Congratulations Coach Turnbeaugh and the 2019 Girls Track Team!
Photo submitted by Jackie Vickrey
The Marquette Catholic girls track team poses with its Class 1A Carlinville Sectional championship trophy on Thursday.
The Marquette Catholic girls track team celebrated its biggest victory in program history on Thursday at Carlinville High School.
The Explorers won their first sectional title in school history after coming out on top in the Class 1A Carlinville Sectional. Marquette finished first with 83 points and won the 15-team meet by 15 points over North Mac.
Marquette qualified for the Class 1A state meet in nine events and won sectional titles in three of them. The Alton school came into sectionals seeded in the top two in nine events.
Junior Riley Vickrey finished first in the 3,200 in 11:52 and the 1,600 at 5:37. Freshman Tristan Fraley won the long jump in 14-10.5.
Marquette finished second in the 400, 800 and 1,600 meter relays. The Explorers also got second-place finishes from Fraley (100-meter hurdles), sophomore Jessica Cutts (100) and senior Brooklyn Taylor (200).
Cutts, Fraley, Taylor and Kennedi Koetzle competed in the 4x100 and 4x200. Vickrey, Taylor, Nathaliah Buttry and Grace Dennis made up the 4x400 team.
Buttry finished fourth in the 400 and Kennedy Neal came in sixth in the shot put for the Explorers, who competed with just 10 athletes at sectionals.
Marquette became the first Riverbend school since Roxana in 1993 to win a sectional title in girls track.
The Class 1A state meet is scheduled for May 16 and 18 at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. Vickrey will be competing at state for the third year in a row and Taylor, Koetzle and Cutts make their second appearances at Charleston.