Ciara Marlow qualifies for State in four events for M-R girls track team

Brian Tibbets almost sounded like a baseball coach talking to his star player last Friday night after the Farmington Girls Track Sectional.

We went 5-for-5. Great job! he said.

Tibbets was talking to his Monmouth-Roseville girls track team that qualified for the IHSA State Track Meet in five different events. M-R senior Ciara Marlow qualified for State in four of those events in the 400-meter run and the triple jump, as well as boosting the Titans to State in the 1600 and 3200 relays.

She (Marlow) is a competitor in everything shes in. Period, Tibbets said. It is a testament to how good of an athlete she is. Im excited to see what shell do in Charleston.

M-R senior Megan Byrne also ran on both of the state-bound relays and took second in the 800-meter run to qualify for State. Byrne got edged at the finish line by Uniteds Mallory Tharp in one of the most exciting races of the night. Both of the talented runners turned in personal-bests.

We kind of pushed each other and have been racing against each other all year, Byrne said. Were friends from cross country. It was fun.Added Tharp, During the summer, we ran with each other to get some practice. It came down to me and her.

Knoxville senior Haley Jones will return to the IHSA State Track Meet for the third-straight year. Jones went to state in the long jump her sophomore and junior year. She started off Friday with a personal best of 34-2 on her third attempt in the triple jump.

Im really excited, Jones said. Ive really started to improve in the last couple of weeks. Ive been jumping about 32 feet and then on Monday we had our conference track meet and I broke 34 feet.

Knoxvilles Paige Putnam did not have her best performance in the shot put, but it was still good enough to qualify for State. Putnam threw 35-10. She topped the 35-6 qualifying mark by just four inches.

It is not my best, but it gets me down to State, Putnam said. Hopefully, Ill peak down at State.

Knoxvilles Morgan Mason wi! ll also be going to state in the triple jump.Bushnell-Prairie Citys Hailey Calvert (long jump, triple jump) and Madison Benson (shot put) also qualified.

Sherrard ended as the team champion with 107 points. Rounding out the top six were: Rockridge, Farmington, Monmouth-Roseville, Elmwood and Orion.