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CHARLESTON – For Lorie Cashdollar, Katie Mans, Jayden Ulrich and Kelly Pottorff, the dream of a state championship is still alive.
Edwardsville's Cashdollar, Alton's Mans, East Alton-Wood River's Ulrich and Triad's Pottorff all reached Saturday's finals in their respective events Friday in qualifying sessions of the IHSA Class 2A and 3A Girls Track and Field Championships state meet at Eastern Illinois' O'Brien Field. The finals in all events are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. today at O'Brien, with Class 1A finals taking place first, followed by Class 2A and 3A.
Cashdollar's performance in reaching the 800-meter final was certainly a record-maker for the Tigers; she qualified for the final with a time of 2:15.89, topping the school record for the event of Juleigh Miller that had stood for 34 years; Miller had covered the distance in 2:16.3 in 1984.
“I'm very happy and excited for her,” said Tiger coach Camilla Eberlin. “She's done very well for us since she's been here and has put in all the hard work to get to where she is.”
Cashdollar was the only Tiger to reach Saturday's finals, but Eberlin was proud of all the Tigers who made it to the state meet. “I'm proud of everyone who's made it here,” Eberlin said.
For Ulrich, the EAWR freshman uncorked a toss of 41-4.75 to reach Saturdays' final. “She's third among those who qualified,” said Oiler coach Russ Colona. “That was a (personal record) for her and that was the best time to do that in; I'm really proud of what she's done.
“She's had a career year and she's only a freshman.”
Mans was the only Redbird to advance to the finals; Laila McNeal had a 16-10.75 leap in the long jump in her flight, while the 4x100 relay team of Rashia Johnson, McNeal, Jeanea Epps and Alleyah Tuggle finished fourth in their heat with a clocking of 48.38 seconds while Epps had a time of 12.74 seconds in the 100 meters, good for seventh in her heat.
For the Tigers, Cashdollar was the only one to reach Saturday's competition; the 4x800 relay team of Jaydi Swanson, Abby Korak, Maddie Miller and Melissa Spencer took third in their heat with a time of 9:25.25, while the 4x400 team of Cashdollar, Swanson, Elise Krone and Rachel Kubicek took sixth in their heat in 4:03.89, Quierra Love was seventh in her heat of the 200 meters in 26.33 seconds and Korak was 11th in her 1600-meters heat in 5:11.54. Granite City's Toni Rush did not reach Saturday's finals in the 100 and 200 meters, taking third in her 100 heat in 12.41 seconds and fifth in her 200 heat in 25.77 seconds.
Ulrich was the only Oiler representative in the Class 2A meet, while Triad's Pottorff reached the finals in both the shot put (39-6.5, good for fifth in her flight) and discus throw (110-6, good for seventh in her flight). The Knights' Denise D'Antonio took fifth in her flight of the triple jump with a leap of 31-4, while the 4x800 relay team of Sydney Hartoin, Alyssa Kowalski, Haley Jackson and Maddie Keller finished fifth in their heat at 10:11.62; the 4x100 relay team of Faith Grapperhaus, Alexa Seger, Isabel Averill and Kyleigh Barton were fifth in their heat in 50.24 seconds; the 4x200 relay team of Grapperhaus, Bailey Grigg, Savannah Viviano and Barton took fifth in their heat in 1:47.30; and Keller was ninth in her heat of the 1600 meters in 5:29.57.
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