Cahill sisters dominate events to help Trevians claim league championship

Lahey and Josie Cahill will be splitting household bragging rights following Wednesday’s track meet.

The New Trier High School runners and sisters each earned the title of conference champ at the Central Suburban South championships on May 1 at Glenbrook South High School.

Lahey Cahill recorded a personal-best time of 15.98 seconds in her 100-meter hurdles victory, while Josie Cahill crushed the competition in the 3,200 run, winning the race by 35 seconds.

The Cahills’ performances made for two of the Trevians’ eight first-place finishes en route to a dominating team victory Wednesday. New Trier finished with 183.5 team points, well ahead of runnerup Maine South (125 points), as well as Glenbrook North (78) and Evanston (77). Glenbrook South and Deerfield rounded out the field.

The Cahills are continuing a family running tradition heralded by their father, Ryan Cahill, who starred at the University of Notre Dame. A third sibling, George Cahill, is a former New Trier standout trotter currently competing with Amherst College.

Josie Cahill, a junior, said she’s learned plenty from her elder family members and said even though her sister competes in a vastly different event, it’s a joy to be on the same roster.

“It’s really great. … It’s really nice to have someone in support and for me to support,” Josie Cahill said.

New Trier coach Andy Butler said he has enjoyed watching the progress of both Cahills, up to and including their championship performances on Wednesday.

Butler gave much of the credit for Lahey Cahill’s improvement to new hurdles coach Tameeka McFarlane, a former state champ hurdler for Evanston Township High School. On Wednesday, New Trier captured league titles in both hurdle events: Lahey Cahill in the 100 (15.98 seconds) and Carly McConnell in the 300 (46.12, besting the state-qualifying standard).

“She’s brought so much to our hurdles,” Butler said of McFarlane. “She’s done a great job of getting them to believe in themselves and work on technique.”

New Trier senior Gaby Manzano — a state medalist in long jump a year ago — captured three conference championships, winning the long jump (5.38 meters), triple jump (11.7 meters, a personal best) and 400 run (58.35 seconds) — all three marks besting state standards. She also claimed third in the 200 (26.64 seconds).

The Trevians other titles came from its 1,600 relay team of McConnell, Emilia Smith, Anna Rivera and Marley Meyers, who ran the race in 4 minutes 1.53 seconds; and Rivera, who claimed the 800 with a time of 2:20.84.

Other top-three finishes for New Trier were: Smith in the 100 (third; 12.83 seconds), the 400 relay (second; Smith, Meyers, Katie Sarnoff, Tess Glueck; 50.99 seconds); the 800 relay (2nd; Smith, Meyers, Sarnoff, Glueck); the 3,200 relay (2nd; Sadie Abbott, Eva Scarborough, Kayla Ritchie, Caroline Gillum); Grace Gallagher and McConnell in the shot put (2nd, 3rd; 10.2 meters, 9.41); and Taylor Kim in the pole vault (2.82 meters).

New Trier will continue its postseason pursuits at the IHSA Deerfield Sectional on Wednesday, May 8. The state finals are scheduled for May 17-18 in Charleston.

“We talk about shifting to championship season starting with conference meet,” Butler said. “Then on to sectionals and then on to state. We are (performed) really well tonight. We’re peaking at the right time.”

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