Blackhawks repeat as DVC indoor champs

WHEATON -- There was a time, not so long ago, when West Aurora's girls track and field team would struggle to finish in the top half of the DuPage Valley Conference.

But after Friday night's performance at the DVC indoor meet at Wheaton North, there is no longer doubt that the Blackhawks are back on the map.

Naperville North's Kara Kolany clears the bar Friday while pole vaulting in the DuPage Valley Conference Invitational indoor meet at Wheaton North.
(Mary Beth Nolan/For Sun-Times Media)

(From left) Naperville Central's Katie Battle, West Aurora's Kristen Holmes and Glenbard North's Canethia Walls run the preliminary heat of the 55-meter dash Friday at the DuPage Valley Conference indoor meet. mary beth nolan / For the beacon-news

West Aurora's Jasmine Ranson competes during the high jump Friday at the DuPage Valley Conference indoor meet. Ranson placed second in the event.
Mary beth nolan / for the beacon-news

• DuPage invitational track meet

Last year, West swept both the indoor and outdoor conference crowns, the first two in school history. And Friday the Blackhawks announced that they were here to stay by breezing to the indoor DVC crown with 101 points, 30.5 points ahead of second-place Wheaton Warrenville South. Naperville North took fourth with 50.5 points and Naperville Central was seventh with 44.5.

"This just tells us that we're still growing," West Aurora coach Theresa Towles said. "I knew we had some girls coming in this year that would be able to jump in and help us. We are really deep."

West had the rest of the conference playing catchup from the beginning, as the Blackhawks dominated the field events to step out to a commanding early lead. Leading the way, as usual, was senior Shanice Andrews. She won the triple jump by over a foot (36-11.25) and followed that up with a 17-6 in the long jump to easily take that title.

Junior Jasmine Ranson had a big day as well. She placed second in both the triple jump (35-9.34) and the high jump (5-3).

"That is definitely our strength," Towles said. "I told Shanice coming into this year that I really needed her to be my key person. She was a little bit laid back, and I needed her to step up. Same thing with Jasmine. Shanice and Jasmine are always in competition with each other and really and always pushing each other to be the best."

The duo did it on the track as well. Andrews won the 55 hurdles (8.1) and placed second in the 400 meters (1:02.5). Ranson ran the anchor leg as the Blackhawks captured the 4 x 200 relay in 1:49.4.

Naperville Central sophomore Amanda Fox broke a 10-year DVC indoor record by winning the 3,200 meters in 11:05.4. That time shattered the former record of 11:14.1, which was set by Wheaton North's Rachel Endress in 2000.

"I went out in the first mile in the time that I wanted to, and my goal was to keep it for the second mile and not slow down. And I was really close, so I was excited about that," Fox said.

Central pole vaulter Caley Faulkner is coming along well from the broken leg she suffered in gymnastics back in January, taking the competition with an 11-0. She took three cracks at 11-6, which would have been a new PR, but came up just short.

"I thought today was the day, but I was just a little short," Faulkner said. "I'm still trying to recover from (the broken leg). I'm still not 100 percent, but hopefully I can get it outdoors."

Naperville North's Jamie Schertz started slowly in the 1,600 meters but kicked it into gear during the fourth lap and held on to win in 5:22.3, the Huskies' lone champion of the meet and a new PR.

"I was going to go out there and just see what happened, I didn't really plan anything going into the race," Schertz said. "It started out pretty fast. I wasn't close to the lead at all when I started. After three laps, I decided to go help my teammate (Anne Herbert) while she was in the lead."