2021 Girls Track & Field

NIC-10 Track Meet
1.	Rockton Hononegah	162
2.	Machesney Park Harlem	123
3.	Rockford Guilford	118
4.	Belvidere North	72
5.	Rockford Boylan	42
6.	Belvidere	23
7.	Rockford Auburn	17
8.	Rockford Jefferson	0
8.	Freeport	0

NIC-10 Track Meet Individual Results
100 Meters
1.	Hannah Bilodeau	Harlem	:13.40
2.	Jolena Site	Guilford	:13.58
3.	Megan Kalma	Boylan	:13.69
200 Meters
1.	Jolena Site	Guilford	:27.42
2.	Sophia Hedges	Hononegah	:28.33
3.	Carreanna Curtis	Guilford	:28.85
400 Meters
1.	Hannah Bilodeau	Harlem	1:01.30
2.	Amelia Pickard	Hononegah	1:03.79
3.	Aaliyah Haun	Harlem	1:05.49
800 Meters
1.	Michelle Gasmund	Guilford	2:26.52
2.	Faith Procopio	Harlem	2:33.84
3.	Emma Clark	Hononegah	2:38.08
1,600 Meters
1.	Michelle Gasmund	Guilford	5:36.29
2.	Allyson Niedfeldt	Hononegah	5:44.30
3.	Ekaterina Dmitrieva	Auburn	5:46.70
3,200 Meters
1.	Ryanne Bronnimann	Hononegah	12:53.17
2.	Isabella Anderson	Boylan	12:53.77
3.	Nina Fiore	Belvidere	13:07.20
100-Meter Hurdles
1.	Christine Nielsen	Hononegah	:17.4
2.	Indigo Sterud	Hononegah	:17.9
3.	Kaili Thompson	Guilford	:18.6
300-Meter Hurdles
1.	Christine Nielsen	Hononegah	:51.33
2.	Indigo Sterud	Hononegah	:54.50
3.	Alexia Pecora	Belvidere North	:56.77
4x100-Meter Relay
1.	Carreanna Curtis, Riyyah Chatman, A'Yana Gray, Jolena Site	Guilford	:51.86
2.	Christine Nielsen, Reghan Unger, Angela Ballano, Gracie Wolfe	Hononegah	:53.46
3.	Arianna Kopecky, Megan Kalma, Kaylee Ward, Jayda Cruz	Boylan	:53.87
4x200-Meter Relay
1.	Riyyah Chatman, Anastasia Bruce, A'Yana Gray, Jolena Site	Guilford	1:52.59
2.	Gracie Wolfe, Angela Ballano, Lauren Frake, Sophia Hedges	Hononegah	1:55.59
3.	Mikaila Rodgers, Autumn Przybyla, Iman Baumgartner, Tallory Wendell	Belvidere	1:58.53
4x400-Meter Relay
1.	Lauren Frake, Sophie Balsley, Emma Clark, Amelia Pickard	Hononegah	4:25.25
2.	Whitney Schlacht, Aaliyah Haun, Faith Procopio, Miranda Marocco	Harlem	4:27.76
3.	Anastasia Bruce, A'Yana Gray, Mikayla Durkin, Michelle Gasmund	Guilford	4:28.78
4x800-Meter Relay
1.	Allyson Niedfeldt, Erin Collins, Sophie Balsley, Amelia Pickard	Hononegah	10:52.18
2.	Dellana Muck, Erin Morgan, Alexia Pecora, Brianna Teunissen	Belvidere North	11:04.37
3.	Faith Procopio, Cierra Watton, Miranda Marocco, Aaliyah Haun	Harlem	11:24.15
Shot Put
1.	Madelyn Bishop	Boylan	11.12
2.	Riley Kemmet	Hononegah	9.86
3.	Bryana Traveiso	Harlem	9.40
Discus
1.	Emma Rich	Harlem	31.90
2.	Riley Kemmet	Hononegah	30.78
3.	Madelyn Bishop	Boylan	30.15
High Jump
1.	DeYana Franco-Day	Harlem	1.52
2.	Maddie Dutz	Belvidere North	1.47
3.	Michelle Gasmund	Guilford	1.47
Pole Vault
1.	Maddie Dutz	Belvidere North	2.74
2.	Brynn Schlacht	Harlem	2.59
3.	Sheryl Wehde	Harlem	2.59
Long Jump
1.	Gloria Oteng-Bediako	Belvidere North	4.83
2.	Reghan Unger	Hononegah	4.78
3.	Whitney Schlacht	Harlem	4.67
Triple Jump
1.	Gloria Oteng-Bediako	Belvidere North	11.06
2.	Lillian Jarrett	Guilford	10.57
3.	Indigo Sterud	Hononegah	10.52

History Lesson: Leroy Dixson's historic night still hasn't been matched

Forty years ago, Freeport speedster Leroy Dixson was looking to make history at the Big Nine conference track meet.

