Three Things We Know.
1. Mind games work. St. Charles North sophomore Jessica Grill got over a hurdle in the pole vault in a recent dual meet – with some mental trickery from her coach. Attempting 11 feet, a height she had never made, Grill was told by vault coach Sammy Breban she was actually trying 10 feet, 6 inches. Grill proceeded to clear 11 feet without a hitch. “Everybody was going crazy,” North Stars head coach John Osmanski said. “She was the only one that didn’t know. It kind of took the mental game out of it for her.”
2. Hilltoppers happy for warm weather. Elgin Academy sure must be happy the weather warmed up last week. The Hilltoppers, who don’t have an indoor season, opened up outdoors at Christian Liberty. Caitlyn Pearson was a standout, winning the 200 in 26.8 and taking second in the long jump. Susanna Cain was third in the 200 in 29.9. Head coach Adrian Ayala says to look out for a pair of freshman throwers in Alex Schafer, who has thrown the discus 88 feet in practice, and Catherine Palmer.
3. D-C soph doesn’t miss a beat. Dundee-Crown sophomore Kayla Lawrence has picked up right where she left off in the 100 high hurdles, already going 15.7. Lawrence also ran a personal-best 49.2 in the 300 lows in the Chargers’ first outdoor meet. She’s also added the long jump to her plate, and went 16-6 first time out. Also recording PRs first time out for D-C were senior Emily Michalski with a 15-9.5 in the long jump and junior Anette Woolf with an 87-10 in the discus.
