A thrilled Mateo Ramiro-Garcia stood on the awards stand last year after taking fourth place in the 800 meters at the IHSA Class 3A state meet.
“Getting up there on the podium was amazing,” he said. “It was a great experience. I was really happy.”
But the Sandburg senior is looking for a little more in 2026.
“I know I can go back there and do something big this year,” he said. “That’s one of the main goals.”
Ramiro-Garcia, a Coastal Carolina recruit, also helped the 4×800 relay team to a fifth-place finish at state in Class 3A.
He opened the 2026 outdoor campaign by easing into things on April 11 at the Stagg Coed Cathy Harper Track Invitational.
He started off on the right note, joining Brayden Gaffud, Ronald Rolla, Michael Krupa in winning the 4×800 in 8:11.84.
But Ramiro-Garcia did not compete in his bread-and-butter events, the 800 and 1,600. He instead ran the 400 and finished second with a :52.14 behind Micah Monahan of Oswego East, who ran a :51.15.
“Today was a day to see where I’m at with my speed and what I can do in all of the events,” Ramiro-Garcia said. “But I’ll be focusing mainly on the 800 and the mile.
“It was a good day. The relay team did really well and everyone stepped up and had solid times.”
Other area champions in the boys division were Stagg’s Jack Krusinski in the 3,200 (9:18.79) and Brother Rice’s Matt Pikus, who swept the throws (52 feet, 9.5 inches in the shot put and 125-6.25 in the discus).
In the girls division, Sandburg’s Annika Trehan won the 1,600 (5:35.94), teammate Ella Giblin won the 3,200 (11:50.67), Stagg’s Elaina Yasin won the 300 hurdles (:49.94) and Sandburg’s Avery Lee took the triple jump (34-0 1/2).
Sandburg’s 4×400 relay team of Trehan, Emma Kanagy, Lyla Schanz and Angelina Arroyo won in 4:18.76 and the 4×800 relay team of Alivia Janociak, Katie Bordelon, Emily Sayger and Kelli Ellis took first in 10:22.84.
Big honor for Jadea
Moraine Valley sophomore guard/forward Jadea Johnson was named to the NJCAA Division II Women’s Basketball All-America first team.
The Plainfield North graduate led all Division II scorers with 730 points and her 20.3 scoring average was 10th.
No-hit parade
A pair of area South Suburban Red softball pitchers threw no-hitters during the week.
Oak Lawn’s Anaysa Salmon fired a five-inning perfect game, striking out five, in a 15-0 win on April 11 over Bremen.
That came three days after Evergreen Park’s Shelby Izzo fired a five-inning no-hitter in a 15-0 win over Eisenhower and struck out 12.
Fire report
Maren Haile-Selassie scored in the 13th minute and that was all the Chicago Fire needed in a 1-0 victory over Atlanta on April 11 at Soldier Field. Chris Brady notched his second straight shutout.
The Fire (4-2-1) visit Cincinnati at 6:30 p.m. April 18.
After a two-week break, the Fire II returned to action on April 11 and tied host Huntsville City FC 0-0 in an MLS NEXT Pro game but picked up a shootout point.
The Fire (1-1-3) returns to SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview at 3 p.m. April 18 for a showdown with Atlanta.