He made history, just not the kind he was hoping for. In the 1981 conference meet, Dixson swept the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes and won the high jump as well to become the first — and still only — boys track athlete to win four individual titles at the conference meet.

Bruce Bartels of Harlem in 1976 and Deion McShane of Freeport in 2017 also won four events, but both won one of them in relays.

“The goal was to win the conference meet. We thought we could beat East,” said Dixson, who now is a track, football and basketball coach at Enderlin High School in North Dakota. “I knew I could get us 40 points. If they’d have let me enter five events, I would have entered five.”

Even with Dixson’s dominance, Freeport couldn’t keep up with East, which was the lead track program of the 1970s and 1980s. The E-Rabs had won every Big Nine track title since 1972, except for 1977 when Rockford Public Schools dropped sports for a year. The E-Rabs scored 78.5 points to Freeport’s 55.

“I hadn’t lost a race all year; the big thing that night was to win the high jump,” Dixson said. “I just kept putting it one peg higher than everyone else. When I won that, I thought we had a chance. I wanted to get all of us on the podium.”

After the Big Nine meet, Freeport’s Mr. Everything became a specialist. He dropped the high jump immediately and decided against competing in the 100 at the regionals. He qualified for state in both the 200 and 400 but only ran the 400 in the state meet.

“We looked at the time schedule and where I was most likely to succeed,” Dixson said. “I always went hard and you need recovery time between races. I looked at the times I was running in the 200 consistently versus the top guys. I wasn’t going to state to finish third. I was going there to win.”

He cruised to a state title in the 400 with a time of :47.37.

Leroy Dixson, right, is joined by his family,
from left, daughter Alexa; son Austin;
son Alijah, and wife Sara.

"When I got to 150, 160 meters, I knew I'd won," Dixson said. "I could feel the tempo and see where the guys were. I felt no pressure going across the finish line."

Dixson’s win was the first boys state track title for Freeport since Mike Smith won the 880-yard run in 1955 and 1956. He’s still just one of five Pretzels to win boys state track titles. He’s been joined by Eric Bowers, 1991, long jump, Devin Valentine in 2012 in the triple jump and Deion McShane’s three hurdles state titles in 2016 and 2017.

After Freeport, Dixson accepted a scholarship to run track and play football at Wisconsin. He thrived for the Badgers, winning the 400-meters at the 1983 Big Ten outdoor championship, and he still holds both the outdoors and indoors records for the 400.

But in 1983, the coach who recruited him, Dan McClimon, died from injuries suffered in an airplane crash. Dixson was competing in Europe when he learned of the death and decided he couldn’t go back.

“Dan was like a father figure to me,” Dixson said.

Dixson ended up at Iowa State for his final two years where he became a two-time All-American, finishing third in the NCAA championship meet in the 4x400-meter relay in 1985 and eighth in the same event in 1986. He also won the Big 8 title in the 440-yard run in 1985 and 300-yard run in 1986.

He met his wife, Sarah, 30 years ago in Houston when he tried out unsuccessfully for the Houston Oilers. They have three children, ages 27, 25 and 16.

He’s been coaching at Enderlin in North Dakota for the past 17 years. Enderlin is a small town of less than 900 people in the southeast corner of the state. Dixson said he thinks about his Freeport days because of his youngest son.

“I look at myself through him,” Dixson said. “He’s actually a much better athlete than me. There’s so much more out there for athletes when it comes to training and competition. A lot has changed since 1981.”

Well, the record books haven't changed. The :47.5 he ran in the 1981 remains the NIC-10 meet record. Duke Joiner of Auburn just missed beating that time in 1985 with a :47.7. 

The 1980s were perhaps the pinnacle of NIC-10 track. Since 1990, the only runner to break :49.0 is Jvontai Hanserd of Jefferson in 1999 when he ran a :48.9.

