10 Storylines to Follow at the IHSA Girls State Track & Field Championships 2021

 

 

By Michael Newman

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The Illinois Girls State Meet held from Thursday through Saturday this week again will be a three-ring circus like it usually is. That is a good thing as we slowly leave this pandemic to return to normal. Let’s look at some of the many things at this weekend’s state meet.

 

 

What will this freshman do next?

 

Ali Ince of Normal Community made me a believer after a meet at the SPIRE outside of Cleveland at the beginning of February. Ince in that meet on the same day ran 4:53.38 to finish sixth in the 1600 Meter Run. She came back to run 2:13.78 to finish third. She only is a freshman. What could she do next?

 

She has done so much after that early February race. She went to Virginia and ran 4:50.54 to easily win the freshman mile. She came back the next day to win the adidas Nationals in the 800 Meter Run. 2:09.42 for a high school freshman? Impossible.

 

She stepped out of the limelight for the next six weeks. No races. It was just time for hard work to get her to the point where she is heading to this Saturday’s IHSA 3A State Finals.

 

Her biggest accomplishment so far in this outdoor season came on May 8 at Distance Night in Palatine when all the attention was on Roisin Willis and her attempt to go past the 2:02.5 Olympic Trials. What happened is Ince took advantage of the opportunity and let Willis set the pace. The result was a win in the race and the fastest time ever (2:04.10) run by an Illinois High School runner.

 

She’s only a freshman. Believe in her now?

 

Ince mentioned in a post-race interview she wanted to run the 800 and 1600 at state. Four days later at a meet in Bloomington, she ran 2:11.5 to win the 800 Meter Run, then came back to run 4:54.47 to win the 1600 Meter Run. She was not pushed in either race.

 

Her race last Thursday she was not pushed in either race. Ince ran 2:05.31 running the second faster Illinois time ever and winning by 18 seconds. She as not pushed in her win in the 1600 Meter Run.

 

When she steps to the line in Saturday’s final of the 800 Meter Run, the pressure may push her to a fast time. It will not show on her face. The eight-year-old state meet record by Courtney Clayton of 2:07.06 could fall. That is what we want. Hidden in her mind, the preparation leading to this run shows that is what she wants too.

 

 

 

The Focus to Go Higher

 

If you looked at a meet that Rock Island Alleman was at when in 2018, you would see Tori Thomas all over the field in different events. She ran the relays for her team. She was in the Long Jump. She was in the 200 Meter Dash. She was in the Pole Vault. She ended her first of High School All-State in the 200 Meter Dash and second place in the Class 1A Pole Vault, and part of her team’s state qualifying relays. She extended herself as a sophomore in 2019 earning all-state honors in the 100 Meter Dash. She was successful again in the Pole Vault finishing second.

 

As a freshman and a sophomore, she had only improved to 12-0.

 

The stop of track after March 11 of last year stopped her in a way to think about her efforts in the Pole Vault. She cleared 12-10.75 in a meet in Iowa a week before the track season ended. No state meets in 2020. No qualifying in multiple events to Charleston. It was time to focus. Her parents were athletes in the event when they competed. Her father was a five-time national champion and now coaches at Augustana College in Rock Island.

 

The love for the event and the work put in over the past year has paid off. Thomas set a new Illinois All-Time best at a meet in Missouri clearing 13-6 at the beginning of January. She has cleared 13 feet four times this outdoor season. Thomas has re-set her state record twice clearing 13-7.5 at the Western Big Six Conference Meet on May 21 and then 13-9.25 four days later in a small dual meet. She is currently ranked #8 in the nation.

 

Before she heads to Illinois State University this fall, she has business to attend to this Friday. The state meet record is 13-4. That height is within her wheelhouse. Getting to that 14-0 barrier is something she could reach.

 

 

 

In the ring is the thing for Ulrich

 

The beauty of the movement of an athlete when they step int the ring for the Shot Put and the Discus is a sight to remember. The spin for the Shot Put is great if the athlete has the technique down. Jayden Ulrich if East-Alton-Wood River does not use the spin. This senior uses the glide technique when she steps into the ring for the Shot Put. She steps into the back of the ring, slowly builds up her momentum rocking back and forth, and then the release when she puts the shot in the air. It Is so simple and when done so effective.

