Record-setting O’Neil, defending champ Campbell qualify for finals at Class 1A state track meet

CHARLESTON, Ill. — Shannon O’Neil keeps going faster and faster, while Olivia Campbell keeps throwing farther and farther.

Saturday, they will have the chance to make a little history.

O’Neil, the Liberty senior hurdler, lowered her school-record time in the 300-meter hurdles yet again Thursday during the preliminaries at the Class 1A girls state track and field championships at O’Brien Stadium on the Eastern Illinois University campus.

Campbell, the Pittsfield senior thrower, positioned herself to successfully defend her state title in the discus by topping the field in the preliminaries with a toss almost 2 meters farther than anyone else. She is in position to medal in the shot put as well.

West Hancock’s Bailey Barber also will be in the finals, finishing third in the preliminaries in the triple jump with a leap of 10.58 meters.

They will be the only area athletes competing in Saturday’s finals.

O’Neil posted the fourth fastest time in 300 hurdles, finishing in 46.97 seconds. Altamont’s Grace Nelson led the field in 44.29 seconds.

She broke the record by running a 48.27 on April 29 at the Mark Twain/Becky Thatcher Relays in Hannibal, Mo. She lowered it to 47.63 during last week’s Beardstown Sectional. She’ll have one more chance to lower it again in the state finals.

O’Neil, who finished 24th in the 100 hurdles in 17.66, wasn’t the only Liberty runner to break a school record Thursday.

Elli Sunde set a new mark in the 100 dash, finishing the preliminary race in 12.82 seconds. It left her 22nd overall in the field. Tuscola’s Alyssa Williams topped the field in 12.03 seconds. Sunde also finished 22nd in the 200 dash in 27.92. Williams again led the field in 24.97.

Liberty’s Arianna Neisen shaved eight seconds off her personal-best time in the 1,600 run, finishing in 5 minutes, 23.77 seconds. She finished 13th in the preliminaries, missing a spot in the finals by 1.35 seconds. She will run in the 3,200 finals Saturday.

After fouling on her second attempt, Campbell moved to the top of the charts in the discus on her third and final throw, launching the disc 42.47 meters. She won the title last year with a throw of 41.76 meters. Mount Pulaski’s Cassidy Clark qualified second with a toss of 40.98 meters.

In the shot put, Campbell fouled on two of her three attempts, but she launched the shot 11.42 meters on her other attempt to qualify fourth. Oregon’s Jenae Bothe topped the field with a toss of 13.17 meters.

Unity’s Kyra Carothers and Illini West’s Reagan Reed both finished tied for 18th in the high jump, clearing 1.47 meters. The Chargers’ Josie Bryan was 21st in the 800 run, finishing in 2:31.45.