Monday Morning Finish Line

 

May 31, 2021

 

 

By Michael Newman

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I hope everybody has had a great weekend. I hope for those of you that have extended days off that you remember the reason why. Memorial Day is when we remember the ultimate sacrifices that our Men and Women in the United States Military have protected our freedoms and liberties that we have.

 

This would be the Monday that we would start to look back at the state meets that had happened in Charleston in regular years. This is no ordinary year as we know by now.

 

The IHSA released a preliminary sample schedule on May 27 for the three days of state track meets. There were no surprises for me. I thought they may put the 3200 Meter Run Section 1 in front of the 4x800 Meter Relay races like any normal state meet.

 

I’ve been asked about the field events. There have been some complaints about not having prelims in the state finals: three prelims advance to the finals and then three more attempts in the throws and the horizontal jumps. Well, the IHSA said no prelims in this year’s state meet. That means no prelims. Four attempts in those events.

 

I am neither happy nor mad about this. It is only for the 2021 season. All I can say is for this season is adapt or die. Most coaches have adapted. Those coaches who have not, well we might not see their athletes competing in Charleston.

 

The state meet starts this week for the Girls as 36 sectionals take place over three classifications. This may feel like prelims of state more than anything except the qualifying athletes will have more than a week to get to the finals instead of the over night sleep on it and then compete again the next day.

 

It makes the state finals in Charleston something special in 2021. No jogging to try to advance to the finals. It is all out races seeing if someone in the first section able to win a state title over the fastest seed in the final section of the event.

 

The High Jump and the Long Jump could last forever. That could be fun. It depends how many athletes in each flight to determine how long this meet will go. The final race on the track could be not the last event of the night. Like I said, this state meet will be unique. At the same time, those two weekends should be great.

 

Looking at the upcoming Girls Sectionals

 

Entries for the IHSA Girls Sectionals closed just before midnight last night. There are so many things that have surprised me about those entries. I was looking at the distance races. How many athletes doubling / tripling will make a difference at this year’s state meet from June 10 to June 12. There were some sprint multi event athletes to see what they were going to do. Again, fascinating.

 

Let’s look class by class of some of the things that I found interesting. Just speculating of course.

 

Class 3A – Let’s start with the sectionals taking place on Wednesday and work our way through the week.

 

The Minooka Sectional has a great variety of sprints and distance events. It also has two of the top 3A teams in the state Lincoln-Way East and Homewood-Flossmoor. There were no real surprises in the entries for the Griffins. Their star Mariam Azeez will compete in the 100 Meter Dash, 200 Meter Dash, Long Jump, and the 4x100m Relay. She should advance in all four events. Homewood-Flossmoor is putting their money on two athletes in multiple individual events. Alexandria Edison is in the 100, 200, and 400. Her teammate Ana-Liese Torian will run in the 100 Hurdles, 100, and 200. That leaves just one relay for the two to compete in. Caroline Schoen should qualify for HF in both the 3200 Meter Run and 1600 Meter Run. Kate Guderjan of Lincoln-Way East is a good bet to make it also in both events. Minooka, Lincoln-Way East, and Lincoln-Way Central all have times under 10-minutes in the 4x800m Relay. Minooka currently ranked #6 in Class 3A. 9:36.9 is the qualifying standard. None of the three teams have gone under that time yet. Wednesday could be the night to get that standard.

 

One of the entries that  I wanted to look at was the Grayslake North Sectional. Grayslake Central is a team that could make some noise in Charleston. Bella Domier is one of the reasons why. She is the top seed in both the 800 Meter Run and 1600 Meter Run and should run on the team’s top ranked 4x800m Relay. Domier is also on the team’s relay card in the 4x800m Relay. The 800 should be a fantastic race with Domier, Jordyn Miller of Mundelein, and Brooke Johnston of Lake Zurich all under the 2:19 state qualifying time. Sheila Tucker of Libertyville and Isabella Marsico of Lake Forest are close to that standard and could get it in this sectional. Domier and Johnston bounce back in the 1600 Meter Run and are the top seeds in that event. The 400 Meter Dash should also be sneaky good with Kathleen Baker of Barrington, Miller, Dakota Lyons of Libertyville, and Madison Hecker of Warren Township all at or under 59 seconds.

 

Breanna Burak of Huntley is the top seed in both the 1600 Meter Run and 3200 Meter Run at the Rolling Meadows Sectional. Kelly Carpenter of Jacobs is in position to also qualify in both of those events.

