Oak Park and River Forest High School senior Lenny Sterritt competed at the IHSA or comparable state meet all four years in girls cross country. Now she’s made it back to the Class 3A girls track and field state meet.
Sterritt was the only senior on the victorious 4 x 800-meter relay at the Lake Park Sectional, which was moved from Thursday to Friday because of bad weather. She also competed at state with the relay as a sophomore.
“For me, this state meet is the perfect, if slightly bittersweet, end to a wonderful four years, and a great chance to run fast and have fun,” she said.
The Huskies earned 11 berths for state Friday and Saturday at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston automatically with top-two sectional finishes or by achieving state-qualifying standards at the meet. They finished second with 83 points.
The 4 x 800 of sophomore Violet Schnizlein, freshman Lucy Stein, junior Nora Butterly and Sterritt (9:25.83) and 4 x 400 relay of juniors Bella Brauc and Julia Brown, sophomore Chloe Kozicki (3:57.66) both took first place with season-best times.
The 4 x 800, which broke the school record for the second straight meet, and 4 x 400 also posted the No. 6 and 5 fastest 3A sectional performances, respectively. Top-nine finishers in all events earn all-state honors.
The 4 x 800 finished 16th at state in 2022 (10:00.91). This season, the Huskies were especially hopeful they could beat the 9:43.60 state cut after their 9:26.88 at the conference meet May 3.
“As outdoor went on, and Lucy, Violet, and Nora were running consistently fast times, we started to build confidence, but I don’t think the possibility really sank in until outdoor conference,” Sterritt said. “Hitting the time, breaking the school record, I think we all just thought, ‘Wow, we really just did that, huh?’”
In discus, senior Brianne Davis (35.86 meters/117 feet-8 inches) also won and sophomore Oliwia Slezak (personal-best 34.90m/114-6) finished second to also advance.
In the 400, Brauc (58.67) and Brown (58.87) finished 3-4 and beat the 59.51 state cut.
Senior Taylor Smith was fourth in long jump (season-best 5.45m/17-10 3/4) and fifth in triple jump (11.05m/36-3) and achieved the 5.35 and 11.04 cuts to advance in both.
Senior Hannah Franke is returning in pole vault with a fifth-place (3.12m/10-3) that equals the state cut.
Sophomore Alexis Henderson and Brauc advanced in high jump by clearing the necessary 1.57/5-2 state cut on their final attempts. They finished fifth and sixth.
Only Butterly, Slezak, Kleidon and Stein have never previously competed at state.
Fenwick/Trinity
Fenwick earned four 2A state berths and Trinity two at the Ridgewood Sectional Wednesday.
Fenwick freshman Maeve Bonakdar won shot put (10.07m/33-0 1/2), her second-best distance to 33-10 3/4.
Fenwick junior Mia Menendez qualified with second in the 800 (2:24.27). She’s been an all-state seventh the past two seasons (2:19.02 in 2023 and 2:20.38) with a school-record 2:17.46 at 2023 sectionals.
The Friars’ 4 x 400 relay with junior Olivia Collins, freshmen Mia Bagato and Juliana Gamboa and Menendez (4:17.89) and 4 x 800 relay with senior Anna Scholtens, Gamboa, Collins and Menendez (10:09.03) also were second.
Trinity freshman Charlotte Houlihan was second in discus (season-best 24.98m/81-11). Sophomore Molly McGreal was third in the 3,200 (11:46.21) but edged the 11:47.44 state cut.
