By Michael Newman

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A track and field meet is like a three-ringed circus with so many things happening at the same time. Such will be the case at this weekend’s IHSA State Girls Track & Field Championships held at O’Brien Field on the campus of Eastern Illinois University. The meet begins on Thursday morning with the Class 1A Prelims. Class 2A & 3A Prelims will take place on Friday. Championship Saturday begins at 10 a.m. CDT. You can watch the meet courtesy of the NFHS Network if you cannot make it to Charleston.

All eyes will be on Katelynne Hart and her attempt of winning three distance events on Saturday. There will be other things to watch for in this meet.

Detailed previews of each meet can be found at the links below.

CLASS 3A PREVIEW | CLASS 2A PREVIEW | CLASS 1A PREVIEW

Here are 10 storylines to watch in this weekend’s meet.

1 – Katelynne Hart and the distance triple

Glenbard West’s Katelynne Hart has achieved so many things in her almost three years of high school running. This spring, it was time for something new.

“Ever since I was a freshman, this triple has always been on my mind,” Hart said. “This sectional and state are so competitive. I started thinking about it. It is just a new challenge for me. We will see how it goes.”

The try for the Distance Triple at the IHSA State Girls Track & Field Championships is a tough feat to accomplish. Kelly Curran of Bloomington Central Catholic accomplished it in at the Girls 1A State Meet in 2010. It has never happened in the Boys State Meet. The closest came in 1996 when Marius Bakken of York won the 3200 and 1600 meters and finished second in the 800 by one second. Bakken went on to become an Olympian for his native Norway.

The triple is tough for the Illinois distance runner. In the 3A Meet that Hart will be competing in, you have to advance to the finals of the 800 Meter Run and 1600 Meter Run on Friday afternoon. Then you come back on Saturday to run the three finals with the 3200 Meter Run first in a span just over three hours.

In Curran’s triple, she ran 11:12.03 to win the 3200 Meter Run, 2:12.39 to win the 800 Meter Run, and 5:09.75 to win the 1600 Meter Run.

Hart ran the triple last week at the Naperville North Sectional which was considered the toughest distance event sectional in the state. In little over a two-hour period, Hart ran 10:18.41 for 3200-meters, 2:11.99 for 800-meters, and 4:51.40 for 1600-meters.

It will not be an easy task for the Glenbard junior. She will be the favorite in the 3200 Meter Run with three-time cross-country All-American Alex Morris of Naperville North. The 800 Meter Run 70 minutes later has Hart the top seed in the 800 Meter Run with Marne Sullivan of New Trier, Erin Reidy of Downers Grove South, and Claire Hill of Naperville North chasing after her.

The 1600 Meter Run could be the toughest for Hart. Waiting for her is Batavia’s Katrina Schlenker. The freshman has run 4:51.46 this April in defeating indoor 800 Meter Run national champion Roisin Willis at Distance Night in Palatine.

2 – Serena Bolden looks for a state championship times four

Springfield Southeast’s Serena Bolden should end her state meet title drought on Saturday. The closest she has come to a state championship was last year when she finished second in the 100 Meter Dash. She also has a pair of second place finishes with her team in relay events.

Her fortunes should change this weekend in Charleston. She could end up winning four titles. Those wins could help Springfield Southeast in the chase for the Class 2A State team title.

Bolden will be the big favorite in the Long Jump as she has the best mark by more than a foot. The same holds true in the Triple Jump where she will be the prohibitive favorite. On the track, she has the fastest time in the state for the 100 Meter Dash (11.74). She has the fastest sectional time by three tenths of a second. The race at the 200 Meter Dash at the end of the meet could be the toughest for her as there are a number of runners that will be close to her including teammate Raven Moore and Normal University’s Jessica McDowell.

Bolden will step into O’Brien Field Friday morning with no state titles on her resume. She may leave Charleston late Saturday afternoon with at least one state championship, perhaps four.

3 – Turning Silver into Gold

Kenli Nettles is on the verge of doing something great this weekend at Eastern Illinois University. The junior entered the season with no state championships. The Arthur-Lovington athlete has been on a tear this season entering this Class 1A state meet with top sectional performances in the High Jump, 100 Meter Hurdles, 300 Meter Hurdles, and 200 Meter Dash.

