Ince sets IHSA State Meert Record in Class 3A 800 Meter Run

Prospect wins 3A title on final event; Epic 4x8 with Prospect winning fourth state title in a row; Double wins from Ince, Lehnen

By Michael Newman

Charleston, Ill – Exitement filled the air around 2:00 PM Saturday afternoon on the big blue oval inside O’Brien Field for the Class 3A race in the 800 Meter Run. This was the final time, final meet that Ali Ince of Normal Community would race at an Illinois State Track & Field Championship.

For four years, Ince had been chasing after the IHSA State Meet record that Courtney Clayton had set in 2013 of 2:07.05. Ince was the distance prodigy in her freshman year and missed the record by a hundredth of a second timed at 2:07.06. In the meets in this venue, she won the event two more times but did not get the record that was it seemed out of reach was in fact was.

She was no longer the prodigy but the queen of the two-lap race. Early this season indoors at the New Balance Nationals, Ince won the national title in the event. She has won the Brooks PR Invitational three times looking for a fourth in June. Ince has run 15 of the top 16 times in the state before Clayton’s time. She just did not have the time with a note saying state meet record.

As soon that the gun went off to start the race, Ince blasted into the lead in what seemed that none of the 11 other runners in the field wanted to try that pace. Ince passed 400-meters in 60.14 and was well within the pace she wanted. Isabella Domier of Grayslake Central had run 2:10.97 the day before in the prelims, was leading the pack behind Ince at 65 seconds.

Ince’s race trademark is to push the third quarter of the race from 400-meters to 600-meters. It is a section of the that some runners take a siesta and let the pace drop a little bit. Ince knew from experience that is where she would win. She passed 600-meters in 1:30.2 knowing she was on her way to a state title. Now would it be the time she had been shooting for in her high school life?

The lead was continuing to grow, the stadium at capacity rose to their feet getting louder with every step Ince too. 15-meters from the finish she knew she had the record. Ince crossed the line with her fourth 3A title in the event. Her time of 2:05.33 flashed on the scoreboard telling everyone she had the state meet record.

Ince congratulated all the runners in the race and grabbed some water. She was asked if she was glad that this was over. She nodded yes with a huge smile on her face.

Her margin of victory was an incredible seven seconds. Mia Forystek of Lincoln-Way Central got to the line in second with a 2:12.24 time. Three more runners were under 2:13 in this race with Domier (2:12.53), Emma Berres of Naperville North (2:12.92), and Annika Swan of St. Ignatius College Prep (2:12.99) finished in the next three places.

“Part of the game plan to start the year was not to run the 400 Meter Dash (which she won the past two years) but go after the state record in the 800 Meter Run,” Ince said right after the race. “You can’t negative split an 800 so I like to go out at the 60 seconds. I felt good on the backstretch. That is where you get the record. The last 200 just happens.”

Ince now has run 18 out of the top 20 times in the event for an Illinois runner. Her state record time of 2:05.33 is only the 13th fastest time she has ever run. Four state titles in that event. It is quite an accomplishment.

“I heard the crowd. My teammates were on the rail cheering for me. The support that Illinois gives me in this meet is so special,” Ince added. “The four years that I have been here. It would not have happened without the support of the running community. It is so great to be a part of that. I am kind of sad that this is my final 800 in an Ironman jersey. I am kind of glad that I got the record and that is over.”

Ince would be back on the track 90 minutes later for the 1600 Meter Run, a race where she held the meet record setting it as a freshman. Four runners were with Ince at 400-meters passing in 70 seconds along with Annika Swan, Liv Phillips of Naperville Central, Scout Storms of Barrington, and Sophia Ramirez of Washington all with her.

The pace went to 74 seconds on the second lap with Ince dropping the rest of the pack giving her a two second lead in that group. All except Swan. She said after the race she was disappointed with the way the 800 went for her. It showed that she would not let Ince get away from her.

The two runners were at 3:37 with the last lap to come. Swan was holding on. Ince finally took off with 300-meters left securing her 10 state titles. Ince was timed at 4:44.86 for the win. Swan ran a great race running 4:50.76 to finish second. Storms placed third (4:57.47) ahead of Ramirez (4:57.86), Phillips (4:58.76), and Veronica Znajda of Prospect (4:58.94).

