Heineman girls track enjoys much success
HUNTLEY — The Huntley High School girls track and field program, home of the Class 3A State Champions, will likely enjoy a strong future.
The Heineman Middle School squad achieved one state champion and three other state place winners at the Illinois Elementary School Association(IESA)State Track and Field Meet May 19-20.
Heineman eighth grader Elena Fetzer won the girls shot put championship. Also, two relay teams placed as the seventh grade 4×100 meter relay quartet of Mia Habel, Reagan Ellis, Riley Galanis and Mayla Wade was seventh. The seventh grade 4×400-meter relay squad of Chelsea Straus, Lelia Useini, Jordyn Slaughter and Wade was eighth. Wade ended seventh in the 400-meter run.
Fetzer returned home from the middle school state track and field meet, held at East Peoria, as the best in the Class 4A shot put throwers at 34-feet.
“Her throw of 34-feet broke the record set last year by three feet, so Fetzer is now the Class 4A 8th Grade Girls Shot Put record holder,” Hawks head coach Katy McCrystal said.
Fetzer bettered her effort at last year’s state meet but had an obstacle to overcome this spring.
“Last year as a seventh grader, she placed third at the state meet, with a throw of 28-feet, 2.75 inches,” McCrystal said. “Throughout the season, Fetzer was dealing with a knee injury, so our goal was to keep her as healthy a possible to be ready for the state competition. At the Fox Valley Conference meet on May 15, Fetzer threw 36-feet to break the conference record and the Heineman school record that has been in place since 2011. At that meet, we knew she was peaking at the right moment and was ready to take on the competition at the state meet.”
McCrystal described the approach for middle school track and field.
“For the 2023 track and field season, we had 80 girls (sixth, seventh and eighth grade), join the Heineman team for the season,” McCrystal said. “Since having our seasons canceled due to COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, we have been building our team back to what it was pre-COVID. We were extremely excited to have 80 girls join this season. Our goals going into the season is for our girls to gain a love for the sport and to find their niche in running and field events. We want the girls to learn the fundamentals of each event, so they come back next year focused in on events they want to excel in. For our eighth graders, we want them to gain skills that they can carry with them to the high school level.”
Wade concluded the 400-meter run with a time of 1:02.87 for seventh. “Wade just started running the open 400 meters late in the season and was seeded 11th for the state meet,” McCrystal said. “She took two seconds off her sectional time to run a PR and move up in her seeding to medal at the state meet.”
The seventh grade 4×100-meter relay’s 53:41 seconds effort earned a fourth place medal. The group was Habel, Ellis, Galanis and Wade with Amber Zaba attending as an alternate. “This group of girls ran undefeated all season. They were seeded ninth for the state meet and we were extremely excited to see them run so well to move up in the seeding to place fourth overall,” McCrystal said.
The other state place winner was the seventh grade girls 4×400-meter relay team of Straus, Slaughter, Wade and Useini and alternate Mia Habel which ended in eighth place at 4:29.92. “They were seeded 10th for the state meet and we knew it would be a long shot for them to medal,” McCrystal said. “Every girl ran a fantastic leg of the relay to move up to place eighth overall,” McCrystal said.
Seventh grader Evie Freundt competed at state as she was 12th in the shot put with a throw of 27-feet, 4 inches, but did not place.
“With her throw at the meet, Freundt did not medal but she moved up in her seeding. We are extremely excited for the success Freundt has had this season and can’t wait to see what she can do next year,” McCrystal said.
