Blue Devils dominate way to third sectional title in last four years

Lucht owns field events

As if being an All-State volleyball, basketball and softball player wasn't enough, Milford/Cissna Park senior Addison Lucht won the long jump, triple jump and shot put to secure one last trip to Charleston in her fourth-best sport.

She started the day with the long jump, and it didn't take her long to qualify with a leap of 17-3 1/2 .

"Getting that first mark over 5 meters always feels good. There's less stress, and you can just go for it," Lucht said. "I haven't been able to be at a lot of meets this year. The meets are honestly my practices, so getting that number felt good."

Lucht then tossed the shot put 39-8 to win another sectional title in just her third time competing in the event in high school. She won a state championship for shot put in junior high, but she's stepped away from it the last few years to focus on other events.

"I've really been wanting to do it the last couple years, and I finally got the opportunity this year," Lucht said. "I saw I could get pretty high in the sectional and state rankings, so I'm hoping to get in a good flight at state."

Her first time competing in a high school shot put competition was on April 29 at Westville's Tiger Invitational. That was a full day for Lucht. During the school day, The News-Gazette surprised her as its Female Athlete of the Year. She then traveled to Westville for a softball game, in which she walked in all four of her plate appearances, before taking another walk across Westville's campus for the track meet, where she won all three of her events.

"It was a busy day, but that's honestly a normal day in the spring," Lucht said. "Usually, I'm not able to do a meet and a game, but it worked out that they were at the same location."

Lucht's winning triple jump mark came out to 34-4 1/2 , and to top off her day, she finished second in the 100 to qualify for state in all four of her events.

"I'm really hoping to medal in all three field events, and I know I'm capable of doing it. It's just going to take a good day at state," Lucht said. "The 100 would be the cherry on top."

Storm heading to state again

While the number may not be as high as in recent years, Salt Fork is still sending a handful of girls to the state meet.

The highlight of the host school's day came in the 3,200, when junior distance specialist Callie Richardson comfortably won the race in 11:53.11. She said she's hoping to run a personal-best time at state, and she's eyeing a spot in the 1,600 state final, an event in which she placed second in 5:26.15 on Wednesday.

"My freshman year, there were two or three of us who went to state, so the last two years with a bigger group has been a lot more fun," Richardson said. "We're all really supportive of each other, and we're all good friends off the track, so it's really fun to see your friends succeed. It's good to know I have people around me going for the same goals, and it helps keep each other motivated."

While Richardson was Salt Fork's lone event winner of the day, the Storm had a number of state qualifiers. Senior Brycie Hird was one of them, finishing second in the 200 (26.47) and joining Maya Smith, Ella Cary and Scarlett Trisler in both the 400-meter relay (51.61) and 800-meter relay (1:50.85). Brylee Filicsky also took second in the discus (110-6) to advance.

"All the work we've put in this year, and we're going to get a shot at it again," Hird said. "It's just really rewarding to see all your hard work go toward a goal. It's a really cool experience. I've done it twice now with different teammates and different relay teams. It's just really fun to bring each other to Charleston. We're bringing a freshman to state, and that's really awesome to me because I didn't get to go until I was a junior."

PBL got wins from Maddison DeOrnellas in the 1,600 (5:25.17); the 1,600-meter relay of Audrey McCoy, Logan Loschen, Olivia Rehg and Hallee Johnson (4:15.59); and the 3,200-meter relay of DeOrnellas, McCoy, Ella Strebeck and Brooklyn Stafford (10:31.33). Johnson also advanced with runner-up finishes in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles with times of 16.35 and 47.45 seconds.

The final area winner came from Westville's Kaitlyn Sapp in the pole vault (7-6). Iroquois West advanced Phylicity Leonard (35-9 1/2 ) and Peyton Howe (35-5 1/4 ) in the shot put along with Audrey Griffin in the high jump (5-1 3/4 ). A-P's Ashlyn Ackerman also moved on in the high jump (4-11 3/4 ), and Schlarman's Bayleigh Smith did the same in the pole vault (6-11 3/4 ). Oakwood sent Taylor Wells to state in the 800 (2:24.38) and 1,600 (5:27.75), and G-RF's Leah Phipps punched her ticket in the 3,200 (12:34.60).