Alton’s LaJarvia Brown, Katie Mans, Jewell Wagner and Jersey’s Sydney Jones were area medal winners in the Class 2A and Class 3A IHSA state track and field meet at O’Brien Stadium at Eastern Illinois University.
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Brown repeated as champion in the triple jump for the second consecutive year with a leap of 41-2 in the finals, only three inches off the record of 41-5. She was sixth in the long jump (18-3) and fifth in the 300 hurdles (44.31).
Wagner was sixth in the shot put with a toss of 40-9.75; Jones placed sixth in the long jump (17-4.5) and eighth in the triple jump (36-6); and Mans, only a freshman, tied for eighth in the high jump, clearing 5-4 in the finals.
Alton was eighth place in the overall team standings with 24.5 points, the top finish ever in school history at the girls state track and field meet.
“It is an honor to place in the top 10,” Alton coach Terry Mitchell said. “I am proud of all the girls.”
For Brown to repeat champion, Mitchell said that is “special.”
“She is the kind of athlete you only see come around about once every 20 years,” he said.
Mitchell said Wagner’s finish in the shot put and Mans’ place in the high jump gives him great hope for the future for the Alton track and field team. For Wagner to finish sixth and Mans to place in a tie for eighth in that competition, it was an exceptional effort on both of their parts, the coach said.
Lincoln-Way East captured the Class 3A state championship with 51 points. Cahokia placed first for the 2A team championship with 61 points.
