High school girls track and field: Wheaton Warrenville South's Adkins, McGrath cap careers at state meet

CHARLESTON – After Wheaton Warrenville South senior Allison McGrath won a frosh-soph invitational the second week of her freshman cross country season, she and senior Sara Adkins became training group partners for four seasons.

“She’s done so much for me in cross country and track,” McGrath said. “I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t have her.”

The pair’s track and field and high school careers with the Tigers ended at the Class 3A state meet May 19 and 20 at Eastern Illinois University. Adkins was 19th (5:06.95) in the 1,600-meter run in the preliminaries May 19, and McGrath was 15th (11:07.57) in the 3,200, which was contested in two heats the next day.

Junior Tonjalaya Yarbar was 21st in shot put (38 feet, 6 inches). The 4x200 relay of seniors Alexis Correa and Izzy Hennage, junior Jenna Holze and sophomore Mykaila Gentry-Humphrey finished 29th (1:47.83).

Adkins, who will run at Northern Illinois, holds the cross country school record time of 16:56 that produced an all-state 15th at state in 2015.

Adkins attended the school prom the evening of May 20. McGrath, who will compete at Illinois, made it back for post-prom festivities.

“That’s the best I’ve ever run at state [track] so that was good,” Adkins said. “I’m so happy to have Allison as a teammate to push me so hard and an incredible coach [Rob Harvey] to train Allison and me.”

Wheaton North

Wheaton North senior pole vaulter Micah Brady tied for 13th in the Class 3A state meet (10-9) and just missed the 11-0 finals cut. Sophomore Sarah Stair tied for 21st (10 feet) in pole vault.

Brady, who will compete at Bible Institute of Los Angeles, shares the outdoor school record (11-6) and owns the indoor record (11-3).

“I hope I’ve inspired the other girls to push themselves faster, farther and higher,” Brady said. “The wind changed directions drastically and I was feeling really sick [for the prelims May 19], but I felt I competed as well as possible under the conditions.”

Glenbard South

Senior Grayson Breen kept the appointment that mattered most by finishing an all-state seventh in the 2A discus (118-2) to claim a state medal on the same day as the prom.

“I just wanted to make sure I made it to finals because our prom was today,” Breen said. “I said I’d rather be all-state than go to prom. I lived up to what I wanted.”

South junior Emma Taylor advanced from the high jump prelims May 19 with a mark of 5-1 and finished 14th in the finals with a height of 4-11.

Senior Sarah Robinson in pole vault (9-0) and sophomore Maggie Bair in shot put (33-8) competed in prelims for the Raiders.

St. Francis

Sophomore Taylor Gerard went 15 feet, 0.75 inches in the Class 2A long jump prelims May 19, but missed out on making the finals.

Senior Amanda Peterson ran a 12.638 in the 100 dash prelims and was a fraction of a second away from making the finals.

Wheaton Academy

Junior Karyn Best already had earned a Class 2A state medal in the 100-meter hurdles (sixth, 14.96 seconds) by the time the 300 hurdles finals rolled around at the state meet May 20.

Best lived up to her last name as she took the 300 title in 43.49 seconds, nearly one second clear of runner-up Jordyn Bunning from Vernon Hills.

In the prelims May 19, Best ran 15 seconds flat in the 100 hurdles and a 44.54 in the 300 hurdles.

The 14 points Best earned from her finishes put the Warriors in 21st place in the team standings.

Senior Julia Robleski ran in the 3,200 May 20 and finished 19th with a time of 12:00.26.

Sophomore Stephanie Gregersen clocked a 2:24.54 in the 800 run prelims May 19.