CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Aurora Christian girls track team has Friday off.
But on Saturday they will continue what they started on Thursday, which was mine for gold in the Class 1A girls track and field meet. The Eagles will start Saturday with two relays and four individuals.
Peyton Wade grabbed three of those individual qualifying spots, advancing in the 110-meter hurdles (15.42 seconds), the long jump (17 feet, 9.5 inches) and the high jump (5-2).
“I was not happy with the hurdle race,” Wade said. “I want to get down in the 14s on Saturday and would like to win the race.”
Wade enters the hurdles with the fourth-fastest time of the prelims.
She also has the fourth-best leap in the long jump, while every athlete who advanced in the high jump did so with a 5-2.
Alyssa Anderson, Meghan Hagerty, Hope Montalbano and Natasha Brown took first in both the 400 and 800 relays, recording respective times of 49.84 and 1:45.01. In both cases they won the fourth heat.
Aurora Christian’s 800 relay time trails only the time of Sullivan, which posted a 1:44.56. The Eagles ran the third-fastest time in the 400 relay and were one of three teams to break :50. The other two were Carthage (49.74) and Tremont (49.99).
Brown, the anchor leg on both relays, ran the fastest 200 time, finishing in 25.07. She won the third heat.
Hinckley-Big Rock freshman Audrey Harrod and sophomore Courtney Carls both punched their ticket to the finals. Harrod dashed to a second-place finish in the second heat of the 800, finishing in 2:21.16. She finished with the sixth-fastest time.
The field is led by Midwest Central junior Cassie Mundekis, the defending state champion. She ran a time of 2:15.79 in the prelims.
“My time was OK,” said Harrod. “I want to break 2:20. I have done it before, but it has only been in practice.”
Carls finished with a jump of 34-11.50, taking seventh in the third and final flight. Eight jumpers qualified from that flight and Carls is currently seeded ninth in the field of 12.
Indian Creek’s Chantel Kyler, a junior, grabbed one of the qualifying spots in the high jump, leaping 5-2.
