CHICAGO MARIST TRACK AND FIELD

On Friday, May 11, 2007, the Northside Varsity Women traveled to Buffalo Grove High School for the 2007 IHSA Sectionals. The meet featured Hersey, Buffalo Grove, CICS, Northside College Prep, St. Scholastica, Von Steuben, Glenbrook South, Glenbrook North, Niles North, Wheeling, Regina Dominican, St. Viator, Amundsen, Mather, Senn, Sullivan, Evanston, Prospect, Palatine, Niles West, Loyola Academy, and New Trier. The Top two finishers in every event automatically qualify for the State Championships. In addition, athletes also qualify for the State Championships by hitting the automatic qualifying standard. In the Triple Jump, Maria Torres BROKE THE SCHOOL RECORD with a personal best jump of 35'2.5 to place fourth overall. Torres was within 0'3.5 of the automatic qualifying standard. In the 100m Dash, Kaitlin Renkosiak ran a personal best time of 14.40. Amy Perez also ran a personal best time of 14.50 In the 100m Hurdles, Captain Kelly Varney BROKE THE SCHOOL RECORD with a personal best time of 18.40. In the 200m Dash, Junior Kelly Varney BROKE THE SCHOOL RECORD with a personal best time of 27.80. In the 3200m run, Ani Zotti ran a personal best time of 12:36 (6:08/6:28). Carmen Abelson ran a personal best time of 12:55 (6:10/6:45). In the 4x800m Relay, the Mustangs BROKE THE SCHOOL RECORD by 8 seconds!, with a time of 10:34. On the first leg of the 4x800m relay, Senior Mary Shelus ran a 2:34.00 800m split, and made a nice exchange to Julie Bujnowski. Senior Julie Bujnowski ran a 2:42.40 800m split on the second leg of the relay. Junior Rachel Kittaka ran a 2:43.60 800m split on the third leg of the relay. Sophomore Anna Parks passed Niles West, and anchored the relay to seventh place, with a 2:34.00 800m split, for a total time of 10:34. In the 4x100m Relay, Jennifer Kane, Amy Perez, Adaora Achufusi, and Natalie Hanigan combined for a time of 55.35. In the 800m run, Senior Mary Shelus BROKE THE SCHOOL RECORD with a time of 2:30.70. Sophomore Anna Parks ran a time of 2:35.32. In the 4x200m Relay, Natalie Hanigan ran a 29.74 200m split on the first leg of the relay. Jennifer Kane ran a 30.17 200m split on the second leg of the relay. Adaora Achufusi ran a 29.65 200m split on the third leg of the Relay. Sophomore Maria Torres anchored the Mustangs with a 28.04 200m split, for a NEW SCHOOL RECORD of 1:55.60!!! In the 400m Dash, Freshman Bessie Nolan ran an outstanding time of 70.61. Freshman Karen Li won her heat with a time of 71.27. In the 300m Hurdles, Senior Amy Perez BROKE THE SCHOOL RECORD in the final race of her high school career with a personal best time of 53.10. Maria Zdunek ran an outstanding time of 59.50. In the Mile, Palatine Sophomore Tory Wright (daughter of Kevin Wright (Coach Gordon's former High School Coach), dropped six seconds off her PR, and placed second overall with a personal best time of 5:13 to qualify for the State Championships! Kevin Wright retired from coaching when his daughter entered high school, so he could attend all of her meets, and be a part of her high school Track experience, and Friday night was a special night for the Wright family. Northside Captain Rachel Kittaka ran a pure guts race in the mile and went for it from the start. Kittaka's determination and mental toughness was outstanding. Kittaka went through 400m in 76 seconds (a 5:04 mile pace), and was at 2:45 through 800m (within 2 seconds of her 800m PR!), and was at 4:16 through 1200m. Kittaka struggled to maintain her running form in the final 400m, and her arms had a "swimming motion", causing her to lose speed, as she pushed to the finish with an outstanding time of 5:48 (2:45/3:03). Rachel Kittaka ran an awesome race, and her effort to qualify in the mile was second to none. Northside Sophomore Ani Zotti, had a slice of pizza prior to the Mile, and the extra carbohydrates surprisingly had a positive effect. Zotti went through 400m in 84 seconds, and was at 2:55 through 800m, and was at 4:27 through 1200m. Zotti ran the final 400m in 90 seconds for a personal best time of 5:57 (2:55/3:02). In the 4x400m Relay, a record, FIVE Schools qualified for the State Championships by running under the automatic qualifying time of 4:07.50. However, the Mustangs were unable to duplicate there performance at City Championships (4:16). Senior Mary Shelus ran a 64.67 400m split on the first leg of the relay. Senior Julie Bujnowski ran a 64.00 400m split on the second leg of the relay. Sophomore Adaora Achufusi ran a 65.33 400m split on the third leg of the relay. Sophomore Anna Parks ran a 65.24 400m split to anchor the Mustangs to a time of 4:19.24. The 2007 Northside Womens Track & Field Team is the greatest Track Team in the history of Northside College Prep. They broke every school record in the book except for Long Jump, 3200m run, and the Sprint Medley Relay. They won the Presidents Day Invitational, UC-High Classic, and the Lane Tech Relays, had the highest finish in Northside History at City Championships on all levels, sent 5 athletes to the Indoor State Championships, and broke 7 schools records at the IHSA State Sectionals. The Team will be honored at a Team Banquet on Saturday, June 2, 2007, from 6 pm to 9 pm, complete with a Buffet Style Dinner.