 

The Whitney Young Sectional, held at Hope Academy, should have some great sprint events. Host Whitney Young could be a player at state, but this meet will determine how much of a force they could be. Sydney Robinson of Whitney Young and Sydney Weaver of Kenwood lead a strong field in the 100 Meter Dash and 200 Meter Dash. Whitney Young could qualify three of their four relays in this meet. Lexi Affolter of St. Ignatius is the class of the field in the 800 Meter Run and 1600 Meter Run and should be a lock to qualify in both events.

 

Thursday’s Antioch Sectional has some great distance races. Aly Negovetich of Grant Community and Brooke Stromsland of Lakes are the top seeds in both the 3200 Meter Run and 1600 Meter Run. I sabella Gonzalez of Crystal Lake South has a chance to qualify in the 3200.  Rachel Soukup of Prairie Ridge could join Stromsland and Negovetich in the 1600 Meter Run in Charleston. Rylee Lydon of Prairie Ridge has the top 3A time in the state in the 200 Meter Dash and 400 Meter Dash and should be the favorite in both those races. She is also the top seed in the High Jump and the 300 Hurdles and should advance in both those events.

 

The spotlight in the O’Fallon Sectional should be on Ali Ince of Normal Community. The state record holder in the 800 Meter Run is the top seed in that event as well as the 1600 Meter Run. Normal Community has the top time in the state in the 4x400m Relay. We should see Ince in that race also.

 

Prospect is one of the teams to watch at next week’s state meet. It will be interesting to see how many individuals they get out of the Loyola Academy Sectional. Daria Tersina is the top seed in the 100 and 200 and should also advance in the Triple Jump for the Lady Knights. Audrey Ginsberg has one of the top 3A times in the 800 Meter Run and should advance along with teammate Cameron Kalaway. There are four runners under 5:10 in the 1600 Meter Run led by Loyola’s Morgan Mackie and Anna Harden of Hersey. Both Mackie and Harden have gone under 11-minutes in the 3200 Meter Run and should be the favorites in that race. Prospect has the fastest time in the state and should be pushed by New Trier in the 4x800m Relay.

 

The big news at the Lake Park Sectional is that Katrina Schlenker of Batavia, who ran 10:31 for 3200-meters, will not race that event at state instead concentrating in both the 800 Meter Run and 1600 Meter Run. Schlenker, who ran 2:13.43 at Palatine in May, headlines a good field in that event that includes Audrey Allman and Carlin Hass of Glenbard West and Lauren Huber of Glenbard East who all have times under 2:20. There could be two other runners that also make it to state in that event.

 

There are some great distance fields at the Lyons Township Sectional. Josephine Welin of Oak Park-River Forest and Sophia McNerney of Downers Grove South are the top two runners in the 3200 Meter Run that could have five runners qualify out of this sectional. Welin has the top 3A time in the 3200 Meter Run. Kate Dickman of Lyons Township is the top seed in a deep 1600 Meter Run that includes Welin, Brooke Berger of York, and Catie McCabe of Hinsdale Central all of whom have run 5:06 or faster this spring. McNerney is the top seed in the 800 Meter Run and will attempt to qualify with a 3200 / 800 double. McCabe and Melissa Jachim of Downers Grove North all have times under 2:20. Downers Grove North is the top seed in the 4x800m relay with York, Downers Grove South, Lyons Township, and Oak Park-River Forest all with chances to make it to state. None of the teams have hit the 9:36.9 qualifying standard. We could see times drop on Thursday night. Keep an eye on Downers Grove North and their qualifiers for state. The Trojans dominated at the WSC-Silver last Friday and could be a factor at state.

 

Naperville North has the talent to challenge for a state title. We will see how many qualifiers they have at Thursday’s Lockport Sectional. Maggie Gamboa of Naperville North is the big favorite in the 3200 Meter Run and could get Logan Brennan also to EIU. Elisabeth Camic and Kelly Andrews of Benet Academy, along with Josie Bond of Naperville North are the top runners to watch in the 800 Meter Run. Samantha Poglitsch of Wheaton-Warrenville South is the top seed in the 1600 Meter Run that will include Campbell Petersen and Audrey Mendrys of Naperville North. The 3200 Meter Relay will pit two of the top teams in the event Naperville North and Benet Academy.

