Plainfield North parlays relays medals sweep to fifth place in Class 3A at IHSA state meet

CHARLESTON — Chances are if it’s an event that involves a baton, Plainfield North is pretty good at it.

The Tigers won medals in all four relays — winning two of them — en route to a fifth-place finish in Class 3A on Saturday at Eastern Illinois University’s O’Brien Field.

Plainfield North ran an Illinois season-best 3 minutes, 47.61 seconds to win the 4x400 relay in the last event of the day. The Tigers’ other win came in the 4x200, when they ran an Illinois No.1 time of 1:37.09.

They also ran an Illinois No. 2 — and national No. 15 — 9:07.34 to finish second in the 4x800 and were third in the 4x100 with an Illinois No. 3 time of 46.53.

Why is Plainfield North so good in the relays?

“I think we have good coaching,” said junior Aniya Poindexter, who ran on the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400. “We take our time with our handoffs, and we really push it during practice.”

Ditto for the races themselves.

Poindexter’s mindset in the 4x400: “I was like, I want to put everything I have left (out there), just anything I have, because that 4x2 took me out. That was a hard one. So I was like, any little piece of energy I have, I just want that on the track.”

Senior Lauren Dellangelo also ran on the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400.

“We have really great coaches who helped us come together so well,” she said. “And genuinely, all of us are such close friends and we work together so well. ... We show up, we work hard.”

The Tigers had two senior anchor runners, which didn’t hurt. Taylor McClain anchored the 4x100 and the 4x200, while Lindsey Wenz anchored the 4x800 and 4x400.

McClain, who also placed in the 100 (eighth) and 200 (ninth), took energy from the 4x800 performance.

“I love it,” she said. “Because everybody has different ways to tell when you have anxiety or anything. ... It just boosted everybody else’s confidence, like, ‘Oh, we’re going to get this.’”

Plainfield North sophomore Marlie Czarniewski was ninth in the 1,600 and ran on the 4x800. Elsie Czarniewski and Tesa Russo also were on the 4x800 team, and Russo ran on the 4x400. Kaiya Bradshaw ran on the 4x100 and 4x200.

The area also produced two of the three pole vault champs. Lockport senior Mckena Miglorini cleared an Illinois season-best 3.85 meters to win 3A and Reed-Custer junior Sophia Burciaga went 3.55 to take first in 2A.

The spring ended much better than it began for Miglorini.

“The beginning of the season was kind of tough for me because I was coming back from (a hamstring) injury and then I was sick for over a month,” she said. “So I hadn’t been jumping too good outdoor, but I’m happy where I ended.”

Burciaga, who transferred in this school year from Plainfield South, came to the sport later than most. “I was a gymnast for about nine years and it was not a good mental space,” she said.

So she went out for track at Plainfield South, looking for an event like vault — which had been her favorite event in gymnastics.

“I found out what pole vault was and I randomly started it,” Barciaga said. “I realize that it was fun and that it started to give me the same adrenaline that I missed when I was a gymnast.”

Lincoln-Way East senior Kyra Hayden placed in both 3A hurdles races, running a PR of 43.29 seconds for fifth in the 300s and taking eighth in the 100s.

Sophomore Mia Forystek ran a season-best 2:12.88 for fifth in the 3A 800 and also ran a leg on Lincoln-Way Central’s third-place 4x800 relay team that ran a U.S. No. 24 time of 9:09.11.

Joliet Catholic junior Symone Holman took third in the 100, third in the 200 and seventh in the long jump in 2A.

Wilmington freshman McKenna Van Tillburg took fifth in the 1A 100 with a PR of 12.31, seventh in the 300 hurdles and eighth in the 100 hurdles.

Seneca junior Lila Coleman took ninth in both the 400 and long jump in 1A.

Other local placers in 3A were Minooka’s Mya Ledesma (fourth, 3,200) and Natalie Nahs (ninth, 800); Lincoln-Way East’s Alaina Steele (third, 400); Lincoln-Way Central’s Kylie Koehler (tied for sixth, pole vault); Plainfield East’s Briyah Beatty (seventh, 400); and Bolingbrook’s ninth-place 4x100 relay.

Peotone senior Terrynn Clott had a PR of 37.00 to finish eighth in the 2A discus and Reed-Custer’s Alyssa Wollenzien took ninth in the 2A 300 hurdles.

In 1A, Dwight’s Mikayla Chambers was ninth in the 300 hurdles and Seneca took ninth in the 4x800 relay.