Griffins claim fifth state title in girls track and field
By JEFF VORVA, Freelance Reporter
The journey started on a bone-chilling night in Bolingbrook. It ended on a steamy, rain-soaked, day-turned-into night adventure in Charleston.
But at the end of it on Saturday, June 12, the Lincoln Way East girls track and field team won its fifth Illinois High School Association state championship and brought home the school’s 19th state championship overall.
Only the competitive cheerleading team, which won its sixth title in March, has won more state titles at the Frankfort school.
The road to state
Most state championships come with twists, turns and anxious moments. This season was memorable for many reasons – including early doubts that the season would even move forward because of the coronavirus pandemic. Under a normal year, the girls track season would have been over on May 22. But the SouthWest Suburban Conference Blue meet was held five days later than that, on an unseasonably frigid night in Bolingbrook.
Despite the weather, the Griffins put on a serious show, knocking off the defending state champion, Homewood-Flossmoor, 154-109.
East junior Mariam Azeez was a conference champion in the 100-meter dash but finished second to H-F’s Ana-Leise Torian in the 200 dash by 6/100ths of a second. She also took second in the long jump to teammate Sophia Barnard.
Other conference champions were Katie Sciarini in the 300 hurdles; Kendall Crossley, Olivia Remblake, Jailee Clemmons and Paige Watson in the 800 relay; Jamie Sierocki in the discus; Kailey Bell in the pole vault; and Clemmons came up with a title in the triple jump, as well.
The performance had coach Brian Evans happy, and he said the state title was later won because so many athletes contributed.
“We take a lot of pride in winning team titles,” Evans said. “That shows everyone is contributing. That’s what we try to instill in the kids.”
That mindset showed up again in the Minooka Sectional held on June 2, as East finished first with 126. H-F again finished second, this time with 117 points.
H-F held an 82-68 lead before the 300 hurdles event, but Sciarini’s rare re-run of that event had her teammates charged up.
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee recruit fell toward the end of her heat, and she did not qualify for state. But Evans and his coaches argued she was interfered with, as another athlete fell into her lane.
Officials agreed, and roughly 20 minutes later, Sciarini was back on the track by herself running for a state time. She finished with a time of 45.727 seconds, which was just behind Barnard’s winning time of 45.713 seconds – qualifying her for state.
Evans said Sciarini “did the unbelievable.”
“It’s one thing to be granted a re-run,” he said. “It’s totally different to be out there by yourself and try to get one of the top times in the state. It’s a testament to her training and determination.”
Sciarini said when she runs races, she tries to have tunnel vision. But she said it was “weird” to run the event by herself.
Meanwhile, Azeez was a scoring machine at the sectional, as she won the 100 dash with a time of 12.03 seconds, the 200 dash with a time of 24.7 seconds, and the long jump with a leap of 19 feet.
East’s Ali Van Dyke also won the pole vault.
Winning state
At the Class 3A state meet, held at Eastern Illinois University, temperatures were scorching and rain and lightning delays pushed some events past 9:30 p.m.
When it was over, East survived with 56 points to H-F’s runner-up team score of 50 points.
Azeez won the 100 dash in 12.09 seconds and was second in the long jump. She also finished third in the 200 dash with a time of 24.68 seconds.
East also earned points in the 300 hurdles when Sciarini finished third with a time of 44.94 seconds, and Barnard finished fourth with a time of 45.15 seconds. If Sciarini wasn’t allowed the extra run in Minooka, it would have been seven less points for the Griffins at the state meet.
Meanwhile, Van Dyke grabbed sixth place in the pole vault, and the 1,600-relay team of Crossley, Watson, Sciarini and Barnard capped off the state meet with a sixth-place finish with a time of 4:01.62.
Azeez said she was happy to be a part of school history, particularly the successes of the East girls track team.
“Obviously, I heard about East when I was in middle school,” she said. “I never got to see them, but I knew about [East alumnae and past state championship team member] Aaliyah Brown and so many good athletes in that era.”
Now, Azeez and her teammates will join that storied history.