 

Audra Soderlind of Oswego is the top runner in the 3200 Meter Run and 1600 Meter Run at the Rock Island Sectional and could qualify in both events. Anna Schuering of Quincy is the top seed in the 800 Meter Run and should be pushed by Oswego’s Ella Hale in that race.

 

Class 2A – I was interested to see what St. Viator’s Mary Grace Hegberg would try to qualify in. She did triple in her conference meet and was successful with it. Her coach is keeping her safe running the 3200 and 1600 at the Carmel Sectional on Wednesday. She should win both. The thing to watch is how fast does she go to get into the fastest state sections in each event. She should be able to accomplish that.

 

Eureka and Normal University are in the same sectional and travel to the Kankakee Sectional on Wednesday to compete. Anna Perry of Eureka should win the 3200 Meter Run in that sectional and will double back int the 1600 Meter Run. Perry, Alexi Fogo of Eureka, and Lizzy Zacharias of Norma University all have seeds under 5:12 in that race. Eureka and Normal University will face off in what should be a great 4x800m Relay. Zacharais will anchor a talented squad for U-High. Perry is on the relay card and could jump in this sectional race since she should win the 3200 with ease. It is something to watch for.

 

I wanted to see in the Macomb Sectional on what Lauren Doerr of Morton would compete in. She has been successful this spring in the sprints. She should be the top seed in the 100, 200, and Long Jump. Expect her to be in one of the Potters’ relay teams on Wednesday. There are five runners that have surpassed the 2A qualifying for  the 1600 Meter Run of 5:24.40. There could be realistically seven runners that make it out of this sectional including Becca Heitzig of Lincoln and Savannah Beavers of Olympia. Heitzig should be the big favorite in this sectional in the 800 Meter Run.

 

The Salem Sectional Distance races should be headed by Ainsley Bailey of Massac County who is the top seed in both the 800 Meter Run and 1600 Meter Run. She is also entered in the 400 Meter Dash with a 60.4 seed time. That could be an interesting triple in Charleston. Remember, she would only be running three races on that state Friday final.

 

The Plano Sectional will feature Lianna Surtz of Rosary who will just run in the 1600 Meter Run. She is also on the 4x800m Relay card. Maggie Dervis of Aurora Central Catholic is the top seed in all three sprint races and could qualify in those events.

 

The Latin School Sectional will have the host Latin School setting themselves up for the state meet. It will be distance runners that will put themselves in contention for a state title. Marianne Mihas is a big favorite to win the 400 Meter Dash and the 800 Meter Run. Ava Parekh is running the distance triple in this meet (800, 1600, 3200). Mihas and Parekh are 30 seconds ahead of the rest of the field in the 800 Meter Run. Parekh and Olivia Syftestad should get Latin entries in the 3200 Meter Run. Parekh and Bea Parr, along with Northside’s Elia Ton-That all have run under the State qualifying standard in the 1600 Meter Run.

 

It will be interesting to see what happens at the Geneseo Sectional and see how many qualifiers the host school has. The biggest event will be the Pole Vault and Illinois All-Time Record holder Tori Thomas of Alleman. Thomas again re-wrote the all-time best of 13’ 9.25 at a meet last week. Will she get 14’ either in this meet or at state? Hailey Heair of Galena had a big cross-country season last fall and should be one of the runners to watch in the next few weeks. She is the top seed in the 3200 Meter Run and 1600 Meter Run and should qualify in both.

 

Monticello should be the class of the distance races at the Mt. Zion Sectional. Mabry Bruhn should advance in the 3200 Meter Run and 1600 Meter Run. Megan Garrett of Charleston will be in the 1600 Meter Run and should qualify. Garrett is one of two runners under 2:20 in the 800 Meter Run with Ashleigh Anderson of Mt. Zion. Monticello and Tolono Unity are the top seeds in the 4x800m Relay and should not be challenged in the top 2 places in this sectional.

 

The Shot Put should be sneaky good at the East Alton-Wood River Sectional on Friday. Not only do you have the best athlete in the state in the event Jayden Ulrich of East Alton-Wood River, three more athletes may earn the trip to Charleston including Taylor Kesner of Highland, and the East St. Louis-Senior duo of Jacqueline Bownes and Desire Poole. Colleen Ziebert of Rochester will be one runner to watch in both the 800 Meter Run and 1600 Meter Run. The return of Lydia Roller of Staunton has been nice to see after she has missed most of her season due to injury. She had a great race with Janelynn Wirth at last week’s South Central Conference Meet in the 3200 Meter Run. The two runners will face off again Friday night.

