The girls Gus Scott Track & Field Invitational has returned for the 2021 season. The event is being held over two days this season, with Wheaton Warrenville South hosting on Friday and Naperville North hosting on Saturday.
Pole Vault
We begin with the pole vault on Friday afternoon. Naperville North gets a 2nd place finish from Mya Mangan. She clears 2.7 meters.
The pole vault champion comes from Wheaton North as Kaelin Leishman gets over 3.15 meters as the sun sets behind her.
4X800 Relay
The first track event of the meet is the 4X800 meter relay. Benet Academy using a quartet of oustanding cross country runners in this one to build an early lead. Kelly Andrews leading off before handing the baton to Louisa Diamond. Prospect, Wheaton South, St. Charles East and Naperville Central also in the hunt.
Meghan Andrews runs the third leg before Elizabeth Camic runs the anchor. Camic turns a close race into a rout as the Redwings cross the line in first place. Prospect in second and Wheaton South in 3rd.
3200
Up next another long race with the 3200. Midway through and we have a tight pack of runners still. Sydeny Kearns from Neuqua Valley in front of Joy Jackson from Benet, Madeline Cody from Naperville North and Keeley Behr from Metea Valley. Cora Marcet and Addison George from Naperville Central just a little farther back.
Entering the final lap and Kearns and Jackson have a slight lead over Behr but those three have separated from the pack.
As the race hits the final 50 meters, Keeley Behr comes on strong to win the event. Joy Jackson in 2nd, Kearns in 3rd and Cody in 4th.
1600
End of the first day at Wheaton South and we have the 1600. A lot of orange near the front with Molly Morton and Jackie Liu from North along with Eleanor Clark from St. Charles East and Payton Fleming and Jenna Bachara from Wheaton Warrenville South.
Down the stretch, Molly Morton pulls away to win. Jackie Liu in 2nd and Clark in third. Segi Smith-Pariola from Naperville Central takes 7th.
High Jump
Moving on to the second day of the Gus Scott girls meet at Naperville North. We begin with more field events starting with the high jump.
Maeve Conneely looks good in the early part of the year. She clears 1.65 meters in her second attempt.
Teammate Madeline Andelbradt also gets over 1.65 meters. The Huskies tie for first, but Andelbradt gets the edge because she cleared it on her first attempt. Andelbradt also won the 300 hurdles the night before.
4X200 Relay
Now over to the track for the 4X200 meter relay. Naperville Central, Wheaton South, Naperville North and Wheaton North are the favorites.
The Redhawks already winners of the 4X100 earlier in the meet get off to a great start with Abby Wood off the blocks and Allison Comer the second leg.
Deja Richardson runs the third leg for Central and it’s Sarah McCracken looking to hold off Grace Macabobby at the end. McCracken hangs on for the win and the second relay victory for the red and white.
Long Jump
Back to field events. Rese Bastuga in the long jump for Benet Academy. The Redwing takes third place with a new PR of 4.78 meters.
But the star of the day is Riley Ammenhauser. After winning the triple jump already, the Neuqua Valley senior sets a new meet record in the long jump at 5.54 meters. She also set the triple jump meet record of 12.55 meters for good measure.
100 Hurdles
The 100 meter hurdles and another Wildcat making noise is Inara Ukawuba. She beats out Shannon Lawler from Stagg and Carlin Wach from Wheaton South with a time of 15.38 seconds.
100 Meters
Now the 100 meters and we see Riley Ammenhauser showing off the sprinting skills. She sets a new PR with a time of 12.38. Just ahead of Abby Wood from Central and teammate Inara Ukawuba.
200 Meters
A little longer race now with the 200 meter dash. Mackenzie Skeen from Naperville North racking up more points for her team as she holds off Ukawuba, Lauren Swartz from St. Charles East, Tania Miller from Romeoville and Nicole Grimes from Benet.
400 Meters
The 400 meters is one lap around the track, always a fun race. Dekalb with a pair of runners near the front in Sariyah Watson and Isabella Dlabal, but Neuqua Valley runner Laure Tymen outruns them all with a PR time of 1:01.16.
4X400
Let’s wrap up the girls section of the Gus Scott with the 4X400 relay. Once again, Naperville Central a force to be reckoned with.
Allison Comer handing off to Abby Wood at the first transition. Wheaton Warrenville South and Prospect hot on their heels.
Wood then gives off the Emily Orth as the lead stretches out a little bit more. Finally it’s Sarah McCracken as the anchor running away from Prospect, Wheaton South and Naperville North. She hits the deck after crossing the finish line but she’s ok. Three relay wins for Central. But it’s all orange in the top three. Naperville North wins with Wheaton South in 2nd and St. Charles East in 3rd.
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