2020 ILXCTF.com Illinois Track & Field Previews - 3A Girls Distance Events

By Michael Newman

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This May, it will be the final time around the Eastern Illinois University track for Glenbard West’s Katelynne Hart. Her story is complete in cross country as a four time Class 3A Champion. She enters this season eight all-state medals, seven of them gold.

After she broke the state high school record in the 1-Mile Run at Magis Miles (4:39.57), the question was asked what was left for her to prove?

It could be that before she graduates and leaves to attend the University of Michigan that a team state championship could be on her mind. She was a part of a state championship team when she was a freshman in 2017.

We did not think about Hart running the distance triple at the beginning of last season. That became more of a realistic thought when she won the 800 Meter Run at Illinois Top Times at the end of March then came back less than an hour later to win the 1600 Meter Run.

Last year, she cruised to a win in the 3200 Meter Run. Hart then came back and dug down deep to claim the championship in the 800 Meter Run. The 1600 Meter Run was a formality as she had the race won when the gun went off.

What will be in store for Hart in 2020? She may have something in her mind, but we won’t find out until May. The decision may come down what would be the best for her teammates. She is a team first type of runner. She will go after four straight at both the 3200 Meter Run and the 1600 Meter Run. After that, we don’t know right now what events she will participate as she runs into the sunset of her high school career.

If Hart does not defend her 800 Meter Run title, who will be the runners to watch?

The conclusion is that Katelynne Hart is the best runner in the state at all distances even though a few do not believe that is the case. Good evidence is the way that she dominated the field at Illinois Top Times and then the win at state. Erin Reidy of Downers Grove South enters this season with the top returning time of 2:10.53 accomplished when she won the Midwest Distance Classic. In that race, he was paced by a male runner through a fast 1:34 first 600 and then went it alone for the final part of the race. Reidy’s next best time was the 2:13.79 that she ran to finish behind Hart. The South senior took the next step up last fall when she finished sixth in the 3A State Meet. She will be one of the runners to watch this spring in the event.

This event will be extremely tough especially with seven all-state runners (excluding Hart) coming back. Olivia Schmitt of Lakes Community could be one of those runners that could stake her claim to a championship. She finished second in last year’s final with a 2:11.84 seasonal best to her credit. I am interested to see how Kaylie Politza of Lemont preforms after a breakout freshman season where she earned all-state honors placing ninth. She does have the fourth fastest returning time and looks to be recovered from a stress fracture that had her miss most of last fall’s cross country season. Another freshman, Audrey Allman of Glenbard West, finished fourth in the state finals, then won the freshman national title at the New Balance Outdoor National Championships. She will be a runner to keep an eye on as well along with Janae Dean of Hoffman Estates and Ella Hale of Oswego.

The Underclassmen in Waiting

It is tough to think that three time champion in both the 1600 and 3200 Katelynne Hart can be beat in those two races. Besides, no Illinois runner has defeated her at those distances in her career.

We found out that Samantha Poglitsch of Wheaton-Warrenville South took that next step up during the last cross-country season finishing second behind Hart in her regional, sectional, and state races. We knew that this junior had the speed to finish on the track. She displayed that last year in a win over Katrina Schlenker of Batavia in their conference race and then again at state.

Poglitsch has that desire to be the best. We should see more of that this spring. She enters the season with a 4:54.81 personal best for 1600-meters. That time should drop even lower in 2020.

The biggest achievement in life is not in ever falling but rising again after you fall. We saw an example of that from Katrina Schlenker in last spring’s state meet. She did not have her best race in the prelims of the 1600 Meter Run failing to qualify for the finals. She bounced back the next day to help her team earn all-state honors in the 3200 Meter Relay. Adversity hit the sophomore again last fall when she missed the first month of the season due to injury. She fought her way back to finish third last November at Detweiller Park. Those experiences will help her on the track this spring in what ever she decides to run. Schlenker enters the season with the second fastest returning time at 1600-meters (4:51.36).

If nobody believed that a Class 2A state champion could make her presence known in Class 3A, then you have not watched Brooke Stromsland run. The junior from Lakes Community had a breakout sophomore season on the track after winning the 2A state title in the fall of 2018. Stromsland made believers out of everyone at O’Brien Field when she finished second behind Hart in the 3200 Meter Run, and then come back to finish fourth in the 1600 Meter Run. Her state race last November behind freshman sensation Tatum David when Stromsland finished second by herself but equaling her sophomore proved that Stromsland has more left in her to prove to everyone in this state.

The Seniors in Waiting

Emma Watcke of Hinsdale Central was the unknown quantity as she entered her first spring of Illinois high school running after transferring from Minister, Ohio. She ran 4:54.91 in the 1600 Meter Run last spring. She finished second at state. She also ran a 10:34.79 personal best in Palatine last April in the 3200 Meter Run. The most impressive race, however, was in her sectional race, when she closed the gap in the final lap on Hart to finish second. I had never seen anyone gain on the Glenbard runner before that. It will be interesting to see what is next for Watcke this spring.

Fatima Giron of Round Lake fell off the radar last fall after finishing sixth the previous track season in the 3200 Meter Run. Giron suffered an injury that most people were telling her that she would be out all of last fall. The future Michigan State Student/Athlete had plans of her own. She finished sixth in her regional race and seventh at sectionals qualifying for state. Although, she finished 35th at Detweiller Park, she overcame adversity to get to that point. She enters this season with the third fastest returning time (10:32.52) in the 3200 Meter Run.

It was Deja-vu for Brenna Cohoon of Downers Grove South at last fall’s state championships in Peoria. The week before in her sectional race, she lost her shoe but won the race. Again in Peoria, she lost her shoe around the first turn, but still was able to earn all-state honors by finishing 14th overall. She faced the same adversity last spring in track missing a good portion of the season to an injury. Yet, she came back to finish fourth last May in the 3200 Meter Run. What will be next for the future Iowa State Student Athlete in 2020? Hopefully, her shoe stays on this spring.

Relay Notes

Flip a number of cards with team names in the air. You may come up with the school that could win the 3200 Meter Relay.

Again, it is too hard to tell in February who the favorite is. You look at the teams with the number of returnees that made the finals. Lyons Township, Barrington, and Batavia all return their entire quartets. Wheaton-Warrenville South returns three runners as well as Glenbard West. It could be the Lady Hilltoppers that we keep an eye on especially if they decide to put Katelynne Hart in that event.

Top Returning Class 3A Girls Distance Runners

800 Meter Run

1600 Meter Run

3200 Meter Run