Slazyk’s Pole Vault Title, Novotny’s Hurdle Medals Highlight Lincoln-Way West’s Effort at Hinsdale Central Invitational

The Lincoln-Way West girls track and field team traveled to the Hinsdale Central Devilette Girls Invitational on Thursday, April 16, 2026, where a strong showing in the field events and hurdles powered the Warriors to a sixth-place varsity finish in a highly competitive eight-team field. Lake Park captured the overall team title with 112 points, while the Warriors amassed 76 points on the evening.

The Warriors’ brightest highlights came in the vertical jumps, where Lincoln-Way West completely dominated the pole vault competition. Freshman Paige Slazyk vaulted to a first-place finish, clearing 3.35 meters to claim the individual title. Senior teammate Madelyn Schussler was right behind her, securing second place with a season-best vault of 3.20 meters to complete the 1-2 sweep for the Warriors.

Lincoln-Way West also found the podium in the high jump, as freshman Mia DiBenedetto cleared a personal-best 1.57 meters to tie for second place overall. In the throwing rings, senior Emily Hendrick delivered a pair of solid performances, earning fourth place in the shot put (10.17m) and sixth in the discus (23.02m).

On the track, junior Emma Novotny was a silver-medal machine in the hurdle events. Novotny raced to second place in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.09 seconds, and she followed that up with another runner-up finish in the 300-meter hurdles, crossing the line in 48.62.

The Warriors’ relay squads also turned in strong efforts, highlighted by the 4×100-meter relay team. The quartet of Novotny, sophomore Riley Glover, sophomore Angel Ughamadu, and senior Amileah Gerring teamed up to take second place with a swift time of 51.35 seconds.

Lincoln-Way West’s future looks bright, as the underclassmen also delivered impressive results to earn fifth place in the Frosh/Soph division. Sophomore Rylee DiBenedetto ensured a program sweep of the pole vault by winning the Frosh/Soph event with a personal-best clearance of 2.74m. Meanwhile, the youthful throwing duo of sophomore Kaitlyn Goldstein and freshman Paulina Pajerski stacked up points, with Goldstein taking second in the shot put (8.46m) and Pajerski claiming second in the discus (26.22m).

Game Summary

Score by Quarters

Scoring Drives

• Quarter 1 (Sprints & Short Hurdles)

  • 100m Dash: Molly Gilmartin (Hinsdale Central) – 12.67a

  • 200m Dash: Molly Gilmartin (Hinsdale Central) – 26.08a

  • 100m Hurdles: Kennedy Ruff (Hinsdale South) – 14.94a

• Quarter 2 (Mid-Distance & Long Hurdles)

  • 400m Dash: Ryan Greeby (DePaul College Prep) – 1:00.61a

  • 800m Run: Lily Hodneland (Hinsdale Central) – 2:12.65a

  • 1600m Run: Caitlin Wennerstrom (South Elgin) – 5:09.22a

  • 3200m Run: Alexandra Furey (Hinsdale Central) – 11:43.12a

  • 300m Hurdles: Kennedy Ruff (Hinsdale South) – 44.05a

• Quarter 3 (Relays)

  • 4×100 Relay: Hinsdale Central – 50.53a

  • 4×200 Relay: Oak Park-River Forest – 1:47.81a

  • 4×400 Relay: Hinsdale Central – 4:03.92a

  • 4×800 Relay: South Elgin – 9:40.04a

• Quarter 4 (Field Events)

  • Shot Put: Klara Volkova (Lake Park) – 11.45m

  • Discus: Klara Volkova (Lake Park) – 45.07m

  • High Jump: Olivia Stranz (Lake Park) – 1.65m

  • Pole Vault: Paige Slazyk (Lincoln-Way West) – 3.35m

  • Long Jump: Avery Bonino (Hinsdale Central) – 5.13m

  • Triple Jump: Emilija Sinkevicius (Hinsdale South) – 10.38m

Individual Statistics

100 METERS: Molly Gilmartin (Hinsdale Central) 12.67; Londyn Gordon (O.P.-River Forest) 12.69; Avery Bonino (Hinsdale Central) 12.87.
200 METERS: Molly Gilmartin (Hinsdale Central) 26.08; Londyn Gordon (O.P.-River Forest) 26.97; Makara Womack (Hinsdale South) 27.15.
400 METERS: Ryan Greeby (DePaul College Prep) 1:00.61; Zoe Lee (DePaul College Prep) 1:01.40; Laila Anderson (Lake Park) 1:01.41.
800 METERS: Lily Hodneland (Hinsdale Central) 2:12.65; Emily Stecky (DePaul College Prep) 2:13.67; Ella Satre (Hinsdale Central) 2:15.98.
1600 METERS: Caitlin Wennerstrom (South Elgin) 5:09.22; Violet Schnizlein (O.P.-River Forest) 5:15.58; Ruth Dellaria (Lake Park) 5:15.65.
3200 METERS: Alexandra Furey (Hinsdale Central) 11:43.12; Luna Pozos (South Elgin) 12:00.07; Isabella Crowe (O.P.-River Forest) 12:32.40.
100M HURDLES: Kennedy Ruff (Hinsdale South) 14.94; Emma Novotny (Lincoln-Way West) 16.09; Gianna Goldsmith (Lake Park) 17.47.
300M HURDLES: Kennedy Ruff (Hinsdale South) 44.05; Emma Novotny (Lincoln-Way West) 48.62; Aliya Arthurs (DePaul College Prep) 49.88.
SHOT PUT: Klara Volkova (Lake Park) 11.45m; Sheila Johnson (O.P.-River Forest) 11.06m; Oliwia Slezak (O.P.-River Forest) 10.70m; Emily Hendrick (Lincoln-Way West) 10.17m.
DISCUS: Klara Volkova (Lake Park) 45.07m; Oliwia Slezak (O.P.-River Forest) 38.57m; Sheila Johnson (O.P.-River Forest) 33.54m.
HIGH JUMP: Olivia Stranz (Lake Park) 1.65m; Mia DiBenedetto (Lincoln-Way West) 1.57m; Gianna Goldsmith (Lake Park) 1.57m.
POLE VAULT: Paige Slazyk (Lincoln-Way West) 3.35m; Madelyn Schussler (Lincoln-Way West) 3.20m; Luciana Ramirez (O.P.-River Forest) 2.74m.
LONG JUMP: Avery Bonino (Hinsdale Central) 5.13m; Emilija Sinkevicius (Hinsdale South) 5.04m; Ceilidh Bicocchi (South Elgin) 4.82m.
TRIPLE JUMP: Emilija Sinkevicius (Hinsdale South) 10.38m; Janiya Wells (DePaul College Prep) 10.21m; Victoria Stephen (South Elgin) 9.92m.