1975 Boys Track & Field

Big Nine Meet Standings
1.	Rockford East	83
2.	Belvidere	77 1/2
3.	Loves Park Harlem	27
4.	Rockford Guilford	25 1/2
5.	Freeport	21
6.	Rockford Auburn	13
7.	Rockford Jefferson	11
7.	Rockford West	11
9.	Rockford Boylan	3

Big Nine Individual Results
100-Yard Dash
1.	Ira Matthews	East	:10.0
2.	Newman	Freeport
3.	Schultz	Belvidere
220-Yard Dash
1.	Ira Matthews	East	:22.2
2.	Loverude	Freeport
3.	Lindamann	Belvidere
440-Yard Dash
1.	Jason Lindaman	Belvidere	:50.2
2.	Loverude	Freeport
3.	Duane Nolan	East
880-Yard Run
1.	Andy Bergstrom	East	1:54.7*
2.	Popp	Belvidere
3.	Koutz	Belvidere
Mile Run
1.	Dan Gilchrist	East	4:19.2*
2.	Popp	Belvidere
3.	Allen	Guilford
2-Mile Run
1.	Dan Gilchrist	East	9:18.4*
2.	Wartgow	Belvidere
3.	Zwigle	West
440-Yard Relay
1.	Ira Matthews, Russ Pope, Joe Black, Jerry Holloway	East	:42.9*
2.		Belvidere
3.		Auburn
880-Yard Relay
1.	Jerry Brown, Dan Court, Chip Hammond, Craig Schultz	Belvidere	1:31.5
2.		East
3.		Auburn
Mile Relay
1.	Dave Brogren, Larry Walker, Duane Nolan, Andy Bergstrom	East	3:25.5
2.		Guilford
3.		Belvidere
Long Jump
1.	Dave Bucklin	Belvidere	20-7 1/2
2.	Jury	Harlem
3.	Kampmeier	Boylan
Triple Jump
1.	Dave Shattuck	Belvidere	44-9 1/2
2.	Jury	Harlem
3.	Kampmeier	Boylan
High Jump
1.	Grey Haynie	Jefferson	6-6
2.	Degener	Harlem
3.	Shattuck	Belvidere
Pole Vault
1.	Steve Atterbury	Harlem	13-0
2.	P. Lopin	East
3.	Kulisek	Belvidere
120-Yard High Hurdles
1.	Jerry Holloway	East	:14.3
2.	Shattuck	Belvidere
3.	Hall	Auburn
330-Yard Low Hurdles
1.	Russ Pope	East	:38.4*
2.	Baer	Freeport
3.	Hammond	Belvidere
Discus
1.	Greg Hainline	Guilford	155-8
2.	Pearson	Belvidere
3.	Newman	Freeport
Shot Put
1.	Greg Gilbaugh	East	54-0 1/4
2.	Chastain	Harlem
3.	Hainline	Guilford

IHSA State Team Standings
1.	East St. Louis	29
2. (tie)	Chicago Phillips	19
3.	Rockford East	19

IHSA State Meet
440-Yard Dash
2.	Jerry Holloway	East	:47.6
880-Yard Run
6.	Andy Bergstrom	East
2-Mile Run
2.	Don Gilchrist	East	9:06.3
330-Yard Low Hurdles
3.	Russ Pope	East	:37.5
440-Yard Relay
2.	Joe Black, Jerry Holloway, Russ Pope, Ira Matthews	East	:42.3
880-Yard Relay
4.	Maurice Treadgill, Joe Black, Russ Pope, Ira Matthews	East	1:29.3
1-Mile Relay
4.	Dave Brogren, Duane Nolan, Dave Bergstrom, Jerry Holloway	East	3:20.0
Triple Jump
5.	Dave Shattuck	Belvidere	46-11 3/4

1974 Boys Track & Field

Big Nine Meet Standings
1.	Rockford East	90
2.	Belvidere	51 1/2
3.	Rockford Guilford	44
4.	Freeport	23
5.	Loves Park Harlem	22 1/2
6.	Rockford Jefferson	18
7.	Rockford West	11
8.	Rockford Auburn	8
9.	Rockford Boylan	4

Big Nine Individual Champions
100 Yard Dash
1.	Mike Cole, Freeport	:09.9
2.	Collins, Auburn
3.	Joe Black, East
220 Yard Dash
1.	Ira Matthews, East	:22.5
2.	Maher, West
3.	Matysik, Belvidere
440 Yard Dash
1.	Jason Lindamann, Belvidere	:50.3
2.	Duane Nolan, East
3.	Reid, Freeport

