CHARLESTON — Battling to the end is something that the Danville girls track team have been doing all season.
On Saturday, they reaped the rewards from that philosophy in the best way.
The Lady Vikings had their best finish ever in the IHSA State Girls Track Meet, taking second in the Class 2A meet at O’Brien Field at Eastern Illinois University.
Junior Samantha Brown won the pole vault, while sophomore Jamia Esther won the 200 meter dash and the 400 and 800 relay teams ended up second.
“Things can go in any direction down here. You don’t know what is going to happen,” Danville coach Carl Long said. “Our kids ran well today and hats off to Burbank and Troy in the relays. Jamia tore it up in the 200 and Samantha coming in clutch in the pole vault was huge.”
In the midst of an hour’s time during the meet, Brown battled Eureka’s Reagan Bishop for the pole vault title, had to leave to take part in the 400 relay and then returned to oust Bishop in getting the final height of 3.85m.
“It has been a lot of practice. Moving down the 2A, our coaches are motivating us saying ‘If you want it, you have to fight for it,’” Brown said. “There is going to be rough patches. During Prelims, I hit the bar on my first attempt and I had to persevere and that’s what I did. Also, it helps to have some great girls to go against.
“It was a crazy hour and you have to catch your breath, but it is a blessing to be in three events today.”
“That is the type of kid she is,” Long said. “She will do whatever that is asked of her and it was a day of reward for her. It would have been nice to get that 13 footer and we will try to get that next year.”
Esther bolted out early in the 200 and was able to blast to a time of 23.86 seconds, almost a second faster than North Chicago’s Rege Cooper Smith’s 24.63. The win got the Lady Vikings past Chicago North Shore for second.
“It was good. I am always nervous, but I was super nervous because it was all up to me in getting the team a trophy,” Esther said. “We were pushing ourselves to get first place in all of the events. We got the second place finishes in the relays but that’s good enough for us.”
The 400 and 800 relay were ran by Brown, Esther, Yariah Shaw and Jhe’Nyi Parker. In both instances, the Vikings had the fastest times in the season, but 47.14 did not get past Troy Triad’s 46.87 in the 400 and 1:40 did not outlast Burbank St. Laurence’s 1:39.
“We have that finish each rep mentality. Jhy’Nyi is fast and she works hard and we know that she is going to give us a solid anchor leg and you will never have to complain about her. She is fast, competitive and she will be back,” Long said. “Yariah is a freshman here on day two and that speaks on the success that she has. She was an all-state wrestler and now part of an all-state track team, so this is a great start to her Danville Viking career.”
With no seniors and plenty of growth ahead, Long said building on this year’s success with a return to Charleston next year should be no problem.
“It would be great,” Long said. “I hope some girls will come out that want to be a part of this. We have a lot of fast kids in town and we want to continue the reputation we have put in the last couple of years and build for our future.”
In Class 1A, Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin’s Natalie Thomason ended her prep career with three finishes on the podium. She was sixth in the high jump (1.61m) and was ninth in the 100 (16.25) and 300 (46.99) hurdles.
“The high jump went well because I finished in a higher place than I did in my sophomore year,” Thomason said. “I had a lot of fun, but I was exhausted today so my times wasn’t the best. But going to state, making the finals and getting to the podium was great.”
Thomason ended a career which saw her get to the state finals all four years of her career.
“I have been fortunate and I worked very hard to come here every year,” Thomason said. “I came here for one event my freshman year, two in my sophomore year, three in my junior year and this year, four and I was able to make finals in three. I am incredible grateful in all of that.’
Salt Fork junior Callie Richardson finished in the top 15 of a crowded field in the Class 1A 3,200 meter run. Richardson finished 13th (11:49) in a event that had three flights all together on Saturday.