Montini Catholic senior Sydney Gertsen won the state championship in the 3,200-meter run at the IHSA Class 2A girls track and field state meet at Eastern Illinois University on Saturday, May 23. Gertsen completed the race of nearly 2 miles in a first-place time of 10 minutes, 8.43 seconds. She crossed the finish line 2.8 seconds ahead of the runner-up—senior Sundara Weber of Sandwich.
Montini senior Ashlynn Lindt delivered a seventh-place finish in the 3,200-meter run, which she completed in 11 minutes, 5.98 seconds.
Gertsen and Lindt also competed in the 1,600-meter run at the Class 2A state meet in Charleston. Gertsen finished second to Weber in that race, with Weber posting a first-place time of 4:47.46. Gertsen completed the race in 4:53.94. Lindt finished the 1,600-meter run in an eighth-place time of 5:09.28. The 1,600-meter final took place on Saturday afternoon, a few hours after the 3,200-meter final.
Gertsen and Lindt both earned All-State honors in the 3,200-meter and 1,600-meter runs at the state meet. Athletes who posted top-nine finishes at the state meet secured All-State recognition.
Nearly seven months ago, on Nov. 8, 2025, Gertsen won the individual title at the IHSA Class 2A girls cross-country state meet in Peoria. She finished the 3-mile race in Peoria’s Detweiller Park in a winning time of 16 minutes, 34.79 seconds.
Junior Brooke D’Amico of the Broncos participated in the triple jump at the state meet. She did not advance to the final. The top 12 finishers in the meet’s preliminaries qualified for the final. D’Amico covered 33 feet, 7½ inches in her best attempt at the state meet.
Montini senior Karissa Jones competed in the shot put at the state meet and did not advance to the final in that event. Her best effort at the event covered 32 feet, 10½ inches.
