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Maroons edge Rocks to win Big Six track title

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By Shannon Heaton | Friday, May 09, 2008 | No comments posted

GALESBURG, Ill. — Two inches won Moline the Western Big Six Conference girls track and field title Friday at VanDyke Field.

Or maybe it was .13 seconds, the difference between second and third in the 100-meter high hurdles. Without that gap, the Maroons might have finished second to favorite Rock Island.

But rather than focus on the minutest of differences, Moline’s coverage of almost every event allowed it to stay resolute in the face of the Rocks’ tremendous sprint strength.

Needing to finish no worse than two spots behind Rock Island in the 1,600 relay, the Maroons were fourth behind an anchor leg from senior Aisha Praught — already an individual triple winner — to hold off the Rocks 117-114.5.

“She’s such a staple for us, we didn’t want to put her in harm’s way,” Moline coach Joel Bohnsack said of Praught, a late addition to the relay. “She’d already done a huge job for us. We knew the point spread was so close, that we could only be a couple behind (Rock Island). If you’ve got to go to somebody in a situation like that, she’s definitely a go-to girl.”

Moline’s win Friday night was a far cry from the Maroons’ performance five weeks ago at the Shipley Invitational, when both the Rocks and the Silver Streaks outdistanced them at home.

“Things are really coming together for us,” Bohnsack said. “The conference is so competitive, and all these teams have something to offer here. We beat each other up so much. I’m just so excited to come out on the top side of it.”

As for Praught, who will be going to Illinois State and running next year, she won the 3,200, then added firsts in the 800 and 1,600.

While Moline struggled where the Rocks excelled — sprints and sprint relays — the Maroons scored well in distance, hurdles and — in particular — field events, where Moline won three events and placed second in two others.

Picking up the charge was four-time Big Six placewinner Halie Ecker, who won the long jump by 1.5 inches and the triple jump by a half-inch, both times edging Galesburg’s Bailey Jackson.

“I could be happier (with the day), but it wouldn’t take much more than this,” Ecker said. “Every point, every inch, every second counted for us.”

That Rock Island nearly pulled off the victory showed how powerful it was on the track. The Rocks won two of four relay events, almost adding a third but for Kenzie Jackson’s manic sprint in the final 100 meters of the 1,600 relay for Galesburg. Rock Island went 1-2-3 in the 100, 1-2-5 in the 200 and 1-4-5 in the 400, utterly dominating the sprints.

Contact the sports desk at (563) 383-2285 or sports@qctimes.com.