2020 ILXCTF.com Illinois Track & Field Previews - 2A Girls Teams

By Michael Newman

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Will it be the Flyertettes of East St. Louis-Senior that will defend their Class 2A state title this May or will it be Monticello, Latin School or Urbana that are the teams that take home the title. All four teams have the talent to accomplish that state trophy goal. We will just have to wait until May to see what happens.

Here is a look of some of the teams to keep an eye on in 2020.

Teams are listed in alphabetical order.

Aurora (Rosary)

Preview – The Royals were among the top 10 teams in last year’s state meet. Rosary should repeat that perhaps getting closer to the top five. Lianna Surtz missed most of last season due to an injury. When she was healthy, she went on to win the state championship in the 1600 Meter Run. She was also part of the 3200 Meter Relay team that finished fourth. All the runners return from that team. Class 2A will extremely tough in the distance events. We could see Surtz in both the 1600 and 3200.

Maia Italia was part of the all-state relay squad. She could also be among the all-state runners in the 800 Meter Run. Annie Molenhouse made the finals in the Triple Jump. She could finish in the top nine this year along with teammate Lauren Roskuszka.  Molenhouse could be someone to watch in the 400 Meter Dash.

Burlington Central

Preview – It was a tough state meet for the Rockets in 2019 as they scored only eight points. It was not one of their best meets of the year. The improvement for this squad could be great in 2020. Brooke Barkocy finished ninth in last year’s 100 Meter Hurdles but returns the fourth fastest time from last year. She did not have her best year in the longer hurdle race. If she rebounds this spring in that event, she could finish among the first four at state.

Caroline Hintz finished fifth last year in the Discus and should be among the top athletes in that event. Megan Gasparaitis just missed all-state by one spot in the Pole Vault. She could be among the top five athletes in that event. Avery Andersen could be an athlete to keep an eye on in the 800 Meter Run.

Chicago (Latin School)

Preview – You usually don’t see a team with distance dominance among the top three teams on the podium after the state meet. Latin School proved some of the doubters wrong in 2019 as they finished second in the Class 1A State Meet. The Romans were moved up to Class 2A and will use the same formula with distance, distance, distance.

Two athletes power this team. Ava Parekh won the 3200 Meter Run and finished second in the 160 Meter Run in the 1A Meet last year. Marianne Mihas won both the 800 Meter Run and 1600 Meter Run. Both will be favorites in all three events. Latin School earned all-state honors in the 3200 Meter Relay without their two stars. Bea Parr and Claire Hardiman lead the quartet that will challenge for the relay championship. The team also has possibilities in the 1600 Meter Relay.

The one thing to watch for is that the Romans achieved what they did last year after running their prelims on Thursday. This year, they will run on Friday morning, then coming back on Saturday. Keep an eye on how the rest time affects them in 2020.

Clinton

Preview – The Maroons only points in last year’s state meet came from the win in the 800 Meter Run from Payne Turney. We could see the defending state champ the favorite again in the 800 Meter Run and possibly getting her team points in the 1600 Meter Run.

Watch for Olivia Earl to be one of the all-state athletes in the Pole Vault. We could see Tori Burke make a step up this spring in the sprints.

East St. Louis-Senior

Preview – The Flyerettes are back ready to defend their 2019 Class 2A Sate Championships. Eastside has their program tradition to work off. They also have a deep team loaded with talent ready to stay ahead of the rest of the pack.

Veronica Sherrod is the defending champion in the 300 Hurdles and will be the favorite in the event again in 2020. She was also all-state in the 100 Hurdles and will look for the win there. Sherrod was also the lead off runner for the team’s state championship quartets in the 400 Meter Relay and 800 Meter Relay. Three runners are back from both squads.

Their sprint group is deep led by Faith Mitchell, Marika Lampley, and Bri’onna Graham. Mitchell is the only runner back from their championship 1600 Meter Relay team that won by 10 seconds. The question will be who will be the runners that are ready to take the next step up. Jaqueline Bownes is an athlete to watch for in the Shot Put. Desiree Poole threw over 120-feet as a freshman in the Discus. Big things are ahead for her in that event.

Monticello

Preview – One of the 2A teams that could win this year’s 2A state championship. Monticello does have the quality athletes to accomplish that. Emelia Ness finished second at state in both hurdle races. She will be one of the favorites in both events. Mattie Lieb was all-state in both sprint events (100 & 200). She will be one of the finalists again in both events. Both Ness and Lieb were a part of the 400 and 800 Meter Relays that finished in the top four. Their quartets are coming back intact and should challenge for the win.

Landis Brandon finished fifth last year in the Pole Vault and should again be one of the athlete athletes in this 2A event. Monticello’s distance squad is strong led by Rachel Koon. As a freshman, Koon was all-state in the 3200 Meter Run. She will be one of the runners up front this season. Freshman Mabry Bruhn finished 13 last November in the 1A State Race at Deweiller Park. It will be interesting to see how she does in her first high school track season.

Morton

Preview – A team that could be sneaky good when we get to Charleston. The Potters tied for ninth in last year’s state meet. They do have the talent to finish among the first five Class 2A teams. Emma Skinner was all-state last year in the 1600 Meter Run. This event again will be tough. You can expect Skinner to be among the front runners especially after showing strong improvement during the cross-country season.

Lauren Doerr should show improvement in the sprints. She could earn all-state honors in all three of those events. Doerr made the finals last year in the Long Jump. She could go past 19-feet this spring. Keep an eye on her in that event. Lauren Wong is a possibility to finish in the top nine in the Triple Jump.

Mt. Zion

Preview – Another team to keep a close eye on. The Braves finished seventh in the 2019 State Meet. This team finishing higher is a good possibility. Rhiannon Held finished second last year in the Pole Vault. She will challenge for the win in May. Morgan Pilate was all-state in the Triple Jump. She could also challenge for the win in her event. Madison Hardin could be an athlete to keep an eye on in the two weight events.

Sarah Addai will be the runner to watch in this classification in the 400 Meter Dash. Addai is the top runner back after finish third a year ago. She could also be a difference maker in one of the two other sprint events. Taylor Fox was all-state in the 800 Meter Run. This event is tough in 2020. She could, however, challenge for a top five finish.

Rantoul

Preview – A team to keep an eye on after finishing in a tie for 12th place at last year’s state meet. Mye’joi Williams finished third in the Shot Put and will again be one of the top athletes in that event. She could also be someone to watch in the Discus.

Tanaya Young had a great sophomore season in 2019 culminating with a third-place finish. She will challenge for the state title in May. Young could also be a factor in the 100 Meter Dash. She was also a part of the 400 Meter Relay quartet that finished fifth at state. All of that quartet is back looking for a higher finish.

Urbana

Preview – The Tigers should be in the mix for one of the top three places in this year’s state meet. Diamonasia Taylor is among the top athletes in the High Jump in the country. Taylor will be going after her fourth straight state title in the event. Taylor added the Long Jump to her meet resume last season. She ended up finishing second at state in the event and could challenge for the win in 2020.

Three runners are back, including Taylor, in the 800 Meter Relay that finished seventh in the state finals. They are a team that could challenge for a finish in the top five. Olivia Rosenstein missed winning the state title in the 3200 Meter Run by less than a second. She will be one of the runners to watch in the front in that event as well as the 1600 Meter Run. Celia Barbieri had a good cross country season and could be a surprise in the distance events this spring.