Batavia uses late wins to hold off St. Charles North to keep hold of DuKane Conference title

BATAVIA — Batavia’s Elizabeth Wende was given a choice shortly after crossing the finish line for the third time.

After winning the 200-meter dash in 25.79 and putting the Bulldogs just 1.5 points ahead of St. Charles North for the team title, the junior was approached by coach Justin Allison with a simple request.

Run the 4x400 relay, which was expected to start in 15 minutes.

“At first I thought that my coaches were messing with me, especially since we joke around a lot,” Wende said. “They gave me the choice to do it or not. And I knew that I wanted to do this for my team.”

Turns out, it was a conference-winning call.

Wende anchored the 4x400 relay to a win in 4:09.38 for her fourth win of the day, helping the Bulldogs to the conference title with 125.5 points.

“The team, without a doubt, stepped up all across the board today,” Allison said. “But hats off to St. Charles North for their efforts. They ran a great overall meet, and it was exciting the entire way. Come outdoors, they’re going to be great competition.”

Besides her wins in the 4x400 and 200, Wende would also pick up wins in the 55 dash (7.33) and in the 400, where she set the school record after running a 58.39. She also became the first female athlete ever to win four events at the indoor conference meet.

“It just feels great,” Wende said. “I feel like it’s something that everyone wishes for and something I wished for. It’s great to accomplish it, and I’m thankful for all the people who cheered me on through it.”

The Bulldogs also had sophomore Abby Wirth win the triple jump, who broke the school’s indoor record with a leap of 36 feet, 11¾ inches.

“Being the only freshman to qualify at state last year, she knows her goal is to get back there,” Allison said. “She said she wanted to go and win it today, and we told her to go for it. We couldn’t be more proud of her and what she’s done.”

St. Charles North finished right behind the Bulldogs with 114 points. The North Stars looked as if they had won the conference following the finish in the 4x400, with freshman anchor Kara Glenn crossing the finish line in 4:07.76, which would have been a conference indoor record.

However, after crossing the finish line, the official claimed that Glenn had thrown the baton, leading to the team being disqualified despite North Stars coach Anthony Enright’s attempts at showing video proof that she had lost the baton while attempting to regain her balance from leaning at the line.

Despite the heartbreaking ending, Enright said that he was still extremely proud of the effort put forth by the team, which only recorded 44 points at the same meet just a season ago.

“We’re more than just that one event,” Enright said. “It was definitely worthwhile, but it’s also bittersweet. But it makes the journey that much sweeter in the end, especially in May when we run conferences. But overcoming obstacles is a great life lesson for them.”

The North Stars finished the meet with wins in four different events, which included the 4x800 relay in 9:53.29 — which was 0.06 faster than second-place Wheaton Warrenville-South — and from sophomore Gwen Hobson and Glenn, who won the 800 and 1,600, respectively. Senior Aliya Clayton also added a win in the long jump after leaping a 17-0.

“I think the team expects more from themselves, especially because of a great showing at state last season,” Enright said. “If you look at us throughout the season, we’ll continue setting bars and having competition from within. We’re really deep all around.”

Lake Park rounded out the team podium with 83 points, with 59 of those points coming from field events. The Lancers had a 1-2 finish in the high jump, with sophomore Olivia Stranz and Gianna Goldsmith both jumping 5-1, while junior Klara Volkova (shot put, 38-6½) and senior Eva Bach (pole vault, 11-6) also recorded victories.

Geneva secured fourth place on the day with 70 points. The Vikings were led by their sprints, with sophomore Alyssa Flotte winning the 55 hurdles in 8.83 seconds and the 4x200 recording a 1:45.59 for the win. Flotte also had a second-place finish in the 55 dash and was third in the 200 to finish with 34 points.

Wheaton North came in fifth place with 65 points. The Falcons were led by senior Maddie Romaine, who won the 3,200 in 11:07.62.

St. Charles East finished in sixth place with 53 points. The Saints' top finishes came in the 4x200 relay, where the team came in second.

WW South settled for seventh place with 42.5 points, with their photo-finish silver in the 4x800 being the Tigers' best finish. Glenbard North rounded out the team standings with 28 points.