Prospect came into the finals on Saturday with the most qualifiers out of any other 3A team. The Knights never had the team lead in the meet until the 4x400 Meter Relay where they finished fourth. That put them at the top with 53 points, winning the Class 3A title. Defending state champion Huntley played stubbornly the entire day, taking the lead, and fighting for every point as they scored 50 points to finish second. Whitney Young was within the lead the entire meet as they scored 49 points to finish third. Chatham-Glenwood (38m points), Neuqua Valley (36 points), and Naperville Central (35 points) were the next three teams. Prospect scored in 10 of 18 events, had placing teams in all four relays, along with winning just one event in the meet.

The one event besides the races that Ince was in that was the most anticipated was the Class 3A 4x800 Meter Relay. The meet record of 8:59.03 set by Wheaton-Warrenville South in 2012 was within reach for Prospect and Downers Grove North. The only time that Prospect had their four state runners together was indoors when the Knights ran 9:05 at the Mustang Relays last March. Downers Grove North ran 9:10 in that race. The Trojans at the WSC-Silver Meet three weeks ago ran 9:05 setting up this dream scenario.

Barrington had the lead into the first exchange at 2:18 with Glenbard West close in second followed by Prospect, York, and Downers Grove North.

The pace picked up during the second leg of the race. Katelyn Burns of Barrington and Veronica Znajda of Prospect broke away from the field running 2:14 splits. Sydney Hnautik of Downers Grove North ran 2:16 to keep the Trojans in contention with Glenbard West and York another two seconds behind.

The race on the third leg broke down to three teams challenging for the win. Prospect took the lead with Lily Ginsberg running a 2:13 split. Ava Gilley had Downers Grove North had her team a second behind Prospect running the fastest split of the race at 2:11.85. Barrington was within two seconds of the lead and five seconds ahead of the field.

All three runners on the final leg of the race are all underclassmen so we will see them next year. Meg Peterson ran for Prospect, Lily Eddington of Downers Grove North, and 3A State XC champion Scout Storms stayed close together until the final 100-meters of the race. There was an exciting charge for the finish with none of them letting go. Peterson had the final say getting the lead within 50 meters to the finish and powering her team to the state win.

Prospect became the first school to win the 4x800 Meter Relay for four straight years. Their time of 9:00.83 is third fastest in state meet history as well as the fastest time in the state this season. Downers Grove North ran 9:02.66 to finish second. Barrington ran 9:03.33 to finish third.

Amazingly, six schools total ran under 9:15 making this one of the fastest races in state meet history. Glenbard West ran 9:12.84 to finish fourth. York ran 9:13.69 to finish fifth. Naperville Central ran 9:14.97 to place sixth.

Ali Ince was one of the two athletes in the 3A meet to win two events. Katelyn Lehnen of Chatham-Glenwood won both the 100 Meter Dash and the 400 Meter Dash. Lehnen won the state title in the 200 Meter Dash in the rain in 2022. Lehnen did not get the best start in the 100 on Saturday. She powered through 50-meters taking the lead and took the win with a 11.69 time. Angelena Bullocks of Whitney Young ran 11.76 to finish second ahead of Mariyah Robinson of Simeon (11.97) and Zawadi Brown (12.00) of Neuqua Valley.

Lehnen’s strength showed in the 400 Meter Dash. She was with Robinson coming out of the final curve and had the lead with 70-meters left. Lehnen ran a personal best and the fastest time in the state (54.81) with Robinson finishing second (55.88). Caroline Martinez of Warren (56.53) and Alaina Steele of Lincoln-Way East) were both under 57-seconds third and fourth.

It was appropriate that defending champion Zawadi Brown was one of the favorites in this race. This would be the final high school race and her final track race. Brown will be attending Vanderbilt University. She loves track but has a passion for LaCrosse which she has played while at Neuqua Valley and will be playing in college. Brown had the lead off the final curve and picked her pace up the final 50-meters. Brown 23.71 to win her final race. Bullocks finished second (23.98), Robinson finished third (24.10), and Lehnen placed fourth (24.37). It was a personal best for Brown and a state championship for the final time running on a track. What a way to finish.

It was a two-runner race as soon as the 3200 Meter Run started. Liv Phillips of Naperville Central and Mia Sirois of Barrington. Phillips and Sirios passed through the first 1600 in 5:13 ahead of the rest of the field by 14 seconds. Sirois took control of the race in the final two laps having a two second lead with 800-meters and a nine second advantage entering the final lap. Sirois ran negative splits (5:13-5:06) to run 10:19.29 to win a state title. Phillips ran 10:34.27 to finish second with Delilah Helenhouse of Benet Academy (10:47.93) and Julie Piot of Naperville North (10:52.10) finishing third and fourth. Maya Ledesma of Minooka ran 10:53.48 to win the first section of the event and ended up finishing fifth overall.

