Du Quoin girls track team wins own invitational
DU QUOIN - Doesn't matter what you call it.
The important thing is the Du Quoin High School girls track and field team won their own home invitational meet again Tuesday night at Van Metre Field.
The season schedule and results sheets called it the Du Quoin Ladies Invite, while the championship plaque declared it was the Du Quoin Classic. Either way, the Lady Indians got to keep the plaque for the second straight year.
Du Quoin tallied 141 points to beat out Anna-Jonesboro (94), Mascoutah (83), Christopher (79), Pinckneyville (68), Johnston City (35), Fairfield (30) and Sesser-Valier (22).
"It's always nice to win on your own track," said Du Quoin coach Shane Boyett. "Defend the turf. It's always nice to do that. We had a good day and we had some exciting races."
Du Quoin's 4x800 relay team of Jacqueline Crain, Andrea Lopez, Olivia Cravens and Gabby Alongi set a school record with a time of 10:05.10, breaking a mark established in 1994 by Cara Crews (Alongi's mother), Summer Halstead, Elizabeth Scaglione and Jennifer Daulby.
"We wanted to see how fast we could run the relay and we knew we could come close to the school record but didn't know we'd beat it by 10 or 12 seconds," Boyett said. "So that was a real treat."
Du Quoin also won the 4x100 relay with Ella Hirsch, Bailey Harsy, Skye Westerhouse and Madison Davis sprinting to a 53.02 finish to edge Pinckneyville (53.93). Later on, Elizabeth Bird joined Harsy, Westerhouse and Davis to win the 4x200 in 1:54.81.
In the final race, Alongi anchored the 4x400 and forced a virtual tie at the line with Fairfield in 4:33.43, although Fairfield was declared the winner. Du Quoin's first three legs were ran by Davis, Crain and Cravens.
Davis also won the 100 dash in 13.01 seconds, Alongi won the 400 in 1:00.03 and Lopez was a double winner in both the 800 (2:37.80) and mile (6:05.38).
"We had a very good day," Boyett said.
Harsy finished just behind Johnston City's Lauren Friess in the 100 hurdles. Friess was clocked at 17.46, with Harsy at 17.51 just in front of Anna-Jonesboro's Addison Osman (17.75). Du Quoin's Delanie Dearmond was fourth (18.44) and Pinckneyville's Consuela Moll was fifth (19.39).
In the field events, Du Quoin's Aubrey Barwick hit a personal-best mark of 98-8.5 on her final throw to take first after placing third in shot put at 30-6.
Bird took second in the high jump at 5-2 and Hirsch set a PR in the triple jump at 32-1.5 to place fourth. Pinckneyville's Dakota Krone won the long jump (17-1.25) and took second in triple jump (34-5).