There could be one roadblock that could stop Nettles from achieving these titles. That roadblock is Decatur St. Teresa senior DaeLin Switzer.

The friendly rivalry between the two athletes has developed into must watch for fans at a meet where both are competing in. At last year’s Class 1A State Meet, Switzer won her third straight High Jump championship while Nettles finished second. Nettles finished second behind Orion’s Danielle Taets in the 100 Meter Hurdles while Switzer finished third. Switzer won the 300 Meter Hurdles as Nettles finished second.

The tide could be turning for Nettles. She competed against Switzer in winning all four events.

The state meet we all know is a different animal. But Nettles is a different athlete than she was one year ago.

4 – Homewood-Flossmoor’s journey for a state championship

Could this be the year that Homewood-Flossmoor gets to the top of the mountain?

The Lady Vikings have finished second in the past two Class 3A State Meets by a total of 10 points. This year could be different for this team. Homewood-Flossmoor qualified 16 individuals and 3 relays in their sectional meet last Friday on their home track.

Their relay teams in the 400 Meter Relay, 800 Meter Relay, and 1600 Meter Relay have the top sectional performances. Kaylah McCall is the defending champion in the 100 Meter Hurdles and is again the favorite in that event. She also has the top sectional time in the 100 Meter Dash. The Lady Vikings have two qualifiers in eight of the events.

Their main competition comes from 2018 3A State Champion Naperville North, and 2017 3A State Champion Glenbard West.

5 – East St. Louis-Senior and Springfield Southeast taking different roads to a possible state championship

Dunlap has been the queen of the 2A State Meet as they have dominated the meets winning the two state titles. That scenario changed this year as Dunlap’s enrollment went up and so did the Eagles as they were moved up Class 3A.

It opens the door for Springfield Southeast and East St. Louis-Senior who appear to be the favorites for the 2019 2A State title. The roads that the two teams will take are different.

East St. Louis-Senior has the numbers. The Flyerettes qualified 14 individuals and all four relays out of their sectional at Triad. Their strength will come from the relays as they have three of the top four sectional performances. They have the second-best performance heading into this meet in the 400 Meter Relay. Veronica Sherrod will be the favorite in the 300 Meter Hurdles.

Springfield Southeast has the individual event power with Serena Bolden the favorite in four events. Her teammate Raven Moore is one of the favorites in the 400 Meter Dash. She also will be in the 100 Meter Dash and 200 Meter Dash along with Bolden.

It could come down to less than ten points as the difference between the two teams. The question of who will be the favorite after Friday morning Class 2A Preliminary session.

6 – Can Latin School distance themselves from the pack for a 1A title?

It is rare that you will find a team that will rely on just distance athletes to contend for a state championship in track & field. Latin School could pull off the task of winning the 1A team title this weekend with the bulk of their points in the four distance events.

Ava Parekh is a freshman that does not run like a freshman. Parekh is one of the top runners in the state in the 3200 Meter Run and will be the big favorite in that event. Defending champion Marianne Mihas in the 1600 Meter Run will be one of the favorites in that event. Parekh has the fastest sectional time. Mihas also has the fastest sectional time in the 800 Meter Run and will be the favorite in that event. Their 3200 Meter Relay team, without Parekh or Mihas on the quartet, still had the second fastest time after sectionals. Their 1600 Meter Relay, with Parekh and Mihas on it, could make some noise in the Thursday prelims.

That does not mean that the Romans are locks to win the 1A title. DuQuoin has the numbers and strength in the relays to win the title. Rock Island Alleman has the numbers that they could finish in the top three.

7 – Olivia Rosenstein and an injury

Urbana’s Olivia Rosenstein at this time last year was on the podium as part of her team’s fifth-place finish in the 3200 Meter Relay. She missed qualifying for state in the 1600 Meter Run finishing third in her sectional race.

Her summer was not the best as she came down with an injury that forced her to miss her entire cross-country season. The expectations for last fall were high since she finished fifth the year before as a sophomore.

