Records are meant to be broken and the Lady Tigers Track and Field Team did just that on May 1, 2024. They became conference champions for the third year in a row at the River to River Conference in Pinckneyville. This also marked the ninth conference title achieved out of the eleven previous years of HHS competition in the conference.
They faced off against both sides of the River-To-River Conference, 10 teams total, including competitors such as Murphysboro (an old rival) and Carterville (who, according to Coach Apgar, gave a surprising show of force). Most of the team went to the conference and the team competed in eighteen different events.
Contributing to this win were 19 first through third-place medals (including a tie for second) in running events with varying lengths of racing, relaying, and dashing. They also competed in many field events, such as pole vault and shot put, as well as jumps like triple jump, long jump, and high jump. In the end, they won the conference with 185 points.
The day of the conference began with Herrin warming up before they cheered on some others.
“You have to be okay with failure and not always performing as well as you want to,” says Ellary Blakey (11). At conference, she placed first in the 800-meter run. “I know I’m a big part of the team and they expected me to get a lot of points. Going into it, us and Murphy were only six points off.”
Even though the initial scores were close, Herrin triumphed with 185 points. This easily put them ahead of the closest competitor, Murphysboro (166 points).
“The most difficult part about this was having to run the 3200m run in 90-degree heat,” says Piper Price (12). “I have become much stronger mentally and physically throughout the years,” she continues.
Seeing them push through this heat, Coach Mallow boasted on “the perseverance and will to succeed.”
Kami Ashmore (12) explained: “The most difficult part has to be the mental part, once you know the pressure you’re under, it’s hard to not get in your head.”
For instance, Janiyah Harrison (12) placed second in the 300-meter hurdles, which she just began this year.
“It honestly was an amazing experience knowing throughout most of my high school career I had the opportunity to be a part of one of the best teams and get to know a few great coaches,” says McKayla Kerrigan (12).
Then the HHS Girls’ Track and Field Team went to Sections on May 9, at Salmen. There, Ellary Blakey (11), Karli Mann (12), and Aeryn John (9) qualified for state. Ellary qualified in the 800 meter run and the 1600 meter run. Karli qualified in triple jump. Aeryn qualified in shot put. IHSA State will last from the sixteenth to the seventeenth of May at Eastern Illinois University.
