The Lady Leaf track and field team didn’t let strong winds and cold temps stop them from battling for a spot in the IHSA State Finals as Geneseo had seven athletes in four events qualify for state from the May 16 Rock Island Sectional.

Geneseo’s 4x800-meter relay team of Amy Cosgrove, Betsy Winberry, Danielle Dewey and Joann Chenoweth placed fourth with a qualifying time of 10 minutes and 6.16 seconds to move on to the state meet.

Amanda Egan captured third in the discus throw with a final mark of 113-06 to qualify, while Jessie DeFauw took third in the high jump with a final height of 5-1 to advance. Megan Wyffels also nabbed third place in the pole vault, clearing the bar at 10-0 to qualify for the state finals.

The Lady Leafs had several other athletes just miss qualifying marks on Saturday as the squad finished the day tied for fifth place with Alleman.

“The performances of our qualifiers we were really proud of, but we also had a lot of other successes that didn’t even go,” said head coach Phil Paulson. “Veronica Juchcinski and  Andrea Kastorff both had tremendous performances in the triple jump and the 4x100-m relay just got edged out in a heartbreaker.”

Stephanie Kennett placed third in the 3200-m run in 11:59.51, followed by Kaci Storm in the 300-m hurdles in 48.02.

The 4x100-m relay of Jade Collins, Sally Hamer, Tess Hamer and Kaci Storm took fifth place with a time of 51.30. The 4x400-m relay of Kaci Storm, Sally Hamer, Chenoweth and Tess Hamer finished in sixth place at 4:16.16.

“The girls did perform real inspired, starting in the field events with Egan in the discus, Jessie DeFauw, high jump and Wyffels, pole vault they really set the tone for the rest of the meet,” said Paulson. “We had a lot of PRs.”

Tess Hamer took sixth in the 100-m hurdles in 17.30 and fifth in the 400-m dash with a time of 1:02.96.

Chenoweth came in eighth in the 800-m run in 2:35.27, while the 4x200-m relay of Collins, Sally Hamer, Jacque DeFauw and Megan Ficken finished ninth in 1:57.78.

In the 1600-m run, Dewey placed ninth in 5:43.51, while Cosgrove came in 19th at 6:13.71.
Veronica Juchcinski took 15th in the long jump with a final mark of 14-10 1/2, while Andrea Kastorff came in 21st at 11-6 3/4. Juchcinski also took seventh in the triple jump with a leap of 34-0, while Kastorff finished 13th at 31-6 3/4.

In the shot put, Egan placed fifth with a throw of 35-11 14, followed by Sarah Ward in sixth at 35-6 3/4. Nicole Adams finished the discus throw in sixth place at 105-09.

Jacque DeFauw placed seventh in the high jump, clearing 4-11, while Darrian Hartman took 10th in the pole vault at 7-6.

The Lady Leafs will compete at the IHSA State Finals this weekend May 22-23 on the campus of Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

“The last two weekends I couldn’t be prouder, they go above and compete in an inspired way,” said Paulson. “We have the right people in place so things might change this year (at state), we have a chance to place. It is exciting to have this opportunity.”