Edwardsville girls’ track coach MiKala Thompkins constantly preaches the importance of being a team and togetherness. On Monday in the Belleville West Invitational, the teamwork paid off with a first place overall finish.
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Edwardsville scored 105 points, followed by Belleville East with 104 points. O’Fallon was third with 83.5 points, Triad had 75.5 points and Alton and Freeburg each posted 65 points.
“I am happy to see the girls come together and step up to the plate today and compete to their true potential,” Thompkins said. “We definitely encourage the idea of sisterhood and we tell them to look out for each other first. The team concept is definitely something we live by.”
Edwardsville had three first place finishes, starting with the 4 x 800 relay in 10:00.1. The team consisted of sophomore Bailey McGuire, junior Danielle Bohanon, sophomore Victoria Veagher and freshman Lorie Cashdollar.
Thomkins said the 4 x 800 win was “huge” for her team.
“They set a season (personal record) and I was excited to get those girls together on top,” Thomkins said.
Senior distance runner Lizzy Lynn was first in the 3,200 meters in a time of 11:57.
“Lizzy had a huge lead,” Thomkins said. “She has been striving and pacing against the clock.”
Edwardsville’s Autumn Harris won the 100 hurdles in 15.32, a personal best for her.
“Autumn ran a very strong race,” Thomkins said. “She is blowing us away in her first year of high school track. She hasn’t run since eighth grade and it has been exiting to get a hold of her and watch her grow in such a short time.”
Julianna Determan was third in the 3,200 meters and Tatiania Perry clipped off a 26.8 in the 200 for fourth place, drawing attention from Thompkins. Another strong performance for the Tigers was Gabriella Romano’s second place in the pole vault (8-0).
Cashdollar continued her excellent performances with a second place in the 400 with a time of 1:02.3 and a 61.9 split in her leg of the 4 x 400 relay.
Edwardsville travels to the Spartan Invitational at Springfield Southeast Saturday. Wednesday, Edwardsville’s girls travel to the Alton Freshman-Sophomore Invitational.
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