 

Class 1A – The Belleville Althoff Catholic Sectional will have good sprint fields headed by Nariah Parks of Althoff Catholic. The defending Class 1A Champion in the 400 Meter Dash should qualify for state in that event. Parks is also entered in both the 100 Meter Dash and 200 Meter Dash and could make it to state in both. Her teammate Alaina Lester is the top seed in the 100 Meter Dash but will not run in the 200 Meter Dash. Lester is on all three sprint relay cards for her team.

 

We will be watching at the DuQuoin Sectional to see how many qualifiers that team favorite DuQuoin will have on Wednesday night. Olivia Phillips and Jacqueline Crain are the top seeds in the 800 Meter Run. Phillips and Grace Alongi both should advance in the 4000 Meter Dash. DuQuoin should advance all four of their relays. They have the top times in al four of those events.

 

Atleigh Hamilton of St. Joseph-Ogden was a big factor in her team’s relay success in the last two state meets. This year she will be concentrating on individual events in the St. Joseph-Ogden Sectional. Hamilton should qualify in the Long Jump along with the 100, 200, and 400.  Kate Ahmari of Urbana University will be one of the state favorites in the distance events. She should qualify in the 3200 Meter Run and 1600 Meter Run in this meet.

 

The Winnebago Sectional held this Thursday features the top 1A distance team in the state Winnebago. The Indians have the top runners in the 800 Meter Run with Grace Erb and Marissa Roggensack. The 1600 Meter Run has a scent of Winnebago with Natalia Martino and Kaylee Woolery. Their 4x800 Meter Relay team has the top time in this field and could be challenged by Harvest Christian in the event. Rockford Christian and Winnebago both have run 4:16 in the 4x400m Relay and could both make it to state. Kelly Giardina of Rockford Christian and Leah Warner of Stockton both have run 1209 and are the top seeds in the 3200 Meter Run. The qualifying standard in the event is 12:19.90 for the event. Sophia Martino has run 12:24 and has a chance to qualify.

 

Kamryn Kolb of Bureau Valley could be one athlete to watch at the Rockridge Sectional. She will compete in both the Long Jump and 200 Meter Dash and should qualify for state. Kolb will also be a part of the team’s 4x100m Relay and 4x200 m Relay that has a chance to make the trip to Charleston. Mattie Kindelsperger of Sherrard has the second fastest time in Class 1A and should advance with ease. The senior is a good bet also to make it in the 1600 Meter Run.

 

The Hope Academy Sectional should have the host school qualifying big numbers in the sprint events. Tyrah Taylor of Hope Academy has the second fastest time in Class 1A in the 100 Meter Dash and top time in the 200 Meter Dash. She should qualify in both events. Hope Academy is seeded third in the 4x100m Relay behind IC Catholic Prep and Ogden International. Taylor is part of Hope’s 4x200m Relay that is seeded fourth. Good races could get both of their relays to the state meet. IC Catholic Prep is a team to watch in the distance races. Carly Manchester has the top 1A time in the state in the 3200 Meter Run. She will be changed by Julia Wolke of Christian Liberty Academy in this race. The two runners will be factors in the 1600 Meter Run along with Sofia Brown of FW Parker. Manchester is also the top seed in the 800 Meter Run.

 

Maleigha Huston of Bushnell-Prairie City should be a favorite in the Knoxville Sectional in the 800 Meter Run. She should challenge Wethersfield freshman Kennady Anderson in the 1600 Meter Run. Anderson and Eden Mueller of Mercer County should be the runners to watch in the 3200 Meter Run.

 

Megan Becker of Bloomington Central Catholic will be an athlete to watch at Thursday’s Bloomington Central Catholic Sectional. The junior is the top seed in all three sprint events and has the fastest Class 1A time in the 400 Meter Dash. Windsor Roberts of Tri-Valley will make it to state in the Pole Vault. Roberts has the top mark in Class 1A in the event (12’ 6”).

 

The Tuscola Sectional has one of the top 1A sprinters in the state in Alyssa Williams of Tuscola. The junior should qualify in both the 100 Meter Dash and 200 Meter Dash as well as the Long Jump. The relay events are strong in this meet with Maroa-Forsyth a possible factor at state in the 4x100m Relay and 4x200m Relay.