 

Ulrich has demonstrated that to a dramatic improvement in the event. She won the 2A State Championship as a sophomore in 2019 where she had a 46-9.5 winning put. She earned All-American honors a month later finishing the year placing fifth at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals.

 

The year missed due to the pandemic has paid off with all the work she did to get ready for this season. She signed to attend Indiana University last November. The ring has been her focus heading into this Friday’s 2A State Finals. And she can’t wait.

 

Ulrich has the possibility to set State Meet Records in Charleston in both the Shot Put and the Discus The work she put in has showed in the ring with close to a 30-foot improvement in the Discus going from 139-11 in 2019 and surpassing the All-Time state best with a 168-1.75 throw at a meet in Chester on May 26. She has passed the state meet record twice this season with her best of 51-10.75 happening in Collinsville on May 14. She could smash the 49-10.5 Class 2A State Meet Record in this meet .She should surpass the five-year-old record of 51-0 that Kathleen Young set in 2016. The all-time best set in 2017 by Young of 53-5 could be within her reach. She will be the favorite in both weight events. She could win and set records at the same time.

 

 

 

The sweep in Ammenhauser’s vision

 

There is a thing with most horizontal is that they are good in one of the disciplines and cannot reach the distance in the horizontal discipline. That held true early in the career of Riley Ammenhauser of Neuqua Valley. She has been perfect in the Triple Jump since her first high school meet in 2018. She has not lost a Triple Jump event on Illinois soil. She has won state championships her freshman and sophomore seasons. She would have won in 2020 but the season cancelled ended that. No again in her final high school campaign she has stayed undefeated. Her jump of 42-11 at last weeks Lockport Sectional  put her past Jaimie Robinson’s state meet record. Now Ammenhauser needs to do that on Saturday. She is currently #2 in the country and perhaps one of the most dominant jumpers in this discipline that we have ever seen.

 

Ammenhauser’s improvement in the Long Jump has correlated in her improvement in the Triple Jump. Maybe that is vice-versa. Her last state meet in the Long Jump in 2019 had her finishing eighth overall. She has put in the work to get her marks in the Long Jump equal to what she is doing in the Triple Jump. She started out her 2021 outdoor season with a 20-2.5 mark at the NSAF Meet of Champions at the end of March. She has jumped only four more times in the event. The 19-4.25 in the event at Lockport put her the longest of all sectional marks.

 

It will be a major upset if she does not win her final Illinois High School Meet in the Triple Jump. The field is closer to her in the Long Jump. She will sweep the Triple Jump for her third straight state title. A win in the Long Jump will make her career that much sweeter.

 

 

 

A 1600 Meter Run a race for the ages in the Class 3A meet

 

Josephine Welin of Oak Park-River Forest collapsed after she ran 10:19 to win the 3200 Meter Run at last week’s Lyons Township. She needed assistance to get up and then she went back to her team area. A casual observer who had not seen this junior run would think that she would not be able to race later in the night in the 1600 Meter Run. Those that have seen her race know that she has the heart to come back.

 

It was an epic race later in the meet in the 1600 Meter Run. Welin pushed the pace from the gun. Kate Dickman of Lyons Township was there to push the pace. The result was Welin at 4:44.52 with an eight second improvement. Dickman improved by 12 seconds to 4:46.40 in finishing second.

 

The two face-off again late Saturday afternoon in Charleston. They will have more company in this race with Ali Ince of Normal Community joining in for the fun. Her best of 4:46.01 was run solo. Ince will be coming into this race after running the 800 Meter Run. Welin is also racing the 3200 Meter Run. Dickman is running this race fresh. The Illinois State Meet has never seen three runners with personal bests under 4:47 toe the line for a start of the mile / 1600 Meter Run. The dark horse in this race is Samantha Poglitsch of Wheaton-Warrenville South who ran 4:53.36 last week and is peaking again at the right time. Could she run under 4:50? Yes. Will it be enough? We will see.

