SPORTS UPDATE: Batavia Girls Fourth at Carlson-Anderson Classic

Rachael Spalding could have been excused for being mentally and physically drained after the 1,600-meter run on Thursday night.

The Batavia sophomore, coming off a runner-up finish in the 3,200 run at the 27th Annual Carlson-Anderson Classic in Batavia, still had enough energy to place in a race dominated by state-title contenders Alyssa Schneider (Bartlett) and Ariel Michalek (Oswego East).

"It's really exhausting," Spalding said of the exciting double. "It takes a real toll. You have to be mentally prepared for each race. I feel like the two-mile is my strongest (event)."

For the first time in recent memory, the Bulldogs did not have any individual or relay champions in a meet Wheaton-Warrenville South excelled in to defend its team title.

Then again, it is a new face for the program, which reached elite status in recent years behind state champions Brittney Bernardoni, Natalie Tarter and Kathryn Warner.

"You have to nickel and dime as much as possible, double-score, to score as many points as possible," Batavia coach Chad Hillman said of being competitive without the household names he was blessed to coach in recent years.

Sophomore Success

The future of the Bulldogs' program is its sophomore class, and Bari Robinson is an early frontrunner for class president.

Robinson was third in the open 800 meters, came back to augment Spalding in the 1,600 with a sixth-place result and anchored the Bulldogs' meet-closing 1,600 relay quartet.

"I found out I was going to be doing all of them on Wednesday," Robinson said. "I wasn't quite (mentally) ready for the mile. (My time at 1,600 meters) was not quite as fast as I wanted."

Hillman is convinced Robinson is ready for the challenge.

"If she is going to be a state-level athlete—and I think she will be—then (the event sequence) is only going to make her better," Hillman said.

Alexa Marsh was equally busy for the Bulldogs.

The sophomore sprinter had her best showing in the 100 dash with a fourth-place result and also made the finals of the 2oo while anchoring the 400 and 800 relays.

"The four by one, I think, is pretty good," Marsh said of the quartet that also features Nikki Flesvig, Cherry Crayton and Haleigh Clabough.

The latter, a junior, was third in the 100 hurdles.

"State qualifying (in the 100 hurdles) is 15.3 (seconds), so hopefully I will be there by the end of the season," Clabough said.

Going Hard, Throwing Hard

The one Batavia athlete with returning state experience is thrower Haleigh Theuerkauf.

But the junior was not happy after finishing fourth in the discus and second in her primary event, the shot put, where she made the Class 3A state finals last year.

"I was pretty consistent in the discus," Theuerkauf said. "I could have done better in both events."

Senior Ashley Gladis was fourth in the 800 after improving her career-low time at the same distance in the 3,200 relay.

"It's been a while since I've got my best time (outdoors)," Gladis said.