880 Yard Run
1.	Andy Bergstrom, East	1:59.7
2.	Popp, Belvidere
3.	Pulido, East
Mile Run
1.	Chuck Popp, Belvidere	4:34.1
2.	Allen, Guilford
3.	Stubbs, Harlem
2 Mile Run
1.	Dan Gilchrist, East	9:38.9
2.	Ceigle, West
3.	Wartgow, Belvidere

440 Yard Relay
1.	Gearl Leeper, Barry Newman, Mike Reid, Mike Cole	Freeport	:43.6
2.		East
3.		Belvidere
880 Yard Relay
1.	Joe Black, Jerry Holloway, Russ Pope, Ira Matthews	East	1:30.4*
2.		Belvidere
3.		West
Mile Relay
1.	Andy Bergstrom, Dave Brogren, Dean Schlueter, Duane Nolan	East	3:33.9
2.		Freeport
3.		Guilford

Long Jump
1.	Bruce Bartels	Harlem	21-1
2.	Peterson	Guilford
3.	Seward	East
Triple Jump
1.	Mike Seward	East	44-4
2.	Shattuck	Belvidere
3.	Simon	East
High Jump
1.	Greg Haynie	Jefferson	6-2
2.	Shattuck	Belvidere
2.	Degener	Harlem
Pole Vault
1.	Paul Lopin	East	12-6
2.	Manor	Guilford
2.	DeGruther	Guilford

120 High Hurdles
1.	Jerry Holloway	East	:14.4
2.	Paschal	Guilford
3.	Gasbarra	Guilford
330 Low Hurdles
1.	Russ Pope	East	:38.9
2.	Paschal	Guilford
3.	McCrudden	Boylan

Discus
1.	Kirk Ritzman	Belvidere	164-8
2.	Yagle	Guilford
3.	Fraser	East
Shot Put
1.	Doug Long	East	54-5
2.	L. Black	Jefferson
3.	Hainline	Guilford

IHSA State Meet
100-Yard Dash
3.	Mike Cole	Freeport
120-Yard High Hurdles
5.	Maurice Paschal	Rockford Guilford
High Jump
4.	Dave Shattuck	Belvidere
Discus
5.	Kirk Ritzman	Belvidere

1971 Boys Track & Field

Big Nine Meet Results
1.	Rockford Guilford	58
2.	Rockford East	50
3.	Rockford West	47
4.	Belvidere	22
5.	Loves Park Harlem	21
6.	Freeport	20
7.	Rockford Auburn	12
8.	Rockford Boylan	9
9.	Rockford Jefferson	1

Individual Results
100 Yard Dash
1.	Bob Parker	West	:10.1
2.	Meckler	East
3.	Alexander	East
200 Yard Dash
1.	Bob Parker	West	:22.9
2.	Lamb	Harlem
3.	Meckler	East
440 Yard Dash
1.	Tom Sullivan	West	:51.0
2.	Yerk	Belvidere
3.	Beard	Auburn

880 Yard Run
1.	Mark Peterson	East	1:58.5
2.	Steve Peterson	Freeport
3.	Goodhope	Guilford
Mile Run
1.	Jeff Dresser	Guilford	4:27.6
2.	Timm	Boylan
3.	Green	East
2-Mile Run
1.	Chris Cook	Harlem	9:43.8*
2.	Thillen	West
3.	Sewell	Guilford

120 High Hurdles
1.	Frank Bohac	East	:14.9
2.	Marshall	Auburn
3.	Jenkins	West
180 Low Hurdles
1.	Frank Bohac	East	:20.5
2.	Jenkins	West
3.	Donahue	Guilford

880 Relay
1.	Ron Meckler, Randy Alexander, Roudel Kirkwood, Bob Goodwin	East	1:32.4
2.		Harlem
3.		West
Mile Relay
1.	Tim Sullivan, Len Newson, Darnell Jenkins, Tom Sullivan	West	3:28.4
2.		Guilford
3.		Belvidere

Long Jump
1.	Scott Boyd	Guilford	21-2
2.	Floyd	Harlem
3.	Williams	Auburn
High Jump
1.	Scot McKnight	Freeport	6-7*
2.	Holder	Guilford
3.	Holey	Freeport
Pole Vault
1.	Dan Sallis	West	12-6
2.	Blansette	East
3.	Roe	East

Discus
1.	Mike Ritzman	Belvidere	150-9
2.	Yagle	Guilford
3.	Scherwat	Guilford
Shot Put
1.	Scott Boettner	Guilford	55-2 1/4
2.	Davis	Guilford
3.	Stewart	Freeport

IHSA State Meet
Shot Put
4.	Scott Boettner	Guilford	NA