 

Katelynne Hart’s 3A record of 4:47.36 is capable of being broken. The state meet record of 4:43.655 set 10 years ago by Kayla Beattie could also be in danger of being broken. This will be fun to run, fun to watch.

 

 

 

She’s A Special One

 

I asked Grayslake Central Cross Country Coach Jimmy Centella about star freshman Bella Domier. “She’s a special one,” Centella said. “She’s the real deal.” She demonstrated that at the Prospect Girls Invitational on May 1. The conditions were not normal. Temperatures in the 80’s. Winds close to 30 MPH gusting to 40. Grayslake Central was in third place in the 4x800m Relay. It was not a close third place. It was a third place where you cannot reach first in those conditions.

 

Domier anchored that team, took the baton, and then took off. By the end of the first of two laps that she was to run, the freshman caught race leader Prospect. On the back stretch heading into that wind, Domier made her move. While other runners were collapsing after the race, Domier was greeted by teammates. I am guessing she was telling them “This is great. What is next?”

 

If Grayslake Central leaves Charleston on Saturday, one of the reasons why will be because of this freshman. Domier will again anchor her team in the 4x800m Relay. She will run the 800 Meter Run where she won the sectional race in a 2:12.82 personal best. When other runners would say they are done for the day, Domier will be back on the line to run the 1600 Meter Run trying to get points for her team.

 

She is on the relay card for the 4x400m Relay at the end of the meet. She did not run that race at the Grayslake North Sectional. If asked on Saturday, I bet that she would take the stick and go. That is what special runner’s do. Domier is in that group that we have the privilege to watch over the next three years.

 

 

 

For the Team

 

St. Joseph-Ogden will be one of the teams to watch in Thursday’s Class 1A State Finals in Charleston. The Lady Spartans usually have success in the relays on the Big Blue Oval on state weekend. One of the reasons why in the past three years has been Atleigh Hamilton. It will not be like that in this year’s meet.

 

Hamilton has been all-state eight times in the two state meets that she competed in. Six of those have come in relay events. She anchored her team to state championships twice in the 4x200m Relay.

 

Hamilton also wanted to win the Class 1A Long Jump and do something that no one else has done in winning the event four straight years. The COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of the 2020 season stopped those dreams. It did not stop her from working during that time.

 

“She was excellent in continuing to train on her own,” St. Joseph-Ogden Coach Kathy Stephen said in a recent interview. “The fire was lit. She knew that it would be a long time before she would be able to compete.”

 

Hamilton’s schedule on Thursday will be different. She ran the relays for the team in 2018 and 2019. This year the relays are strong without her a part of them. The Illinois State signee can help her team in other events in search of a team state championship.

 

Hamilton will go after her third state championship in he Long Jump. She is one of the top runners in the 400 Meter Dash and will chase after the title in that event. The state meet is being run in sections this season due to the meet being restructured because of the pandemic that is still around us. She will not be in the final races in the 100 Meter Dash or 200 Meter Dash because of her sectional performance placing her in the section before the final section.

 

She is ranked #6 in the 100 in Class 1A. She is #5 in the Class 1A 200 Meter Dash. She will not be able to race against the top runners in that event. She could still come away with the state titles with the fastest time. Hamilton will be racing against the clock. She will be racing for her team.

 

 

 

The Sophomore Newcomers

 

There will be more than usual newcomers in the IHSA State Meet this year on the campus of Eastern Illinois University. The cancellation of last year’s state meet meant that athletes from the Class of 2023 would not be able to compete their freshman season. In a sense, this year’s meet will be their freshman experience at the Big Blue Oval.

 

One of the athletes that will rise to the occasion of this championship is Ana-Liese Torian of Homewood-Flossmoor. The last name may be familiar. Her father Reggie Torian competed for Thornwood High School where he won four state championships including three in the 1993 Boys State Meet. His daughter may surpass those numbers by the time she graduates. The sophomore is the favorite in the 100 Meter Hurdles and is among the top athletes in both the 100 Meter Dash and 200 Meter Dash. Torian will also be a part of Homewood-Flossmoor’s quartet in the 4x100m Relay that will be one of the favorites to win.

