Girls Track: Plainfield North’s Cessily Jones ready for the spotlight

You might imagine Plainfield North’s Cessily Jones is weary of life in Aaliyah Brown’s shadow.

After all, while the Lincoln-Way East junior has dominated the sprints at the girls state track meet since her freshman year — taking the 100- and 200-meter titles last year and the 100 in 2010, when she false-started out of the 200 — Jones has been a very close observer.

A senior, Jones will be trying to notch her fourth straight Class 3A finals appearance in both the 100 and 200. She was third in last year’s 200; fourth in the 100 in 2011, both sprints in 2010 and the 200 in 2009; and seventh in the 100 as a freshman.

“Well, yeah, but if (Brown) wins, she rightfully gets the story,” Jones said.

Besides, Jones has to like her chances entering the Girls State Track and Field Meet, Thursday through Saturday in Charleston.

She enters as the No. 2 qualifier in both sprints, her 11.75-second sectional time in the 100 behind only Brown’s 11.72 and her 24.49 in the 200 shaded by the 24.46 of Waubonsie Valley’s Morolake Akinosun.

“I think anybody who makes it to state is a great runner,” Jones said. “I’m thinking I want to (set a personal record). If my P.R. gets first, so be it. But if I P.R., I can’t complain.”

Brown may be fighting an uphill battle. She ran a limited schedule this season, nagged by hamstring issues. Jones, meanwhile, is in great shape.

“I’m healthy,” she said. “I haven’t had any aches and pains, thank God.”

While the potential Brown/Jones showdown is the marquee match-up for many track fans, several Joliet-area athletes have a shot at rising to the top of the podium.

Seneca senior Alyssa Applebee is the defending 1A pole vault champ and, along with Reed-Custer freshman Moran Zacharias, the top qualifier with a height of 11 feet, 3 inches. Applebee also posted the second-fastest 1A sectional tie in the 100 hurdles.

In 2011, Applebee set a Class 1A pole vault record of 12-9, a height good enough to win all three classes and a main reason why the versatile athlete will attend Missouri on a track scholarship.

“My main focus is pole vault, of course, and then the 100 hurdles,” said Applebee, fifth in the 100 hurdles last year. “The rest is just bonus.”

Applebee also qualified in the 300 hurdles, but her time (49.53) would have to improve dramatically to score. The top sectional time was 45.44.

In 2A, Lincoln-Way West’s Kaitlyn Neiheisel had the second-best sectional height in the high jump at 5-5; and Peotone’s Kayce Nagel ranked third with a discus throw of 126-10.

In 3A, Lincoln-Way East should be a factor in the team race again. With Brown winning two sprints and anchoring the winning 400 and third-place 1,600 relays, the Griffins totaled 37 points in 2011, good for second behind East St. Louis’ 46.

Lincoln-Way East posted the second-best sectional time (47.28) in the 400 relay, behind Homewood-Flossmoor (47.14), and has again qualified in the 1,600 relay.

Bolingbrook (47.64) also rates a chance in the 400 relay.

Besides Jones, Plainfield North also has Jaclyn Aremka. Aremka was runner-up in the high jump last year (5-6) and takes the second-best sectional height (5-5) into this year’s meet.

Contributing: Tim Tierney

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