Triple Threat Maljevic Leads Kit Girls To State

When Lejla Maljevic moved to this country four years ago, her goal was just to find more opportunities to continue her track and field career.

Now she’s written her own chapter in the Evanston record book.

Maljevic became the first girl in the history of the ETHS program --- let that sink in for a second --- to qualify for the Illinois High School Association state finals in three individual field events in the same season Wednesday at the Class 3A Deerfield Sectional meet.

Maljevic won the shotput at the sectional for the second year in a row, and also met the state qualifying standard in both the discus and long jump. She helped the Wildkits claim a total of 9 individual State berths and the Kits will also send the champion 1600-meter relay team to the state finals May 22-23 at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

Brie Noel (400, 100) and Ingrid Sylvestre (100 hurdles, 300 hurdles) also landed multiple berths, and Ebony Turner (shot) and Hunter Vandergriff (400) will also represent the Orange and Blue in Charleston. They helped the Wildkits earn a third place team finish at the sectional with 87 points, behind only Prospect (167) and Hersey (109).

A handful of runners, most of them now members of the ETHS Hall of Fame, have advanced to State in three individual races in the same year in the past. Now, Maljevic has raised the bar for throwers and jumpers.

The senior standout was simply stunned when she heard the news.

“It’s so crazy!” Maljevic exclaimed. “I don’t know how to feel. I haven’t processed it yet. I was expecting to hit those marks (qualifying standards) today, but I didn’t know no one else had done it (in three events).”

A state qualifying effort on her first long jump --- at 5.46 meters --- secured a trip to State and set the tone for her success in the shot and discus, too. She finished 4^th in the long jump, ruled the shot with a best personal record toss of 12.52 meters, and placed 3^rd in the discus at 35.78 meters.

Her performance in the long jump brought the biggest smile to the face of the dark-haired senior. It’s her favorite event, and the bitter memory of falling short at the sectional in that event last year --- she did qualify in the shot as a junior --- still lingered on Wednesday.

“I didn’t expect to make it on my first jump,” said Maljevic. “I really just wanted to do better than I did last week (at the conference meet). It was a little bit of a shock, but I had to stay composed because I still had two other events. I was behind the board on my jumps and it was a good day for my biggest PR. It’s been so hard this season --- all I did was scratch (with illegal jumps) indoors. I knew it was there, but it wasn’t written down (guaranteed) anywhere.”

Maljevic just started throwing regularly last year and took on a bigger workload this year to help prepare for a potential career in the decathlon in college. And head coach Fenny Gunter pointed out that her performance Wednesday was part of a team effort that included throws coaches George Woolridge and Pollyanna Johns, along with jumps coaches Michele Burke and LaShon Christopher.

The coaching staff not only all contributed to Maljevic’s training, but helped her navigate the stress of participating in events that often overlapped during actual meet competition.

Gunter made certain that she didn’t wear out physically, often having her take fewer throws or jumps than allowed with an eye on the biggest prize --- success at the state finals.

Now she’s in a class by herself --- with more to come at State.

“The coaching staff did a great job of preparing Lejla for this,” Gunter praised. “If push came to shove, she probably could’ve qualified in the triple jump, too. This is only her third week throwing the discus. We wanted her back in there to help see where she’ll fit in the collegiate ranks.

“Lejla was very receptive to all the changes she had to make this year. She’s very coachable and this was a big collaboration from all of her coaches. She listens well and she trusts what the coaches tell her. They’re all experts and the girls know if we put you in an event, it’s because we feel you can handle it and we’ll give you the chance to be successful.

“Now she’s done what some of our other (elite) girls have done (on the track) where she’s raised the bar. That’s something other girls will try to attain down the road.”

Noel, a sophomore, and senior Vandergriff scored a 1-2 finish in the 400 with respective times of 55.72 and 57.55, living up to their pre-meet seeds. But the pair saved their best for last on the final two legs of the 1600 relay, bringing the Kits a come-from-behind victory in a lightning-fast 3 minutes, 52.02 seconds to Prospect’s 3:56.38.

Evanston trailed by at least 30 meters midway through the race but the Wildkits didn’t panic after the legs turned in by Francesca Decastro and Sylvestre.

“We knew we’d be behind at some point in the race, depending on which girls Prospect threw in there,” Gunter pointed out. “But we knew no one could match our girl (Noel) at the end.

“We actually switched up the No. 2 leg because Hunter seemed to be a little down after the 400. But Hunter ran one of the best 100s (down the stretch) and she got us close. Dang, that girl can run! I’m glad she finally flashed it so everyone could see how good she is.”

Noel, who warmed up with a qualifying effort in the open 100 (2^nd in 12.51), is primed now for a big finish in the 400, where she ran 6^th at State as a freshman.

“My split in the relay (56) was a little slower than last week (55.3), so I’m a little frustrated with that,” she admitted. “My training has been more intense this year, and I just had to stick with the plan and trust what Coach Fenny tells me to do.

“There is more pressure on me to do well (at State) because I placed as a freshman. But it’s also helpful that I’ve already been there before. I want to place higher this year and my goal is to run a 54. And I think we have potential to do well in the relay. Winning the state championship is a realistic goal for us.”

Sylvestre scored her first sectional championship and earned a repeat trip to State in the 100 hurdles, while placing 4th in the 300. In the short race, she was seeded 3^rd but whipped a star-studded field that included Prospect’s Charlotte Conner and Olivia Farina.

Sylvestre beat both of them with a personal best time of 14.96, and came back to take 4th in the 300 in 45.75, another personal best for the junior. “She beat a stellar field, and it was great to see her drop time like that,” Gunter said.

In the shot, Turner’s best throw of 11.39 was easily over the state qualifying standard of 11.17 on her way to an overall 3^rd place finish. Now she’ll join Maljevic in the finals field at EIU after watching her teammate from the stands as a spectator a year ago.

“I knew it (a state qualifying throw) was there. It’s mostly about your mentality in track, that’s where it shows,” Turner noted. “It’s really about consistency for me and I just wanted to hit the mark. I got the experience as a spectator at State last year and being there, I felt like that’s where I needed to be (this year). I just needed to work harder to get there.”