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That event is the IESA State Track and
Field competition. I go there
as a volunteer reporter for a fine online news source called the
Lincoln Daily News. A news source whose philosophy of reporting
is unlike any other that I know of and why I choose to write for
them. Their philosophy? To report local news in such a manner as to
encourage the Lincoln community and especially its young people.
That is a journalistic philosophy I can support every day.
I go there as a totally biased fan
of Lincoln athletics. There, I get to see athletes from most of
Lincoln's middle schools (with the exception of LJHS, which competes
in Class AA, and Zion Lutheran, which competes elsewhere) and I get
to anticipate the great things that lie ahead for the LCHS Railer
track and field program. I get to look forward to the near future,
when some tremendously gifted young women who currently wear
uniforms with different logos from different middle schools will
each wear Railer green and red. It's enough to make this LCHS school
board member giddy with anticipation.
I go there as one of many proud moms
and dads who, regardless of the outcome for their own child,
experience all of those feelings associated with having your child
competing with other children from all over the state of Illinois.
It's one of many days where I get to celebrate the joys and comfort
the disappointments of these little ones God has blessed us with.
It's the one day each year that I don't eat until it's all over.
I go there because so little is
written and published about all the great things this generation of
young people accomplishes. This is my small contribution to
overcoming that lack of good news. In my Lincoln Daily News
reporter role, here is what I was able to observe this past weekend
at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria.
Three medals and a great deal of
individual effort.
That would adequately describe the
results for the Class A Lincoln schools this past weekend at the
IESA State Track and Field Meet at the EastSide Centre in East
Peoria. Over 2,300 athletes participated in the event from all over
the state of Illinois.
West Lincoln-Broadwell brought home
the only hardware from the state meet, but every individual I saw
gave it their very best effort. Hilary Hobler, from West Lincoln-Broadwell,
was the only Lincoln (and as far as I can tell, Logan County)
athlete to win a medal in the girls' Class A event. Hobler jumped to
a fourth-place finish in the eighth-grade long jump with a best jump
of 15 feet, 6 inches. The jump also broke the WL-B eighth-grade long
jump record.
Hobler garnered her second state
medal in the 100-meter dash. After placing second in her preliminary
heat and making the finals with a fourth-place finish in the
semifinal heat, Hobler placed seventh in the state with an actual
time of 13.34 seconds. She also finished 25th in the 200-meter dash.
Hobler's two medals gained her WL-B
team seven total points in the team competition, which was good for
23rd place for the school overall.
 Hobler's 2005 medals bring her total
four-year WL-B career state medal count to seven. Her medal count
includes two state championships in the eighth-grade 4x100 relay
races in 2002 and 2003. The 2003 relay team from WL-B still holds
the state record at 52.8 seconds.
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 Justin Diedrich, also from West
Lincoln-Broadwell, was the only other Lincoln athlete to medal at
the state meet. And, while it was physically impossible for me to
actually cover the boys' meet, the IESA website shows that Diedrich
placed sixth in the boys' eighth-grade shot put event with a best
throw of 43 feet, 1.5 inches. Diedrich also finished 21st in the
high jump with a final jump of 5 feet, 0 inches. Congratulations,
Justin!
Kelsey Bunner (left) and Hilary Hobler
Under the category of great
individual effort, first and foremost would come the running of
Kelsey Bunner of Chester-East Lincoln. Bunner ran strong in her
preliminary race in the 100-meter dash, placing second in her heat
with an actual time of 13.41 seconds. Kelsey turned in another great
performance in her semifinal heat but was just short of qualifying
for the finals. The IESA website shows that Kelsey's final placement
in the state was 14th place.
C-EL 4x100 relay
Other great individual efforts were
turned in by the remaining Lincoln girls' qualifiers. On the
eighth-grade level the next-best results went to the C-EL 4x100 and
4x400 relay teams. Both teams brought home 16th-place finishes. The
next-best finish was also by a C-EL athlete, Nettie Duncan. Duncan
captured 28th place in the shot put with a best throw of 26 feet,
9.5 inches. Emily Berglin of C-EL finished 37th in the 400 meter and
Hannah McShane of Carroll Catholic finished 41st in the 100-meter
hurdles. The Carroll Catholic 4x100 relay team brought home 44th
place in that event.
Carroll Catholic relay team
At the seventh-grade level more
great performances were turned in by several girls. The Carroll
Catholic 4x200 relay team earned a 26th-place finish with a time of
2:03.97. Audra Krusz of Carroll Catholic also earned 34th place in
the 200-meter event. Stephanie Brown from C-EL also ran well and
finished 38th in the 400-meter race.
Audra Krusz - CC
Congratulations to everyone who
competed! You made your schools, your family and your community
proud!
Finally, since this is more than
likely my last junior high track article, I want to say "thank you"
to all the great young women and men whom it has been my privilege
to cover at this level over the last four years. You are a joy to
watch and to know. I hope the articles I have written and the
pictures I have taken have in some small way encouraged each of you.
You give me and your community hope for the future.
Keep up the great attitudes and the
great effort because, more than winning, attitude and effort count
the most!
[Rick
Hobler]
Respond to the writer at
rhobler@lccs.edu.
For complete Class A state track results on the IESA
website,
click here.
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