Petro leads Mahomet-Seymour in Class 4A Mount Zion Sectional

By Fred Kroner

Kendyl Petro was a double winner for Mahomet-Seymour in the eighth-grade division of the Mount Zion Class 4A girls’ track and field sectional meet on Saturday (May 15).

Petro was dominant in the shot put  (26 feet, 6 ½ inches) and the discus (84 feet, 8 inches).

In both events, teammate Maddie Logsdon was third. Logsdon had a best of 25 feet, 4 ½ inches in the shot put and 80 feet, 2 ½ inches in the discus.

The shot and discus were two of six events where M-S produced double placers.

In the pole vault, Kelsie Fuoss was third (7 feet, 6 inches) and teammate Phoebe Truax was sixth (6 feet, 6 inches).

In other years, Petro would have advanced to state in both of her events and Fuoss would have been a qualifier in the pole vault. However, the IESA determined months ago that the COVID-19 season would end with the sectionals.

In the 400 meters, Anniston Huff was third (1:09.04) and Emma Busch was sixth (1:13.25).

In the 800 meters, Emma Frazier was fourth (2:46.99) and Morgan Waisath was eighth (2:54.03).

In the 1,600 meters, Chloe Bundren was fourth (5:56.40) and M-S’ Ava Jansen was sixth (6:16.49).

Other M-S individual eighth-grade placers were: Brenna Graddy (second in the high jump, 4 feet, 4 inches); Logsdon (third in the 100 hurdles, 19.31 seconds), Truax (third in the 200 meters, 29.65 seconds) and Kara Carney (fifth in the long jump, 13 feet, 4 inches).

The Bulldogs had three relay teams secure top-four finishes.

The 800-meter foursome of Carney, Fuoss, Graddy and Truax took third in 1:59.93.

Also finishing in third was the 1,600-meter unit of Jansen, Bundren, Carney and Huff. Their combined time was 4:41.86.

The school’s 400-meer entry ended in fourth place. Teaming up on the relay were Grace Binkley, Logsdon, Gabby Reeves and Kylyn Ross. Their time was 59.39 seconds.

In the tight three-way race for team supremacy, Mount Zion placed first (104 points), followed by Effingham (98 points) and M-S (93 points).

The M-S seventh-grade team had one individual IESA sectional champion along with two first-place relay teams.

M-S was the runner-up in the 11-school sectional field with 73 points. First-place Mount Zion amassed 138 points. Effingham was third with 41 points.

Sixth-grader Hannah Martin beat all pursuers in the 800-meter dash. Her time was 2 minutes, 39.38 seconds. Teammate Ella Walk placed third in 2:46.05.

Three girls were members of each of the sectional championship relay teams.

The 800-meter unit featured Haley Reed, Paislee Welge, Madalyn Marx and Camryn Nelson. Their combined time was 1:58.69.

The 1,600-meter relay included Hadley Grotelueschen along with Reed, Welge and Marx. The final time was 4:32.06.

Typically, Martin and the two relays would have qualified for the state meet with their victories. However, the state meet was canceled for this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Besides the 800 meters, the Bulldogs had double placers in three other individual events.

Nelson captured third in the 100-meter hurdles (20.02 seconds) while Walk was fourth (20.04 seconds).

In the 1,600-meter race, Grotelueschen was third (5:54.47) and Taylor Mills took fourth (6:01.46).

In the 200 meters, Marx ended in fourth place (28.33 seconds) and Welge placed eighth (29.70 seconds).

Other individual placers for M-S were Martin (fourth in the high jump, 4 feet, 4 inches); Reed (fifth in the long jump, 12 feet, 7 inches); Gabriella Perricone (fifth in the discus 58 feet, 2 ½ inches) and Kimberly Schoonover (sixth in the 100 meters, 14.39 seconds).

The Bulldogs’ also scored points with their 400-meter relay. The grouping of Brooklyn Dyer, Isabel Lietz, Schoonover and Ella Ylagan placed fourth in 1:00.81.

M-S assistant coach Jama Grotelueschen said this was a season that few who were involved will ever forget.

“In a season where less than a third of our team had ever participated in track due to last season being cancelled, the coaches saw such tremendous growth in all of our athletes,” Grotelueschen said. “This unusual year saw us beginning our season in a hybrid practice model to limit our participant numbers, competing in our first meet fully masked, alternating lanes in our sprint event for social distancing, and only competing in small meets with one or two other teams.

“As our season progressed restrictions eased and our season began to feel more like a typical one. Throughout all of this, our athletes responded well, grew as competitors, and demonstrated that the future of Mahomet-Seymour track and field is bright.

“The Mahomet-Seymour girls’ track and field team had a successful end to their season at the Mount Zion 4A Sectional.”