NLCC Championship Wrap Up

The NLCC Championship on Thursday was a culmination of 8 weeks of hard work. Both Boys and Girls teams showed tremendous growth while competing at such a high level. The Boys finished 4th and the Girls finished 3rd in a very tough conference. Many of the athletes competing in the NLCC will be vying for All State recognition in May. 

The Girls team had an impressive showing as they took home 7 NLCC titles and set 5 indoor conference records. The 4x800 team of Megan Knuettel, Morgan Gillespie, Brooke Stromsland, and Ashley Whitis ran to runner up finishes in the 4x800. Alex Bryant was next on the track; earning a 4th place finish in the 3200m run. Taylor Tilmon won her first of four titles on the night in the 55m dash. The Senior speedster jolted to the win and set a new conference record. Olivia Schmitt took home the title in the 800m run. The sophomore raced like a savvy veteran as she took control of the race at lap 3 and quickly pulled away. The time was a new conference record and indoor season best. Tilmon returned to the track for another conference record in a dominating victory in the 400m dash. Taking a cue from her older teammates, freshman Brooke Stromsland led wire to wire for a commanding victory in the 1600m dash. The performance set yet another conference record for the Eagles. Taylor Tilmon stormed to a 3rd individual win in the 200m just 45 min after winning the 400. The NIU bound sprinter smashed the conference record and narrowly missed the OUTDOOR school record. A motivated Tilmon spent the next 15 minutes warming up with her 4x4 teammates. The 4x4 laid down the final dominating victory for Lakes as all 4 ladies (Noelle Jones, Olivia Schmitt, Josephine Synovic, and Tayor Tilmon) combined to snatch the victory from a determined Grant squad. The effort was less than a second off of the NLCC record. The Eagles also had impressive marks in the Field. Noelle Jones captured her first ever individual title with a lifetime best vault of 10'6". The mark is over the state qualifying bar and sets the Junior up for a tremendous outdoor season. Maddie DeMoss also had a big day as the Junior tied for 6th overall and equaled her PR. Madison Kilroy set another personal best in the shot put and missed All NLCC by 4 inches. Josephine Synovic (tie for 3rd) set a season best and Chloe Hoffman (tie for 6th) just missed her best as both ladies added important points in the High Jump. Overall the Lady Eagles put up 92.33 points on the board. The anticipation for the outdoor season is high after such an impressive showing. The Lady Eagles will certainly be a force to be reckoned with all season.

For the Boys, the night started off with the 4x800 relay team of Jack Engel, Charlie Halberg, Carlo Picchietti, and Jack Erwin battling back to take the Win after a strong 3rd leg by Picchietti. The team set a new indoor conference record and ran the fastest 4x8 in two years! RJ Migas and Owen Wenberg added more points to the cause with 4th and 5th place finishes in the 3200m run. Junior Evan Selby was the next Eagle to secure an All Conference selection. The 2017 most improved athlete earned his first all conference nod as he sprinted his way to a runner up finish in the 55m Hurdles. Talon Knauf's season debut resulted in a 3rd place finish in the 800. Charlie Halberg doubled back from the 4x8 to also earn All Conference honors in 5th place. Returning State Qualifier Jeff Milostan lowered his season best in the 400 and finished 3rd overall. The last event on the track brought home a narrow 3rd place finish in the 4x400 (Erwin Kleppin, Charlie Halberg, Talon Knauf, and Jeffrey Milostan). The Eagles also turned in some impressive performances in the field. Sophomore Leighsean Triplett took home the Triple Jump title in his first meet of the season! Triplett set a lifetime personal best and moved into 4th place on the All Time Indoor list. Kole Skinner made it PRs in back to back to back weeks with a massive heave that placed him 4th overall in the Shot Put. Eric Lund also had a great day and missed All NLCC by 1/2 an inch. Evan Selby came up with his 2nd All NLCC selection with a 5th place finish in the High Jump. Gavin Kafka leapt into 5th in the Long Jump. Freshman Colin Kao vaulted to an impressive 4th in the Pole Vault. Overall the team showed great improvement, setting up what should be a spectacular outdoor campaign.