 

Rylee Lydon of Prairie Ridge High School in Northwest Suburban Crystal Lake gave us an idea of what to watch for in her freshman season of 2020 before the track season was cut down. The then freshman ran an indoor 400 Meter Dash in 1:00.08 and cleared 5-5 in the High Jump on a meet on March 10. A couple days later everything came to a halt.

 

Lydon has qualified in three events for Saturday’s 3A State Finals. She will be one of the favorites in the High Jump and the 400 Meter Dash. She could also have a high finish in the 200 Meter Dash.

 

These moments should have happened in their freshman seasons. Due to what we all have been through, Torian and Lydon have had to wait for those moments on Saturday. Good things come to those who wait. These two sophomores should experience some good things on Saturday.

 

 

 

The Extended State Champions

 

The cancellation of last year’s state championship meant that athletes that were sophomores in 2019 would not be able to defend their championship when they were due to. They would have to wait until this weekend to step back into the State Meet Spotlight. We have mentioned Riley Ammenhauser, Jayden Ulrich, and Atleigh Hamilton.

 

Another athlete that will defend their title is Windsor Roberts of Tri-Valley High School in Downs. She has won the Class 1A Title in 2018 and 2019. She will go for the “three-peat” in Thursday’s competition as well as Morgan Zacharias’ 1A State Meet Record of 13-0 . In between that time, Roberts went out to finish second at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in 2019. She also broke the All-Time State Record twice with 13-5.75 her personal best.

 

What I feel bad about is the junior athletes in 2019 that were unable to defend their titles in their senior seasons. This pandemic halted that dream of winning just one more time. They still are champions that just did not get that opportunity to do what those sophomore champions will get to do this weekend. I vision it is that the defending champions will be able to compete for the title in honor of what the Class of 2020 was not able to accomplish.

 

 

 

One Year Only

 

The Illinois High School Association runs a state championship that is unique to any other state championship that is held in the United States. Athletes in high numbers come to Charleston to get  to taste the Illinois State Meet experience. Preliminary events are held over the three classes on Thursday and Friday determining who gets to step up to the center stage on State Finals Saturday. If you have been able to race at O’Brien Stadium on that Saturday, it is an experience that you will always remember good or bad.

 

There were doubts at the beginning of 2021 if we would have a “true” state championship at the end of the track & field season. The IHSA announced in April that we would have a state championship in a venue that most of us are familiar with. The Big Blue Oval is the place that all athletes shoot for. We would have championship races, championship events at a championship place instead of what we experienced during the fall where we had a “championship” meet on a non-championship course.

 

There would be no preliminary days like we have seen in the past meets. To limit large gatherings, overnight stays by athletes and coaches, the IHSA came up with the idea to hold each Class Meet on separate days. No qualifying to a final race on a Saturday. Instead, it would be a final day for each class over that three-day period.

 

I don’t like the idea of a champion winning a race in a different section than the final section that we are used to seeing. That could happen a couple of times over the next three days. I do like the fact that we will be having a state meet in front of a full house (we hope) at O’Brien Stadium since conditions have improved.

 

What happens if this concept of the state meet is successful over the next two weekends? It models state meets around us where there are only final races to determine the winner. Kraig Garber, the IHSA Assistant Executive Director in charge of Track & Field, was asked if this would mean a change in how the meet is held. “Why change anything that has been so successful for us?” Garber stated.

 

The state meet in Illinois is unique. You have to earn that state championship. You may have to run perhaps eight times to win multiple titles. Look at what Katelynne Hart did in her final state meet in 2019 running in five distance event races within a 24-hour period ending up winning three championships. That effort stands on a pedestal that few will be able to match. Athletes that win three distance events over a three-day period is a great accomplishment. It just doesn’t match to the feat that athletes like Hart did over a shorter period. That is what makes this meet so unique.

 

I hope we go back to the old meet schedule in 2022. The 2021 meet schedule is a fix to let the kids compete.

 

Don’t change anything. Talk on social media to change the way that athletes qualify for this meet is dangerous. Ideas that are fraught with some many problems with their concepts that will need another article to describe what is so wrong about it. Another day. Another written piece.

 

Thank you to the IHSA and all involved in holding this meet over the next two weekends. It is something that we all needed.