By BUTCH HARMON
The Ithaca girls track team enjoyed one of its best performances in school history this spring, when it placed 11th overall with 15 points at the Division 3 state track and field finals at Comstock Park.
The Yellowjackets had nine girls qualify for the state finals, and all nine came home with all-state honors.
“We performed great, actually,” coach Gene Lebron said. “It was the best showing I ever had as head coach, and it was probably the best showing in school history. To send nine girls and have all nine girls earn all-state honors is quite an accomplishment, especially in a year like this, when there were so many great teams and athletes there.”
The strength of this year’s team was the relay events, and three of Ithaca’s teams earned all-state honors. The 4 x 200 relay team of freshman Mikayla Fairchild, senior Brianne Draper, freshman Emily Foster, and sophomore Erica Sheahan led the way, placing fourth with a time of 1:46. The 4 x 100 relay team of Fairchild, Sheahan, senior Vanessa Waldron, and Draper also came up big, as it placed sixth with a time of 51.33. Ithaca also placed in the 4 x 800 relay, with the team of sophomore Blaire Showers, sophomore Kurstin Kalisek, sophomore Alyssa Mankey, and freshman Courtney Allen placing seventh with a time of 9:46.
“Our 4 x 8 and 4 x 2 both qualified for nationals,” Lebron said. “We have everyone coming back in the 4 x 8 next year. Of the nine girls who earned all-state at the state meet, only two are seniors. We have a lot of girls coming back next year, including some other girls people don’t even know about.”
Draper, a senior, will be missed. Along with running on two state-placing relay teams, she finished seventh in the long jump with a leap of 16’7″ after being seeded 16th heading into the finals.
“Brianne has been our team leader the last couple of years,” Lebron said. “She just had a phenomenal meet.”
The Yellowjackets also received a big effort from Sheahan. Sheahan, a member of two relay teams, also finished sixth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.41. “Erica scored more points than anyone on the team,” Lebron said. “She was all-state in Division 4 at Beal City last year, and she didn’t know how she would do in Division 3 this year. She did very well, and she is only going to get better.”
Lebron was also pleased with Allen’s performance this year. “Courtney was all-state in cross country this year,” Lebron said. “She is our best distance runner, and she ran real well this year. I’m looking for big things in the future from her.”