Hamilton, relay team place first at conference meet for Spartans

The intensity of a postseason meet is right around the corner for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ track and field team.

The Spartans got a glimpse of what to expect at their own Class 1A sectional, that SJO will host on Friday, May 10, this week at the Illini Prairie Conference Meet.

SJO placed third at the 10-team event hosted by Bloomington Central Catholic that started on Tuesday and concluded on Wednesday because of inclement weather.

Monticello won the meet with 162 points, followed by Unity (101) in second place. SJO compiled 95.5 points to finish third, while Rantoul (80), Bloomington Central Catholic (75.5), Olympia (66), St. Thomas More (42), Prairie Central (37.5), Pontiac (26.5) and Chillicothe Illinois Valley Central (4) rounded out the team standings.

Atleigh Hamilton claimed an individual conference title for the Spartans with a first-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 16 feet, 8 inches. SJO also finished first in the 1,600 relay with a time of 4 minutes, 21.12 seconds.

Ashlyn Lannert contributed a second-place finish in the 300 hurdles in 51.71. Hamilton in the 400 (1:00.76), Rylee Sjuts in the 300 hurdles (51.76), the 400 relay (52.22), the 800 relay (1:53.51), the 3,200 relay (10:36.85) and Abby Behrens in the high jump (4-10) all chipped in with third-place finishes for SJO.

The Spartans also received fourth-place showings from Payton Vallee in the discus (105-4), Hope Rajlich in the long jump (14-3) and Jenna Albrecht in the triple jump (30-1) to contribute to the overall team success.

SJO now turns its attention to its own Spartan Classic in St. Joseph, with the final regular-season meet slated to begin at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.