Last year, Fenwick High School senior Aiden Williams returned quickly from an ACL injury suffered during football season to take sixth place in the 110 hurdles at the IHSA Class 2A boys’ track and field state meet and gained All-State honors for the second consecutive season.
This year, Williams, a Valparaiso University commit, is looking to make his final campaign with the Friars his best. If the indoor season is any indication, he is well on his way to achieving that goal. At the Chicago Catholic League Indoor Championships, March 20, he won the 60 meter hurdles in a personal-best 7.97 seconds.
Also at the CCL meet, where Fenwick placed eighth with 39 points, senior Matt Simon won the 400 meters in a time of 50.21. Other notable performances came from junior Adrien Dubois in the 400 meters (fifth, 52.44) and senior Cameron Garrett in the 60 meters (sixth, personal-best 7.10).
“Outdoor is looking good for us and we are excited to see how the season plays out,” said Fenwick coach David Rill. “Our guys are all training hard and performing well. The success of our top runners has trickled down to the younger guys.”
Sophomore Landon Johnson, who was a part of last year’s state-qualifying 4 x 400 relay, returns as well.
“Since we have two of the top sprinters in 2A, Matt and Aiden, our goal is to get a good number of guys qualified for state and see what we can do down there,” Rill said.
Back at the Worrill Center in Chicago, Saturday, for the Illinois Indoor Championships, Williams ended up seventh in the 60 meter hurdles finals (8.95) after clipping an early hurdle with his left knee.
It’s the only Illinois 60 hurdles race this indoor season in which Williams didn’t finish first.
“[The clip] messed up everything for me,” he said. “I wanted to win this race. It’s OK. I’m coming back outdoor season.”
For the 300 intermediate hurdles outdoors, Williams was a 2A all-state sixth in 2024 (school-record 39.86) and 12th last year (40.05).
“I’m back healthy. I want to win (state) in both (110s and 300s),” he said. “It feels like I can actually run (this year), nothing holding me back. I’m faster, stronger, bigger. I’m better in almost every way.”
Fenwick girls
At the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Indoor Championships, March 19, Fenwick placed sixth with 41.5 points. Junior Maeve Bondakar won the shot put for the Friars, while sophomore Bridget Brunick and junior Juliana Gamboa finished two-three in the 3200 meters.
Other highlights were provided by junior Mia Bagato, who took fourth in the 800; sophomore Avani Williams, who tied for fourth in the high jump and placed sixth in the 400; and the 4 x 400 relay of Gamboa, Brunick, sophomore Alana Jezierski, and Bagato, who took fifth.
“With the exception of (graduated) Mia Menendez, basically all our top athletes are back,” said Fenwick coach Latoya Zubowicz-Hill.
That includes Gamboa, who has qualified for state in each of her first two seasons.
“She’s still a stellar teammate and amazing performer,” Zubowicz-Hill said. “I keep reminding her every meet, you’re not going to (get personal records). To see her perform at this week’s Illinois indoor championships and look really strong and confident is a really good sign.”
Bondakar, Williams, sophomore Molly Madden (discus) and junior Teresa Urso (part of 4 x 400 relay) are other returning state qualifiers.
“Maeve has really come into her own as a teammate,” Zubowicz-Hill said. “She jumps into different events, not necessarily to do them, but to build relationships with the girls. She’s turning out to be a huge leader on the team.”
Fenwick opens the outdoor season April 11 at Ridgewood.
Trinity
The Blazers finished 10th at the GCAC Indoor Championships with 12 points. Trinity was led by sophomore Karis Young, who was third in the 60 hurdles (9.73) and sixth in the long jump (personal-best 4.77 meters).
The Blazers’ 4 x 400 relay of senior Aaliyah Porter, junior Janelle Hernandez, sophomore Amira Straw, and Young placed sixth in 1:56.37.
“The girls are really excited to put in the hard work as the weather hopefully gets nicer and work on the small things to set themselves up for success,” said Trinity coach Erin Nelson.
Other notable returnees include senior hurdler Gioy Smart, senior distance runner Alessandra Pineda, and junior Charlotte Houlihan (high jump, discus). Key newcomers include Straw and freshmen Evelyn Allen and Mary Burns in the sprints and jumps.
Nelson says this year’s goal is qualifying as many athletes as possible for the state meet while continuing to develop and build depth for the future.
“By challenging ourselves over the next few weeks against Class 3A competition and through dedication in our technique improvement, we are looking to put ourselves in a position by sectionals to achieve that goal,” Nelson said. “We are excited to continue our growth of the program.”
Bill Stone contributed to this report.