ILXCTF.com 2022 IHSA Girls Track & Field Previews - 2A Sprints/Hurdles

By Michael Newman [email protected]

Lauren Doerr was the queen of the 2A sprints last season winning both the 100 and 200 in last year’s 2A State Finals. It opens up a door where a number of athletes are ready to step into the spotlight. Four of the five Class 2A Sprint and Hurdles events will crown new state champions in 2022.

The lone state champion back is Brianna Dixon of Rantoul who won the 100 Meter Hurdles last year as a sophomore. She could repeat again in that event this spring.

Belleville Althoff won the Class 1A title in 2021 based off a strong sprint group that scored the bulk of their points. Althoff Catholic is in Class 2A for the next two years and brings that group with them.

There is good talent coming back in this classification. We will have four months before we get to the state series to see who is ready for the challenge of the spotlight.

Here is a look at the three sprint events and two hurdle events that are on the IHSA schedule for Class 2A.

100 Meter Dash

Notes – This is a loaded event with the top seven returning athletes at this distance all-state performers in 2021. The top six runners are all within 14 hundredths of a second led by Anna Barr of Normal University. Barr finished fourth in this event after running the 100 Meter Hurdles. The junior returns with the fastest returning time (12.22) but not by that much. Lamonyca Bryant of Westinghouse finished third last year as a freshman and could be ready to make the step up. Fellow Chicago Public League athletes Symone Frison of Lindblom and Vionche Terry of Phillips were all-state last year and are ready to make their presence known again. Reese Mitchell of Normal University and Neveah Lowe of Kankakee were also all-state. Any of these six sprinters could claim the big prize in May.

Alaina Lester of Belleville Althoff Catholic finished second in the 1A Finals last year. She starts this season with the #3 fastest returning time. The sophomore is the real deal that should make some noise in this classification. The eighth through fifteen returning runners are only separated by two tenths of a second. Janae Maxwell of Marion, Harper Smith of Dunlap, and Olivia Redpath of Sacred Heart-Griffin are some of the many athletes to watch for as this season progresses.

400 Meter Dash

Notes – This event is wide open especially with the top three finishers graduated led by 2021 champion Sara Addai. Four all-state athletes are back led by last year’s fourth place finisher Rose Talbert of Monticello. The junior is the only 2A athlete back that ran under 59 seconds last season.

All-state athletes Isabella Orozco of Aurora Central Catholic and Jayda Williams of Mascoutah were both under 60 seconds last year. They appear to be the two runners that could challenge Talbert at this distance. Sterling Scarlette of Sacred Heart-Griffin was all-state. The junior could be a surprise in the event. Colleen Zeibert of Rochester and Becca Heitzig of Lincoln did not compete at this distance at state but do have two of the top four times coming back. A year stronger, maybe a double coming back from the 800? It is something we will keep an eye on especially around state series time.

Megan Kalma of Rockford Boylan and Kaylee Allen of Galesburg lead a group of athletes that could make their name known statewide this spring. Maitlyn Mumm of Kaneland, Molly Grohmann of Waterloo, and Tia Brennan of Burlington Central are some of a group of athletes to also keep an eye on.

200 Meter Dash

Notes – Six all-state athletes overall are back in this event. Normal University will be challenging for a state title by the time we get to this event. Anna Barr has the fastest time back as well as finishing third last year. Keymora Hayes of Cahokia had a great freshman season placing fourth at state. She could be the one athlete to challenge Barr for the state title.

Abby Venhaus of Columbia, Emmi Scales of St. Viator, and Nevaeh Lowe of Kankakee will look to improve on their all-state finishes from a year ago. All three ran under 26 seconds so watch for their times also to drop. Caitlin Conrad of Belleville Althoff Catholic finished fifth in Class 1A. Conrad and her teammate Alaina Lester should challenge for top five state finishes.

Sydney Jones of East St. Louis, Mia Rodriguez of Chicago Heights Marian, Kayla Nelson of Tolono Unity, and Harper Smith of Dunlap are some of the runners to keep an eye on in this event.

100 Meter Hurdles

Notes – The top two athletes from last year’s State Finals Brianna Dixon of Rantoul and Ali Rapps of Geneseo both return to challenge for the state title. Dixon has the fastest returning time (14.53) from the 2021 season. Dixon ran 14.78 to finish ahead of Rapps’ 14.92 in that state race. Alana Barr of Normal University finished fifth in that race. The junior is the only other all-state athlete coming back.

This event is wide-open after these three athletes. Kennedy Ross of Lindblom ran 15.07 during the season. Kaitlyn Baumann of Morton was also under 16 seconds last year and could make her presence known in the top five. Mia Jackson of Peoria Richwoods, Isabella Dugger of Bethalto Civic Memorial, and Emily Strehl of LaSalle-Peru are some of the athletes to keep an eye on.

300 Meter Hurdles

Notes – Ali Rapps of Geneseo is the top athlete to watch for in this event. The senior finished third at state last year running a personal best of 46.08. Rapps enters this year with the fastest time in this event by over two seconds. Hana Ling of Payton Prep and Kayla Edwards of Troy Triad are the other two all-state athletes. Both should run under 48 seconds some time this season.

After these three athletes, this event is wide-open. Anna Barr of Normal University ran in three individual events and a relay in the state meet. She did not run in this one. Barr has the third fastest returning time. We will see if her state lineup changes this spring. Haley Gibbons of Jacksonville, Alaina Barr of Mt. Zion, Ellie Logsdon of Genoa-Kingston, Bri Ritchie of Tolono Unity, and Abby Pierce of Streator all ran under 50 seconds last year. They are some of the athletes that could finish in the top five at state by the end of the year.