CHESTERTON | As is the case in most meets of this magnitude, there was as much heartbreak as joy in Tuesday night's knockdown, drag-out Chesterton girls track regional.
Lake Central, despite only two firsts, used its tremendous balance to wrestle the team title away from Crown Point and Munster -- 91 to 77 1/2 to 73.
The top three individuals and relays move on to next weekend's state meet.
Munster's Whitney Freeman, top-seeded in the 100 hurdles, hit the fifth and eighth during the finals, falling both times, and failed to qualify for state. She regrouped, emotionally, to win the 300 hurdles in 45.52 despite two badly scraped knees, a sprained right wrist, and a sore back.
"I'm not too happy with this meet," Freeman said. "I honestly don't know what happened. I don't even remember hitting that (first) hurdle."
Freeman placed seventh at state in the 300s last year, but tripped during the 100 trials.
"I wasn't even thinking about that," she said.
Tuesday, Freeman was pulled from the third leg of the 1,600 relay -- "My body's kinda iffy right now," she said -- and replaced by an unsuspecting Sarah Rubino. Anchor Devin Gosberry brought home a winner in 3:58.11.
"I was scared, nervous, afraid I wasn't going to fill (Freeman's) shoes," Rubino said. "I ran for the team. Devin always takes charge. She told me we were going to do OK. She gave me the reassurance I needed.
"You don't see that too often. She's one in a million."
Kankakee Valley's Kristin Fritts won the 1,600 in 5:08.84, surprising no one, least of all herself.
"It's the toughest competition I've run against. It's crazy," said Fritts, a freshman. "I was trying to save it for the last 100 meters, like always, then go all out when most of the people get tired.
"I've beaten a lot of these girls in conference and the sectional, and being the No. 1 seed, I knew I could do it again."
West Side sophomore Darnecia Suggs, only a sophomore, turned plenty of heads by claiming the 100 in 12.51 and anchoring the blue-ribbon 400 relay.
"This is my first full high school track season," Suggs said. "I got injured my eighth-grade year at Bailly. My freshman year, the other girls were faster than me. But this year, I actually ran cross country, indoor track, and now.
"I haven't run this fast since I was a seventh-grader. I've learned what hard work can do."
Crown Point's Meghan Kessler was the meet's only double individual winner, sweeping the shot and discus.
L.C.'s Dana Payonk won the 3,200-meter run and anchored the victorious 3,200 relay.
Lake Central qualified seven individuals and two relays for the state meet; Munster six and two; C.P. five and one.
