By Michael Newman

If I had to choose one word I would describe the 2017 3A Girls Distance events, I would choose LOADED.

This is even though two-time 800 champion Michaela Hackbarth and 1600 champion Kelly O’Brien have graduated. You also have Judy Pendergast, who had the fastest times in the 1600 and the 3200, graduated and running some great times at Harvard. This is just a testament of how strong Girls High School distance running has become in this state. It also shows we have some good coaches directing them.

We do have 2016 3200 champion Lindsey Payne (Glenbard West, junior) back to defend her title. She also has teammate Katelynne Hart (freshman) who started her high school career with a bang winning the 3A cross-country individual championship. What event(s) will she be running this spring? We also have Jenna Lutzow (Belvidere North, senior) that had a dominating run this past fall winning the 2A State individual title. Do we have Hart vs Lutzow at Charleston in May?

It is going to be a fun next few months. Trust me on that.

800 Meter Run

Top 25 Returnees

Outlook – Jenna Lutzow ran 2:11.80 in last year’s final to finish second. She is the top returning athlete in this event. Emma Moravec (Downers Grove North, senior) ran 2:12.80 at her conference meet. Moravec finished fourth at state. I believe both could run under 2:10 his season. How close will they be to Courtney Clayton’s IHSA state meet record?

Jenna Diers (Lincoln-Way West, senior) finished tenth in the finals in 2016. She bounced back to run 2:13.46 in June at the Midwest Distance Classic. She has the potential to challenge for the state title. Emma Milburn (Lake Forest, junior) and Avryl Johnson (Libertyville, junior) both finished in the top nine and could be close to the above mentioned three. Mackenzie Callahan (Minooka HS) did not have her best race at state last year but did run 2:14.30 during the season. Her cross-country season where she finished fourth in the 3A state meet indicates she is ready to go out in style in her final season of prep running.

We cannot forget about Katelynne Hart. The Glenbard West freshman ran 2:13.48 at the AAU Junior Olympics in August at this distance. We all know how she did last fall. She could be a big bonus for Glenbard West in the 3200 Relay this spring. She could also be a factor in this open event. I would also keep an eye on Emily Stegmeier (Elk Grove, senior), Sarah May (York, sophomore), Madison Marasco (Schaumburg, junior), and Savanah Noethlich (New Trier, junior) this spring.

1600 Meter Run

Top 25 Returnees

Outlook – There are only three athletes back that finished in the top nine last season. But…this event is loaded with talent. 14 athletes are back that have run under 5:05. Four athletes are back that have run under five minutes for 1600 Meters. All four of those athletes run for schools in the West Suburban Conference Silver Division.

Reilly Revord (Hinsdale Central, junior) ran 4:53.63 at the end of April at Wheaton-Warrenville South. She has the top time coming back as well as the highest placer returning (third). Audrey Ernst (St. Charles North, junior) finished eighth and Lindsey Payne finished ninth in last year’s final. Both athletes placed in this event after running the 3200. Ernst did not have her best cross-country season last fall. Watch for her to bounce back in her junior track season.

Katelynne Hart could be the favorite in this event if she ends up running it. The 3A state cross-country champ from last fall ran a 4:56.68 equivalent during eighth grade. She could be a factor in this event. The same could be said about Sarah May. She just missed making the finals in the 800 Meter Run by five hundredths of a second at state. She bounced back in a couple of races in June where she ran 5:01.35 to win the high school division at the Magis Miles. She came back the following week to run 2:14 for 800 meters. She might be someone to watch this track season.

Emily Shelton (Minooka, junior) ran 5:00.29 to make the state finals last year. She is an athlete that could be in the front in this event. Brooke Wilson (Prospect, senior) and Isabelle Christiansen (Oswego, sophomore) both had good cross-country seasons and could be among the top five in this event. Isabelle Sparreo (Stevenson, junior) and Olivia Nizolek (Maine South, junior) are some of the other runners that could also dip under five minutes this spring.

3200 Meter Run

Top 25 Returnees

Outlook – This event is loaded with seven of last year’s top nine back. 2016 champion Lindsey Payne is back looking for another state title. Her season’s best time of 10:29.80 is ten seconds faster than the rest of the returning athletes. She had an up and down cross-country season but still finished second at state as well as qualifying for the Foot Locker Nationals. We could see some big things from her this spring.

Minooka’s Ashley Tutt and Emily Shelton finished second and third in the 3200 finals only four seconds behind Payne. Shelton finished third at Detweiller last November while Tutt finished 17^th. Both could be closer to Payne this track season.

Brooke Wilson, Brett Chody (Lake Forest, junior), Jocelyn Long (Barrington, junior), and Audrey Ernst all finished in the top nine and looking to move closer to the front. Katie Hohe (Glenbard West, sophomore) finished 11^th at state last May but that was after running on her team’s 3200 Meter Relay team. She did run 10:43.11 in her sectional race. She is a runner that I would not discount. Sarah Schmidt (Naperville North, junior), Melissa Manetsch (Libertyville, junior), and Sarah Barcelona (Lyons Township, sophomore) are other runners to watch in this event.

3200 Meter Relay

This event was fantastic last spring. Hinsdale Central ran the fourth fastest time ever at state (9:04.27). The Red Devilettes could be just as strong this spring as three of that quartet return led by Reilly Revord and Grace McCabe. Schaumburg ran 9:11.77 to finish second last year and could be Hinsdale Central’s chief competition. They return their entire squad led by Madison Marasco and Lauren Kubinski.

Glenbard West only returns two from last year’s fourth place team. The addition of Katelynne Hart makes the Hilltoppers a contender for the state title. New Trier also returns three from their all-state team and could be in the mix up front. Palatine, Naperville North, St. Charles East, Belvidere North, and Grant are teams that I would keep an eye on as this season progresses.