Intercity champs: Girls win third straight crosstown title; Boys secure first win in over a decade

BJ Dumas, Zachary Knox-Doyle, Brayden Blackwell and Libby Price • May 5, 2023

Photo Courtesy of: Normal Community Athletics Twitter // @IRON_ATHLETICS1

The boys track and field team avenged its second place finish to the West Wildcats last season, defeating the defending champs by three points to claim Community’s first Intercity title in over a decade.

Community’s boys and girls track and field teams can both boast the title “Intercity champs” after winning the annual crosstown competition at Bloomington High School on April 25.

Girls Track & Field

The girls team, led by Ali Ince, defended their title for the third consecutive year, finishing the meet with 147 points.

The U-High Pioneers took second, scoring 88 points, while Bloomington finished third with 61.

Ince (’24) took first in all four of her events, crossing the finish line more than three seconds ahead of the second-place finisher in each.

The junior standout posted times of 57.44 in the 400, 2:17.01 in the 800 and 5:08.17 in the 1,600.

Ince, anchoring the 1,600 relay, and teammates Abigail Ziemer (’24), Queen-Patricia Lubala (’24) and Lily Cavanaugh (’26) recorded a 4:03.97 finish.

Ince has never lost an Intercity race in her high school career, finishing first in all 12 of her races in the past three years.

Queen-Patricia Lubala took first in the 300 hurdles with a time of 46.44 and had the night’s best triple jump performance (10.70 meters).

Ruth Oliveros-Gallardo joined Ince with a perfect finish on the day, placing first in her two events: the shot put (11.3 meters) and discus (33.74 meters).

Oliveros-Gallardo’s Intercity shot put performance marked the senior’s third straight year with a first-place finish in the event.

Jazmin West (’24) placed first in two races, winning the 200 (26.64) and contributing to the 400 relay team’s winning time of 49.13 with teammates Jahariah Williams (’26), Kendall Luke (’25) and Alena Smith (’24).

The girls team had ten first-place finishers and six second-place finishers, outscoring runners-up U-High by 59 points.

Boys Track & Field

The boys track team edged out defending Intercity champions Normal West by three points, earning the Ironmen’s first Intercity title since 2010.

The victory was a team effort, with most of the Iron’s 102 points coming from its second, third and fourth-place finishers.

The team’s lone first-place finishes came from seniors Alex Sohn and Chris Taylor in the field events.

Sohn, a University of Illinois commit, took home first-place medals in both throwing events, registering an 18-meter shot put throw and a 51-meter discus toss.

In the high jump, Taylor cleared the 2-meter mark to earn first for the team.

Freshman Dane Whitaker contributed to the team score with his performance on the track.

Whitaker took second in the 200 meters (23.09) and third in the 100 with a time of 11.35 seconds, just .01 seconds behind the second-place finisher, Bloomington’s Amare Harris.

In the 400 relay, Whitaker and Taylor, alongside Leo Capparelli (’24) and Tommy Davis (’24), took second behind Bloomington. The team finished with a time of 44.05 seconds.

The four would compete again in the 800 relay and take second (1:33.41).

The relays might have proven the difference in Community’s championship. West finished third in both races, crossing the finish .16 behind the Iron in the 400 relay and .26 in the 800.

West would win both the 3200 and 1600 relays, with Community taking second in each.

In the 3200, Joseph Yaros (’25), Caden Nyman (’25), AJ Ince (’26) and Drew Patterson (’25) finished 1.04 seconds off the Wildcat’s pace, posting a 8:11.20 finish.

Just 2.13 seconds separated the Iron from West in the 1600 relay, as Juan Rojas (’26), Nate Witzig (’25), Jeffery Woodard (’24) and Andrew Eisfelder (’24) recorded a time of 3:32.83.

Eisfelder took second in the 400 meter, beating West’s Kaleb Kilgore by .12 seconds (51.48).

Patterson was the 800 meter’s runner-up, finishing .74 ahead of West’s third-place finisher Ethan Snyder.

Jack Thomas earned a second-place finish in the 3200 meter race, with a time of 10:20.91 seconds.

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About the Contributors

BJ Dumas, Senior Staff Reporter

Brantley Dumas is a senior at Normal Community High School. He is the president Black Student Union and is on the varsity bowling team. He is a second-year Staff Reporter on the Inkspot. If I were to win a million dollars I would definitely pay for college, then buy all the shoes and clothes I could ever want. I enjoy fashion, making and listening to music and anime. So, if you like any of those we can probably be friends. My biggest pet peeve is when people chew too loud. Gross.

Zachary Knox-Doyle, Sports Editor

Zachary Knox-Doyle is a senior at Normal Community High School and plays on the school's tennis team. He is sports editor for the Inkspot. One of my biggest inspirations is Stacie King, the color commentator for the Chicago Bulls. He has a unique voice, catchy slogan, and encompasses skills I strive to achieve as a color commentator. "Give me that HOT SAUCE!" The best advice I've received is to create something that makes a wave, one must venture outside of the box to begin the ripple.

Brayden Blackwell, Senior Staff Reporter

Brayden is a senior at Normal Community; this is Brayden's third year on the Inkspot where he is a senior staff reporter. I am inspired by people lifting each other up because "iron sharpens iron." My all-time dream is to become a social studies teacher. A book that moved me was "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan.

Libby Price, Staff Writer

Libby Price is a senior at Normal Community High School and is involved in Speech Team. This is her first year working with the Inkspot, and she is a staff writer. On the weekends I enjoy baking and crocheting. My favorites subjects in school are English and Spanish. I hope to become a teacher someday.