Klarke Goranson is heading into her first outdoor track season on a high note.
The Manteno freshman distance runner won a pair of Class 2A state titles at the Illinois Top Times Indoor Championships on March 29 at Illinois Wesleyan’s Shirk Center in Bloomington.
She took first in the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes, 13.59 seconds, well ahead of runner-up Cecilia Hilby of Aurora Central Catholic, who crossed the line at 2:18.03.
Goranson also won the 1,600 with a 5:04.57, while Rochester’s Brooke Zeibert was second at 5:07.59.
Last year, Goranson competed for Manteno Middle School and won Class 3A Illinois Elementary School Association state titles in the same two events.
Her finishes came in handy as Manteno won the state championship with 34 points, four ahead of Wilmington. She helped the Panthers with a seventh-grade title two seasons ago.
Goranson burst onto the high-school scene in the fall and took sixth in the IHSA Class 2A cross country meet.
Crete-Monee’s Joshua Hill also was a winner at Top Times, taking first in the Class 3A boys long jump at 23-2.75. He added a second in the triple jump at 46-2.5.
The Warriors’ Tamryn Farmer competed in Class 3A girls, taking second in the long jump with a leap of 18 feet, 8.75 inches and third in the 60 with a 7.81.
Preseason glory
Beecher’s softball team received the state’s No. 2 ranking in Class 2A by the Illinois Coaches Association in a preseason poll.
The Bobcats were one slot behind Carterville.
Last year, Carterville finished first in the state while Beecher reached the supersectional before bowing out to Rockridge, 6-2, to finish 32-2.
Manteno drew the 17th ranking from the coaches after last year’s 30-2-2 finish.
Both teams opened the season on high notes. Through March 29, Beecher was 3-0 and outscoring opponents 27-1 while Manteno was 3-0 and outscoring opponents 35-7.
Kibelkis nets academic honor
Peotone graduate Mason Kibelkis, a redshirt sophomore guard at St. Xavier, was named to the College Sports Communications All-District Team.
Kibelkis is a psychology major with a 3.75 GPA. On the court, he played in 27 games and shot a team-high 43.2 percent from beyond the 3-point line, connecting on 35 shots in 81 attempts.
He was also a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference All-Academic selection and was a Daktronics-NAIA scholar athlete.
Eureka! Kramer signs
Beecher senior defender Tyler Kramer made it official and will continue his soccer career at Eureka.
The post Vedette sports report: Manteno’s Klarke Goranson wins indoor state titles appeared first on Southwest Regional Publishing.