The 2017 3A Girls State Track and Field Meet was one of the most memorable events in the 15 seasons of Naperville Sports Weekly. Justin Cornwell takes us back to Season 10 of NSW in this Vintage Moment sponsored by BMO Harris Bank.
Naperville area schools have had so much success at both the boys and girls state track and field meets for the past several decades at both the individual and team levels. The 2017 3A girls state meet was one of the most memorable in the history of the 15 seasons of Naperville Sports Weekly.
As the tenth season of NSW entered its final weeks, the local female track and field athletes put on a show for the fans at the blue track down at Eastern Illinois University.
Metea Valley senior Courtney Morgan capped off a legenday career in black and gold. She won the state shot put championship for the third time in four years thanks to a winning heave of 46 feet-3 inches. For good measure, she also was the state runner up in the discus, and came up just four inches shy of being a double champion.
Another repeat champion was Benet Academy pole vaulter Ali Munson. The senior won the 2A state title in 2016, so to repeat as the champion while going up to class 3A was an especially impressive feat. The Redwing went back to back thanks to her vault of 12 feet-3 inches.
Naperville North had a great performance as a team that day. The team earned points in the 4X200 meter relay and took third in the 4X800 relay to kick off the track portion of the meet. Sarah Wastek earned points in the shot put, while Clarie Hamilton and Hannah Ricci finished in 4th and 8th place respectively in the 1600. Sarah Schmitt and Alex Morris then pushed the Huskies closer to a top team finish thanks to a 3rd and 5th place performance in the 3200 meters.
Sophomore Halle Bieber took home the top prize for the Huskies thanks to a first place finish in the 300 meter low hurdles. Her winning time of 43.16 seconds helped clinch the third place team trophy for Naperville North, the best finish in program history at the time.
Three different teams saw three state championship achievements, while Naperville North laid the foundation for their 2018 3A state championship performance. Certainly a day worth remembering.
