McHenry East grad Richartz finishes 14 in NCAA pole vault finals
Published: Wednesday, June 10, 2015 11:52 p.m. CDT
By LINDSAY ROSSMILLER - sports@nwherald.com
EUGENE, Oregon — Notre Dame sophomore Nate Richartz took only four pole vault attempts on a sunny Wednesday afternoon at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field, and he missed three. But he still had a smile on his face.
“You’ve got the crowd right next to you,” he said. “We had a beautiful day, a perfect tailwind; I really couldn’t have asked for more.”
Richartz finished tied for 14th place after vaulting 16 feet, 10 3/4 inches in his introduction to Eugene and the national championships.
The McHenry East grad and Island Lake native found himself among the top 24 collegiate pole vaulters after finding some late-season success. He came into the meet Wednesday having just set a new personal record of 17 feet, 2.5 inches last weekend, when he won the East regional qualifier in Jacksonville, Florida.
“The success I’ve had this late in the season kind of caught me off guard,” said Richartz. “I really didn’t start getting to these higher heights until late in the season. I was just glad to qualify and glad to make a bar and be a competitor.”
He and the other athletes who didn’t qualify for the finals still hung around in the infield and watched the rest of the competition. Shawn Barber of Akron was the eventual winner when he vaulted 18 feet, 4 1/2 inches in the sixth round.
For Richartz, it was more than just his own experience that made today special.
His older sister, Stephanie, is a senior at the University of Illinois and will vault tomorrow.
“I was really happy to qualify and be with her,” he said. “We don’t really have many meets together and especially since this is her last year. We have a family trip now to Eugene. Everyone’s here, and it’s just great to have that support.”
College women's track and field: All-America status for Huntley graduate Anthonia Moore
Published: Thursday, June 11, 2015 11:58 p.m. CDT • Updated: Friday, June 12, 2015 12:04 a.m. CDT
By LINDSAY ROSSMILLER - sports@nwherald.com
EUGENE, Oregon – Sophomore Anthonia Moore found the success she has been looking for alongside her University of Miami 4x400-meter relay teammates.
The Huntley graduate earned All-America status Thursday night at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship when the Hurricanes qualified for the finals with the sixth-fastest time. Moore and her teammates screamed and hugged when they found out.
“It’s a blessing because we came a long way from last year,” said Moore.
At the 2014 outdoor nationals, they failed to advance. Then they experienced the same result this spring at the 2015 indoor championships. “We didn’t want to just come again,” Moore said. “We actually wanted to come and place.”
Thursday, they didn’t even run their best time. They finished in 3:33.18 in the last event of the night at Hayward Field. Moore and her teammates were coming off a personal-best 3:30.22 in the qualifying meet last weekend.
Because of that, she’s not satisfied. “Getting here was the first part,” Moore said. “Getting to finals is the second part. Running in finals is the last part.”
They will compete in the final Saturday afternoon in the meet’s final event.
Thursday evening, Moore got the baton for the third leg in good position but faded during the last 200 meters and didn’t finish as strong as she wanted to. It’s a strategy she wouldn’t change, however.
“I’d rather get out hard and die hard than not get out and put us in a worse spot,” she said.
And while, technically, Moore is tasked with maintaining the team’s position before handing off to the final leg, teammate Kelsey Balkwill sees Moore in another role.
“She’s really been a good asset to our team. She’s very bubbly; she has a big personality,” said Balkwill. “She brings the fun out of it. It’s not so serious all the time, but when we step on the track, she’s there. We know we can count on her.”
And Moore is happy to take that role.
“Last year was a real shock for me because I would have never thought I would have run at Oregon at nationals,” Moore said. “Then, now, coming this year and being an All-American. … I made it.”
Huntley grad Moore and Miami relay teammates finish fifth in NCAA championship
Published: Saturday, June 13, 2015 8:24 p.m. CDT
By LINDSAY ROSSMILLER - sports@nwherald.com
EUGENE, Oregon — Coming off the final 200 meters of her leg on the 4x400-meter relay Saturday at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Anthonia Moore kept fighting.
The University of Miami Hurricanes were in the back of the group. However, Moore kept working to catch the next person in front of her and moved up.
“I felt like I ran a better race today,” said Moore, a Huntley graduate. “I fought all the way to the end.”
And as she handed off the baton to her teammate, Shakima Wembley, Moore ended her sophomore season knowing she had done everything in her power to put her team in the best position she could.
The Hurricanes finished fifth in 3 minutes, 33.90 seconds, three seconds slower than what they ran to qualify for NCAAs. The University of Florida won the race in 3:28.12.
Moore and her team had to wait until the last race of the meet to achieve their goal of placing in the finals. Moore said that while it was a little nerve-wracking, it was also something that they have worked for all year, so the team felt ready.
“This was the time when it really mattered,” said Moore.
Looking back, Moore said she is pleased to see team’s progression from last year’s NCAA meet, where they failed to qualify for the final. But she improved individually, as well, and her teammates noticed.
“Her progression is really good this year,” leadoff runner Kelsey Balkwill said. “Last weekend she had a huge PR, too, going from 54-highish to 53.”
Moore is already looking toward next year with plans to fight for an even higher podium finish. After Saturday’s race, she and her teammates talked with their coach about their intention to come back bigger, faster and stronger for next year with the addition of the incoming recruiting class.
But first, Moore will get a break. She will return home to Huntley over the summer to spend time with family and work.