Instead of the injury getting her down, she used it as fuel to ignite what has been a great junior year of running. Rosenstein has achieved personal bests in running 11:17.11 last week in the 3200 Meter Run sectional race. The junior also ran 5:06.88 for 1600-meters at Distance Night in Palatine.

She could be one of the top runners in both events when the 2A Meet begins. She is already a winner coming back from an injury to get to this point.

8 – Perseverance gets Laura Ferguson to Charleston

Lauren Ferguson was determined to go out in style in her final year of high school track at Springfield High School. She had finished third in last year’s Class 3A 300 Meter Hurdles finals. She wanted to place higher in 2019.

That looked to be the case early in this outdoor season. Ferguson ran a state leading 43.13 to win the event at the Titan Co-Ed Invitational at Chatham-Glenwood High School on April 18.

That is when the trouble began when Ferguson developed a stress fracture. “She is hoping the doctor allows her to run at sectionals, but prognosis is not good,” Springfield Coach Trae Cotner said. “She is obviously crushed. She has worked so hard and was giving it everything to win a state title.”

Ferguson did not race for the next two weeks and hoped that she would be allowed to run in the sectional meet last Thursday at O’Fallon.

“An MRI confirmed a healing stress fracture in her 4th metatarsal. Doctor said it wouldn’t cause any more damage by running on it,” Cotner added. “ It would just delay the healing. She warmed up and felt good, so she gave it a go.”

Her race was successful as she ran 45.08 to win the race and automatically qualify for the state meet. Her time was the third fastest sectional time in the event.

She has her place in the field. Now let’s find out what happens. The mind in situations like this can be a powerful tool.

9 – Chloe Lindeman, Jasmine Mitchell look for repeat wins in the Shot Put

Chances are good that both Chloe Lindeman of Fulton and Jasmine Mitchell of Thornwood will repeat as the Shot Put Champion in their respective classifications. Both are national class athletes in the ring. They should be in a class by themselves this weekend.

Lindeman is having a banner senor season. She was crowned the national champion indoors at the New Balance Nationals in March. Lindeman is currently ranked fourth nationally with a 47-10 best at a home meet in April. She is almost four feet ahead of her competition heading into this weekend.

Mitchell should make some national noise this June at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals. She is currently ranked eighth nationally with a 47-7 best. Mitchell, along with teammate Morgan Reed, could help Thornwood challenge for a team trophy in this weekend’s meet.

10 – Freshmen that could make a splash on the Big Blue Oval

There are several freshmen that will get their first taste of running on the Big Blue Oval and in front of a capacity crowd at O’Brien Field. Here are a few of the athletes to keep an eye on.

Katrina Schlenker of Batavia – Schlenker ran 16:06 during the fall at Detweiller Park to finish only seven seconds behind Katelynne Hart at the IHSA 3A State Meet. Schlenker has a 4:51.36 best that she ran in winning Distance Night in Palatine in April. She is currently the #3 ranked freshman nationally. She will race against Hart for the first time on the track on Friday.

Ava Parekh of Latin School – Parekh could win both the 3200 Meter Run and 1600 Meter Run in the Class 1A State Meet. Her time of 4:53.75 is currently ranked #8 among freshman in the United States. Her time of 10:27.35 for 3200-meters is the third fastest national freshman time.

Audrey Allman of Glenbard West, Kaylee Politza of Lemont – Both freshmen had great races last week at the Naperville North Sectional with Politza finishing ahead of Allman. They are the top two freshman at that distance in Illinois and among the top 15 freshmen nationally. Allman has a 2:14.20 best from her conference meet. Politza’s sectional time was 2:14.22.

Macee Rivers of Belleville West – Rivers will be the future of Illinois hurdle events. She will be one of the top five finishers in this weekend’s 3A State Meet in the 100 Meter Hurdles. Rivers has a best of 14.57 which is ranked fifth nationally for freshmen.

Mariam Azeez of Lincoln-Way East – This freshman could be a surprise in the Class 3A Long Jump this weekend. Azeez enters this weekend with a 18-7.75 best which is ranked ninth in Illinois. She is also the ninth ranked freshman in the nation.