The times were fast in all three relays that were contested in the finals. Huntley ran 46.60 for their best time of the year and for a state title ahead of pre-race favorite Whitney Young (46.67). Plainfield North ran a season’s best of 47.04 to finish third ahead of Belleville East (47.47) and York (47.51).

The 4x200 Meter Relay was also hot and won by Huntley. The Red Raiders won their second relay title in this meet with a season’s best of 1:38.14 for the state title. Two other teams were also 1:39 with Belleville East (1:38.62) and Prospect (1:38.95) finishing second and third. Two more teams were under 1:40 with Neuqua Valley (1:39.20) and Whitney Young (1:39.60) placing fourth and fifth.

The final lap of the 4x400 Meter Relay had prelim leader Lincoln-Way East with the advantage by two seconds ahead of Normal Community. Ali Ince made up the two second gap on East’s Alexa Steele heading into the final curve. Steele, who finished fourth earlier in the 400 Meter Dash, held off attempts in the final meters. Ince made one more surge but ran out of real estate. Lincoln-Way East claimed the state title (3:50.73) behind Steele’s 56.4 split. Normal Community ran 3:50/80 with Ince running a 54.4 split. Whitney Young (3:53.92), Prospect (3:55.58), and New Trier (3:55.68) all finished in the top five.

It was a two-athlete race in the 100 Meter Hurdles, but Daisha Brunson of Conant had the big edge. Brunson, who was the defending champion in the event, ran 13.81 to win the title with a tailwind just over the 2.0 allowable (2.4 m/s). Sophie Amin of Huntley 14.13 to finish second with Mauricia Harris of Thornwood and Adeline Draper finishing third and fourth. Both runners were timed at 14.47 separated by six thousandths of a second. Breasia Mims of Homewood-Flossmoor ran 14.49 to finish fifth.

Aisha Kazeem of Palatine ran in the finals last year finishing second. The junior took one step up to win the 300 Meter Hurdles with a personal best of 42.91. Amina Hadziahmetovic of Prospect had a great season that culminated with a 43.41 time to finish second. Kyra Hayden of Lincoln-Way East ran 43.81 to finish third.

It was a great meet for Brooke Sawatzky of Naperville Central in both horizontal jumps. Sawatzky surprised some by taking the lead in the prelims with a 18-8 best to take the lead. She fouled twice in Saturday’s final, but the rest of the field could not catch her. Sawatzky captured the state title with Olivia Dalson of Neuqua Valley (18-7) and Dominique Johnson of Huntley (18-5.25) finishing second and third.

Defending champion Dominique Johnson was the big favorite in the Triple Jump and that showed as she jumped 40-2.25 to take a commanding lead. She did not take her final four attempts. The hot jumper of the weekend Brooke Sawatzky. The senior was in sixth place before her final attempt. She jumped 39-10.50 on her final attempt into a 1.7 m/s headwind. Courtney Burt of Whitney Young and Gabi Karvelis of Neuqua Valley both jumped 38-8.75 with Burt finishing third on a better second jump.

Zariah Burnett of Rockford Guilford cleared 5-7.75 on her second attempt while Jordan Dimke of Rockton Hononegah cleared the same height on her third attempt. The two NIC-10 rivals finished first and second with Burnett winning on fewer misses. Baelyn Zitzmann of Lake Zurich and Kaylee Meyer of Schaumburg finished third and fourth, both clearing 5-6.50.

Reese Wolfe of Chatham-Glenwood surprised some fans clearing 12-5.50 along with Chelsea Wetzel of Dunlap. Wolfe won the state title on fewer misses. McKena Miglorini of Lockport, Elaine Paul of York, and Claudia Ifft of Bloomington all cleared 12-1.50 to finish third through fifth.

Jaloni Wiley of Homewood-Flossmoor had the win in the Shot Put on her opening attempt of 43-1.75. No other athletes could touch her in this event, winning the state title by close to a foot. Emily Sykes of Granite City (42-4.25) and Roisin Grandberry of Rolling Meadows (42-0.50) finished second and third.

Joi Story of Edwardsville was the leader through most of the Discus competition. The sophomore threw 139-1 to claim the state title more than six feet ahead of Micah Jackson of Homewood-Flossmoor (133-0). Emily Sykes claimed her second medal of the meet throwing 130-11 to finish third. Adeline Wind of Prospect threw 129-1 to place fourth.