Porter star advances in 3200 relay, 1600 finals
CHARLESTON -- A year ago, Liz Phillips missed out on the opportunity of claiming a medal at the Class AA state track and field meet for the third year in a row.
But in Friday's preliminaries at O'Brien Stadium, the Lockport senior returned to her form of her first two years when she qualified for the finals in both the 1600 and as a member of the 3200 relay.
She kicked the day off in dramatic fashion when she turned in a great final leg of the 3200 relay to help the Porters overcome an early fall to capture their heat in 9:21.04.
Joining Phillips on the 3200 relay were Stephanie Houts, Erin Lakie and Erika Foltys. Houts fell early on but Lakie, Foltys and Phillips overcame that to finish strong.
Then Phillips moved closer to adding to the third-place medal she got in the 3200 in 2006 and the fifth place medal she earned in the 1600 in 2005 when she qualified for the finals in the 1600 in 4:59.52.
"My leg in the 4 x 8 took a lot out of me so I just wanted to qualify in the 1600," Phillips said. "But to go sub-5:00 has been my dream forever and I'm so happy now. It's definitely exciting to be back in the finals and I'm looking forward to it.
"In the 4 x 8 we were ranked 11th but Steph fell so we realized it was going to be hard to make the finals. But Erin really picked it up, Erika caught us up more and then I was so pumped up and ran a 2:11 split, and after that I was about to cry."
Senior Foltys later added to her success in the 3200 relay by qualifying for a spot in the finals of the 800 with a time of 2:14.61.
"I'm really excited about ending my senior year like this," Foltys said. "I ran the 400 my freshman year and I was put in the 800 my sophomore year and never thought I'd make it, but I did this year so it feels pretty good.
"We have a really strong 4 x 8 team and a couple of girls sacrificed their 2 mile race to run in the 4 x 8 so that was good. We were really discouraged, but Erin didn't give up and I had to do what I could and Liz finished it."
Plainfield North also enjoyed a big day in the preliminaries as it qualified 3 individuals and 1 relay for Saturday's finals.
The Tigers advanced 2 individuals in the 100 high hurdles as both seniors Valencia Anderson and Megan Gregory moved on with times of 14.5.
"I thought I could have done better in the preliminaries but I'm going to try harder tomorrow since I think I can be first in the state," said Anderson, who was sixth in the event a year ago.
"Last year I was low on the platform and this year I want to be higher. It feels good to also have Megan in the finals with me after she just missed last year.
Gregory, who just missed reaching the finals a year ago, won her heat with a time of 14.5.
"We work together and push each other in practice so that we can do our best," Gregory said. "Last year she made it to the finals and I was 10th, so I really wanted to to make up for it this year.
"It hurt so badly last year because I knew that if I came out of the blocks or got to the finish line quicker that I would have been there. But that gave me goals to reach this year."
Anderson and Gregory also joined Megan Jackson and Jesi Hawks on a 4 x 200 relay squad that posted a time of 1:42.08.
North's other finalist is senior Kelly Moser, who advanced in the high jump with a 5-3 effort. She placed fifth in that event a year ago.
Lincoln-Way East junior Maggie Sutor qualified for the finals in the 800 for the third straight year when she turned in a time of 2:15.05.
"I'm ranked sixth going into the finals and that's the highest that I've been," Sutor said. "In my heat we knew that we needed to run time in order to qualify so I went in giving everything I've got and it was my best time. "I wasn't focused on anyone's time, I was just focused on my running form and I had a couple of errors. I was fourth as a freshman and ninth last year but I was faster last year and I'm hoping for a top 6 finish tomorrow."
Sutor hopes to become her program's first 3-time state placer. She took fourth in the 800 in 2006 and then was ninth in the event a year ago.
A pair of pole vaulters also moved on to the finals, Lincoln-Way Central senior Jenna Wexter and Lincoln-Way East sophomore Megan Weller.
Wexter, who was second in the event a year ago and ninth the year before, qualified with a 10-9 effort, the same mark as Weller's preliminary best.
Providence Catholic senior Eileen Moran, who was fifth in the 400 at the last 2 state meets, failed to qualify in that event and fell just :0.01 shy of advancing in the 100.
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