyn Daily, who finished sixth in the meet at Kankakee Bishop McNamara with a personal-best in the discus of 57 feet 7 inches.
Teammate Leah Rhinehart was seventh in the long jump (personal-best 11 feet, 9 inches).
Also establishing personal-bests were Madilynn Brown (10th in the 200 meters in 32.3 seconds) and Stella Doss (10th in the 800 meters in 3:26.1).
Oakwood had two top-10 finishers in the shot put. Jett Pierce was ninth (18 feet 11 ½ inches) and Jazmaya Gerrity was 10th (17 feet, 10 ½ inches).
The school’s 400-meter relay ran eighth in 1:04.1. Sharing the baton were Amber Bretwiser, Pierce, Doss and Brown.
