Girls track and field: Huntley runs away with 3rd straight sectional title

HUNTLEY – As hard as Huntley’s Sophie Amin tried, she could not get one thought out of her head Wednesday.

A year ago, Amin was leading the 100-meter high hurdles at the Class 3A Huntley Girls Track and Field Sectional Meet when she clipped the third hurdle from the finish and landed awkwardly on her left ankle, dislocating the joint.

Red Raider Stadium went quiet as Amin was attended to and eventually taken to a hospital by ambulance.

“I’ve been thinking about it all day,” Amin said. “Right after the 4x100 that was all I could think about. I’m glad I have a really good support system, they were helping me a lot.”

Amin, healed, and stronger than ever, seemed to put a year’s worth of feelings into that race, blazing to a 14.34, her best time by three-tenths of a second, and one of the state’s top three times this season.

Amin and the Raiders, the defending Class 3A state champions, enjoyed another dominant performance scoring 148 points to win their own sectional for the third consecutive year.

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Huntley’s Dominique Johnson explodes out or the blocks as she runs the first leg of the 4 x 200 meter relay during the Huntley IHSA Class 3A Girls Sectional Track and Field Meet on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, at Huntley High School. (Gregory Shaver/Gregory Shaver Shaw Media )

Huntley’s 4x100 and 4x200 relays won their races, while their 4x400 and 4x800 took seconds to qualify. Dominique Johnson won the long and triple jumps, while Vicky Evtimov (200) and Sienna Robertson (discus) won individual titles.

Amin ran on the 4x100 team with Emmy Byers, K’Leigh Saenz and Evtimov to win the 4x100. Then, she started thinking about the high hurdles, but the gun sounded, she ran a near-perfect race.

“I was really happy with it, definitely a better outcome than last year,” she said. “It clicked in, muscle memory came back and I was like, ‘I’ve been doing this all season. I remember what I know how to do.’ "

The 4x200 team of Johnson, Byers, Saenz and Evtimov ran 1:39.76, the fastest time in the state, and won by more than five seconds.

“It was crazy. It was so ideal,” Saenz said. “Everything in that race went as planned. I felt so honed-in on what we were doing. Everyone in that relay had a very good mindset, we were all on the same page.”

Robertson qualified for state in discus last year and will try to follow former teammate Ally Panzloff as state champion. She threw 42.25 meters (138-7) to win that event.

“I’m really happy with them,” Robertson said. “I wanted to throw consistently at 40, that’s been my goal, hit that consistently. I had four throws in 40s.

“I feel going in I’m in a good place. I’m happy that I’m throwing consistently and I’m prepared walking into state.”

The Raiders’ Morgan Sauber, Aspen Maldonado, Cori Kilvinger and Haley Rahman advanced in the 4x800 and Byers, Sauber, Saenz and Addi Busam made it in the 4x400.

Busam (triple jump), Sauber (800), Elena Fetzer (shot put) and Gianna Howard (high jump) were individual qualifiers.

Crystal Lake South’s 4x800 relay of Liv Pinta, Cecelia Pirmontese, Tori Pinta and Abby Machesky won in 9:29.01, 16 seconds faster than their winning time at last week’s Fox Valley Conference Meet. Machesky finished second in the 800 to qualify and Gracey LePage made it on time in the 200 (25.49).

Cary-Grove’s Kate Aniolkowski won the 300 hurdles in 45.66, her personal best, and teammate Olivia Parker, a sophomore, qualified in both hurdles races on time.

“I have a tendency of getting PR’s at sectionals,” Aniolkowski said. “The extra adrenaline gets me going. I just really wanted to go to state and knew I had to put it out there. It drives me to run my best race.

“It definitely helps me go a lot faster [with Olivia]. I l always feel her there right next to me, always pushing me to go harder. We always stick together and have developed a bond and lean on each other.”

McHenry’s Danielle Jensen and Skylar Balzer finished 1-2 in the 3,200 and Balzer came back to take second in the 1,600. The Warriors’ Kelly Huerta qualified in the 100, 200 and with the 4x100 relay team with Brianna Amedio, Emma Blanken and Avery Stinger.

Hampshire’s Ella Perrone (400), Hailey Caraway (high jump) and 4x800 relay team of Hudson Szymonik, Alyssa Garcia, Hannah Jones and Kaley Byhre advanced.

Dundee-Crown’s Marisa Klaas (100 high hurdles) was another area qualifier.