St. Charles North junior Sabrina Rabin seldom wastes movement on the basepaths during softball season.
Why should she be any different with her words?
Addressing a brief flirtation with track that concluded with Friday’s Upstate Eight Conference girls indoor track and field meet at Batavia, Rabin offered this between breaths:
“Some really great, fast people,” Rabin said, “which helped me, ultimately, in the long run with my softball.”
Rabin trained with the track team during indoor season after joining the sport for the first time. Her grade school, Da Vinci Academy, did not field a team, and Rabin was curious to see how she’d compete.
On Friday, she finished as runner-up in the 55-meter dash (7.44 seconds) and fourth in the 200 (26.66).
“I just wanted to try it out and see if I liked it,” Rabin said. It was a really great experience this year.”
Rabin, a Northwestern softball recruit, stole 36 bases as a pitcher/outfielder during her sophomore season.
She replied, “Yeah, definitely,” when asked if she’d return to indoor track as a senior.
North Stars track coach John Osmanski wouldn’t mind that proposition, even if it only lasted a few meets.
“She’s one of the top softball players in the state, so what can you do?” Osmanski said. “We knew going into the season that she was going to do this for a little bit and then switch. We were just happy to have her.”
Vikes’ Davison on mend: Geneva sophomore Kathryn Adelman contributed her team’s top UEC finish with a runner-up run in the 1,600.
Adelman shaved several seconds from her seed time to complete the event in 5:16.43, which still was nearly 13 seconds off the pace of distance standout Kaylee Flanagan, a Washington-bound Lake Park senior.
“This is just a super-competitive meet here with some very good teams and individuals, so it’s fun to be a part of that,” Vikings coach Peter Raak said. “It’s fun to see our kids step up to that competition, too.”
Adelman’s classmate, Hannah Davison, figured to shine in the triple jump, in which she qualified for the 3A state meet as a freshman. However, hip issues aggravated during a recent club soccer tournament – Davison committed to Northwestern but does not play high school soccer – left Davison out of the lineup.
“We’re being cautious with her,” Raak said. “We know what we have with her, and we’re just going to make sure she’s 100 percent before everything starts to go full-steam.”
Raak forecast Davison’s return for outdoor season, which begins the first weekend of April.
Several Chronicle-area athletes still are aiming for success in the Illinois Prep Top Times meet this weekend. The event widely considered the unofficial indoor state meet is held at Illinois Wesleyan’s Shirk Center in Bloomington.
• Kevin Druley is a sports writer for the Kane County Chronicle. He can be reached at 630-845-5347 or kdruley@shawmedia.com.
