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Girls Track: Libertyville’s Jaffke sets school record in pole vault
Libertyville's Nicole Jaffke, seen here at the Lake County Meet, broke the school record in the pole vault at last week's NSC Meet at Round Lake. | Joel Lerner~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: July 9, 2012 1:44AM
How did Libertyville High School’s Nicole Jaffke react after breaking the school record in pole vault by three inches when she cleared 11-6 during the North Suburban Conference meet at Round Lake last week?
“Let’s just say she had a very big smile on her face,” said Wildcats coach Tom Bizosky.
Jaffke finished in third place. As expected, Lake Forest High School’s Carly Schmidt (12-06) and Carolina Carmichael (12-0) claimed the top two spots. Libertyville’s Jackie Hansen (9-6) was fourth.
“I had a feeling this would be the year she would break the record, and she vaulted six inches higher than she normally does,” Bizosky said.
Jaffke also has contributed in distance races and relays. Her performance helped Libertyville finish fourth at the conference meet with 60 points. Lake Forest (91) placed first.
Haley Becker finished second in high jump. Becker, Lakes’ Danielle Greisbaum — the champion — and Stevenson’s Jackie Setina all cleared 5-3. But Greisbaum won the tiebreaker, as she needed fewer attempts.
The school record is 5-6, and Becker has a chance to challenge that mark at the sectional meet.
Libertyville’s Carly Stewart emerged as the champion in the 800-meter run (2:21.37). Stevenson’s Emily Cunningham (2:23:37) was second. Stewart is a returning State qualifier, but has had to work through injuries this season.
“She’s healthy enough now where she’s back at where she was last year; she’s hungry and ready,” Bizosky said.
Julie Smagacz finished third in triple jump with a personal best leap of 34-2 1/2. Bizosky said that Smagacz keeps improving so much that he does not want to jinx her by watching.
“Every time I’m not there, she jumps way farther,” he said with a smile.
Jen Angster had a strong third-place showing in the 200 dash (26.88). Teammate Rachel Metcalf was right behind in fourth (27.02).
Freshman Jasmine Turner was sixth in the 100 dash (13.29). Smagacz was fifth in long jump (16-11).
On the schedule: Libertyville will compete in the Grayslake North Sectional on Thursday.
Libertyville boys
Top showings by junior Matt Dziedzic in shot put and discus helped Libertyville place fourth (58.5 points) at last week’s Lake County Invitational, held at Deerfield High School.
Dziedzic was first in shot put (54-8) and second in discus (154-4). His throw in the discus was a personal-best.
“He put it all together, and it was neat to see,” said Wildcats coach Jason Schroeder.
Schroeder noted that it was a complete team effort, as Dziedzic was the team’s only individual champion.
“I was really pleased with how we performed, and that means we had lots of kids (garnering) points,” he said. “We stress that you can’t win every event, but if you go from fifth place to fourth place, that adds up as you go through the meet.”
Schroeder was excited to see a number of personal-bests.
“Our athletes are peaking, and that’s a testament to their hard work and the plan put in by the coaching staff,” he said.
A.J. Wilson was second in the 300 hurdles (40.10), and third in the 110 hurdles (15.06). Both times were personal-bests.
“He has some great ability, but he’s put in the work throughout the season,” Schroeder said.
The team’s entire distance crew, led by Dan Ryan, performed well. In addition, freshman Keith Wilson was impressive in long jump (19-6) and triple jump (41-4).
On the schedule: Libertyville competes in the NSC conference meet, at Lakes, on Thursday.
