Fenwick High School junior Grace Cronin missed out on her first girls track and field state title by just .01 of a second Saturday.
There still was something to smile about.
Cronin ran a significant personal record in the 300-meter low hurdles with a school-record 42.95 seconds at the Class 3A state finals at Eastern Illinois University. She had the fastest time in Friday’s preliminaries (43.79) after a previous-best 43.58 at sectionals.
“A 42 was what I was working for the entire season. I really wanted to get that and that’s how it ended up so I’m glad at least I took second,” Cronin said.
Cronin added two more top-nine, all-state medals in the Friars’ first season in 3A since 2011. She also was second in the 100 hurdles (school-record 14.42) behind Homewood-Flossmoor senior Jayla Stewart (14.01), last year’s runner-up.
In the 300 hurdles, Cronin led the entire race like usual, but Belleville East senior Miya Dorsey (42.94) was closing. After the final hurdle, Dorsey barely caught Cronin, who flung herself across the finish line.
“I couldn’t hear her, but you get that feeling that someone’s behind you. I knew she was edging up on me and she did. She did very well,” Cronin said. “You know when you get so tired that your legs start cramping up? I started getting to that. I saw her coming up on my side. I just tried to go and at the end I was like, ‘I’m just going to throw myself.’ “
Cronin and senior and fellow state qualifier Olivia Ryan now share the program best of five all-state medals. In 2014, Cronin was second in the 2A 100 hurdles (14.93) and third in the 300 hurdles (43.93), .09 from first in both races.
Cronin’s times Saturday would have won the 2A titles by .04 and .85, respectively, although Jamaica junior Jenny Kimbro swept the 1A crowns with faster times (14.23 and meet-best 42.75). Cronin’s 100 time broke the 14.63 school record by Erin McCoy in 2012 en route to taking fourth at state.
“It just feels nicer (competing 3A) because it’s a lot of the top people, definitely a lot more challenging,” Cronin said.
Cronin plans to continue her extra track preparation like this past season, when she gave up girls basketball after diving to begin working out. For nearly the past month, she had to overcome a bout with turf toe.
“I was warming up a little bit and I could feel it, but it’s something you can easily ignore, especially when you’re down here against really good competition,” Cronin said.
Ryan ran a season-best 5:09.22 for 18th in the 1,600 Friday and a lifetime-best 11:04.18 for 12th in the 3,200 Saturday.
The 3,200 only is run in two heats Saturday. Ryan finished even stronger than usual to win the slower-seeded heat.
“My plan was just to go 1:22s for eight laps, which I don’t think happened exactly, but I felt like I had something left at the end and since it’s my last race, I’m like, ‘I might as well give it everything I possibly had,’ ” Ryan said.