By Mark Gregory
Sports Editor
@Hear_The_Beard
mark@buglenewspapers.com
CHARLESTON – Heading into the state track and field meet, Joliet West’s Melzina Johnson had posted jumps in the 17-feet range all season in the long jump.
During Friday’s preliminaries, however, she uncorked the best jump of her career at the right time.
Johnson went 18-feet, 11.50-inches and claimed fourth place at the Class 3A finals in O’Brien Stadium on the campus of Eastern Illinois University.
“This is a huge accomplishment and I am really proud of myself. I came here felling really confident,” Johnson said. “I had to give it all I had both days and (Friday) I really got the big jump. My PR was 18-6 and I was jumping 17s all year and then yesterday I just jumped 18-11.5 and I am so glad.”
Johnson becomes the highest finisher in the event in Joliet West history and first long jump medalist since Kim Whitener took seventh in 1988. Johnson tied Joliet Township’s Josie Hobbs in 1994 with her fourth-place medal.
Another first for the Tigers was West senior Lataydra Thompson taking seventh in the 100-meter high hurdles in a time of 15.54.
She becomes the first Tiger ever to place in the event. As a combined program, the event saw medalists five time, most recently in 2005 when Megan Thompson placed third, but no one had ever done it donning the black and gold.
Not to be outdone, Lockport set a new school standard, placing the 4×400 relay at state for the first time.
The quartet of senior Morgan Bollinger, junior Grace Gliwa, senior Kayla Isom and senior Jaclyn Greci poste a time of 3:59.03 to place fifth.
The team said they were motivated by how much it meant to their coach to get the event into the finals.
“Coach (Joe) Kravitz started tearing up and he told us that he has never had the 4×400 a team go to finals and that is his favorite event,” Greci said.
Just a few races prior to the 4×400, Greci went out and earned a fourth place in the open 400 with a time of 56.83.
She is also the first Porter to ever medal in the event.
“I never expected to be here in my senior year running two 400s and I am so completely happy and I can’t stop smiling,” Greci said.
Minooka senior Mackenzie Callahan made history of her own, becoming the first Indian to medal in the 1600 run, as she placed second in the race in 4:54.22.
“Going into the race, I was a little nervous because these girls are really fast, but (Coach Kevin) Gummerson has reinforced in me that I can run with the best and I am one of the best,” she said. “I had a general outline is what I wanted to happen, but I just wanted to put myself in the race and see what happened. I knew I wanted to close really hard and I felt I did that.
“If I reflect on my freshman and sophomore year, I never thought this day would come and I would be running 4:54.”
Minooka junior Emily Shelton was fourth in the 3200 in 10:41.82 and earned a medal, while senior Ashley Tutt was 21st in 11:22.20.
The area had several events that competed in Friday’s preliminaries and not advance to the finals.
The Minooka quartet of Cierra Bachmann (So.), Emily Johnson (Fr.), Kylie Wissel (Jr.) and Eryn Renison (Jr.) also competed in the 1600 relay and ran a time of 4:05.27.
In the 3200 relay, Lockport’s Isom, Bollinger, Kate Wojciewicz (So.) and Aubrey Friedrich (Jr.) ran a time of 9:40.68, while the Porters’ 800 relay team of Gliwa, Angelica Iwan (Fr.), Skye Aguilar (Sr.) and Jacqueline Mathius (So.) ran it in 1:45.86 and Joliet West’s 400 team of Johnson, Thompson, Niyah Tucker (Jr.) and Shyasia Baker (Jr.) ran the race in 49.30.
In the 100 dash, Johnson ran a 12.24, while Greci posted a 12.22.
In the 800 run, Isom ran a 2:23.76, while in the 1600 run Bollinger posted a 5:02.49 and Minooka junior Emily Shelton ran a 5:01.07, while in the 200 dash Greci had a time of 25.46 and Mathius a 26.01.
In the field events, Minooka senior Brooklyn Bachmann cleared 9-06 in the pole vault, Lockport senior Drew Litynski triple jumped 36-06 and Minooka junior Sydney Andreano threw the discus 113-07.