Sparked by throwers and deep Winnebago, IHSA track titles pour in for Rockford girls

It was a big day at the Illinois High School Association girls state track finals for Rockford-area throwers, and for anyone wearing a Winnebago uniform.

Throwers from the area hauled in five medals all together, including a pair of shot putters who rolled all the way to state titles Saturday in Charleston.

The Winnebago girls hauled in eight state medals, including one state championship and another runner-up finish. Winnebago wound up finishing third in the 1A team standings at Eastern Illinois University.

"If push came to shove, I think we could've gone even faster in a couple of those," Winnebago coach Joe Erb said. "The girls just pulled through and really showed how strong they were.

"What a special day this was for Winnebago."

Erb was the coach of the state-runner-up girls cross country team this season, and five of the girls from this track team were on the state runner-up basketball squad, as well. Now they have a third-place state track and field trophy to go along with those.

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Rockford-area state champs

Two locals won shot put state titles, the first event to finish up on a rainy Saturday in Charleston, kickstarted by state champ Jenae Bothe of Oregon. Bothe, who will continue her track and field career at Washington University in St. Louis next year, threw the shot 43 feet, 2 inches during Thursday's prelims, a distance which carried over and was never eclipsed.

"There was a lot of adrenaline flowing on Day 1, and I really felt good," said Bothe, who had her best throw on her third and final toss of the prelims. She was close but never bettered it on Saturday. It didn't matter.

"I kind of knew that was going to be enough to win it, so today I just wanted to go out there and make sure," she said. "It felt so good when it was over. This is six years in the making, and it's just nice to finally get it."

Boylan's Madelyn Bishop not only claimed the lone 2A state title for a local when she won that level of the shot put event with a toss of 43-0 1/2, but she also medaled in discus. The senior who finished in 20th place in both the shot and discus at state last year threw her discus 125-5 to place sixth.

"It's kind of surreal right now," said Bishop, who broke her sister Bridget's school record with her shot put victory. "It was such a long and crazy day, and it's hard to take it all in yet."

In a hotly contested 4x100-meter relay final, Byron's squad of Kaci McKnight, Alana Julian, Megan Jackson and Ava Milburn ran off with the state title with a 49.79, and the same Byron foursome rolled to a fourth-place finish in the 4x200 relay in 1:45.64. The Tigers' Skylar Palmgren, Abby Connell, Milburn and Jackson took fourth in the 4x400 relay, the final event of the day, with a time of 4:08.02. Rockford Christian's 4x100 relay foursome of Mandy Nelson, Kendall Turner, Paige Gardner and Demo came in fourth in 50.13.

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None of that could top the school-record and state-title-winning performance from Winnebago's 4x800 relay crew of Marissa Roggensack, Katie Erb, Kaylee Woolery and Grace Erb, however. They charged through with a time of 9:28.95, dominating the event, winning by nearly 15 seconds.

Class 1A highlights

Winnebago continued to haul in 1A state medals from start to finish Saturday, and once again there were throwers involved in the celebrations.

Winnebago's Hannah Logan took 10th in the shot put at 36-3, falling just one spot away from earning a medal. But she bounced back in a big way in the discus ring, throwing a 121-4 and taking home a seventh-place discus medal.

Her junior teammate Amanda Gustafson fell just short of a medal in the 1A discus with a 12th-place mark of 116-7.

Winnebago's Grace Erb returned after the 4x800 relay victory and nearly won another state title, taking second by just a half a second in the 800 run with a time of 2:16.57. She set the second school record for Winnebago on the day as well. Woolery charged in to take third in the 1600 in 5:11.88, and she had a Winnebago teammate not far behind, as Marissa Roggensack placed fifth in the mile run.

"I can't tell you how proud I am of all of these girls," Joe Erb said. "Just incredible."

Renee Rittmeyer took seventh in the 300 hurdles in 47.29, and Campbell Schrank was ninth at 48.67. Schrank was 15th and just missed qualifying for finals in the 100 hurdles.

Then, Rittmeyer, Roggensack, Woolery and Grace Erb closed out the entire meet by placing third in the 4x400 relay with a mark of 4:06.48, with another school-record time.

Earlier, Winnebago senior Sophia Martino had closed out her career just off the podium, finishing 12th in the 3200 run, two spots ahead of Rockford Christian's Kelly Giardina.

Giardina had two teammates that earned medals in one other event, though. Rockford Christian's Avery Demo took second in the 400 run final in 59.02, and her teammate Giavanna Buscema placed sixth in the same event in 1:00.34. Dakota's Kelsie Minkie, who placed seventh in the 200 dash with a time of 26.58, took fifth in that same 400 run in 59.85.

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Forreston thrower Sydni Badertscher finished in fifth in the shot put with a distance of 37-3 at the 1A level, and her teammate Letresse Buisker wound up in sixth in the high jump with a make at 5-1 1/2.

Class 2A, 3A medalists

Hononegah junior Indigo Sterud sprinted and leaped her way to a sixth-place time of 46.11 in the 300 hurdles during Saturday's 3A state finals. And her NIC-10 competitor, Auburn's Essence Horton-Graves, a sophomore who burst onto the scene this year, placed seventh in the 100 dash for 3A runners, clocking a 12.66. She ran a 12.16 to win sectionals last week, a time that would have placed her third in the state finals.

Rochelle sophomore Alivia Henkel came in ninth with a time of 47.17 in the 300 hurdles finals for 2A. Her teammate, and a Rochelle school-record holder, Teagan Meyers cleared 5-foot even in the 2A state finals of the high jump, but that put her in 11th, two spots off the podium.

Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: IHSA track & field: Winnebago, weights shine for Rockford at girls state