On top of the world
CHARLESTON - For a pair of area seniors, Saturday’s state track finals on the campus of Eastern Illinois University culminated with the ultimate award — a state title.
When the results were tallied, Princeton’s Alyssa Donner and Hall’s Kendall Rush stood atop the podium as the IHSA 1A champions in the pole vault and triple jump. The triumphs come on the heels of the duo’s indoor state titles won in the same events at the Peoria Top Times track meet earlier this spring.
Donner set a new personal record, clearing 10-10 in the pole vault as she soared over the 1A competitors to claim the state title.
“Coming in here and winning is a dream of mine, and I’m so happy it came true,” said an emotional Donner.
While winning the state title was a goal of Donner’s, who entered Saturday’s finals as the favorite to win, she says that setting a new personal record was also something she was shooting for.
Donners says when Rochester’s Erica Bertrand failed to clear 10-6 and the state title was hers, that her father, Bureau Valley track coach Dale Donner, and Princeton assistant Lew Flinn, the 1955 vault champion for PHS, reminded her that she still had some unfinished business.
“They told me ‘congratulations, now go get your record’,” Donner said. “They said I came here to win, but that’s not the only thing I came for, I came to get my own personal record.”
Donner becomes Princeton’s second ever state champ, with the first being Rebekah Faber who won the 1600 in 2003.
Rush entered Saturday’s finals of the triple jump with a comfortable cushion, having already posted an IHSA class A state record jump of 39-3 1/4 in Thursday’s prelims. Rush was not able to duplicate her record-setting mark with her three finals jumps, the best of which measured in at 37-10, but neither were any of her competitors. Breese Central’s Jena Hemann came the closest, but her top jump of 38-1 ½ was more than a foot less than Rush’s colossal leap posted on Thursday.
“It’s a lot to take in,” said Rush. “I just remember last year staring at the first place and wanting to be up on that so bad, and looking up to Leah Orley (last year’s winner), and the fact that I jumped farther than she did last year, I would have never imagined it.”
Rush said that she has come a long way since taking up the triple jump.
“I owe it all to coach (Nick) Hanck, because I wasn’t even going to do triple jump, I just did it because I didn’t want to run,” Rush said. “I started off with no form. Coach Hanck taught me everything, I didn’t even know what the triple jump was my freshman year, I had no form whatsoever and he worked with me a lot, and spent a lot of his time on that.
Along with her first-place finish in the triple jump, Rush also added a sixth-place medal in the long jump, with a top leap of 17-9.
“It’s awesome,” said Rush, who will continue her jumping career at Illinois State. “It helps me prepare for college, and I hope that I can compete.”
Bureau Valley junior Melanie Thompson earned a fifth-place finish in the shot put, with a top heave of 39-1 3/4.
“I’m very happy with fifth, anybody would be happy with better, but I’m happy with fifth,” said Thompson, adding that her top throw was the second best she had all spring. She says that the state experience was “amazing” and hopes to make a return appearance to state next spring as a senior.
“Definitely, I’m hoping to place in the top three next year,” Thompson said, “I can’t wait for next year.
Amboy/LaMoille’s Alyssa Hops also medaled in the shot put, earning an eighth-place finish with a throw of 38-3.
“I wish I would of got on the box (with a sixth-place finish), said Hopps, but I’m happy with where I was.
“I wasn’t feeling really good about my throws, Thursday I was, but it’s over and I got eighth, and I’m happy.”
Princeton junior Sara Maynard had a top jump of 17-5 1/4 to earn an eighth-place finish in the long jump. Maynard was also in the triple-jump finals, but her top effort of 35-6 left her out of medal contention. Nursing an injury to her leg she sustained during Thursday’s triple jump prelims, Maynard said she was a bit dissatisfied with her results, and was looking ahead to a better finish next year.
St. Bede freshman Kayla MacDavitt cleared 5-2 but missed on her attempts to make it over the bar at 5-4, as she earned a 13th-place state finish. MacDavitt set a personal best during Thursday’s qualifying when she made a jump of 5-3.
“Initially when she qualified as a freshman I thought it was a great opportunity,” said St. Bede coach Mike Skoflanc,
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