IHSA Girls State Track & Field Championships - Class 3A Teams Preview

By Michael Newman [email protected]

It should be a wild Friday afternoon at Eastern Illinois University when the 3A Preliminary Session takes place. The chase for the team title in wide-open with as many as 10 teams in the mix to challenge for the 3A State Championship.

The name of the game is little to no mistakes in traveling through this session. One event where you are expected to advance to the Saturday.

Here is a look at some of the teams to keep an eye on in the 3A Meet this weekend.

Homewood-Flossmoor

Qualifiers – Total = 12 (10 I, 2R – 9 Events)

Preview – The Vikings won the Minooka Sectional with 111 points. Homewood-Flossmoor will depend on two athletes to score the bulk of their points. Alexandria Edison qualified in three sprint events and will be looked for to qualify to the finals in all three events. Edison is ranked #3 in Class 3A in the 400 Meter Dash and #4 in both the 100 Meter Dash and the 200 Meter Dash. Ana Liese-Torian is the top seed in the 100 Meter Hurdles and will be among the favorites in both the 200 Meter Dash and 300 Meter Hurdles. Both Edison and Torian are part of their 4x100m Relay quartet that qualified and is currently ranked fourth in Class 3A. Angela Alozie will be on relay duty in both the 4x1 and 4x4. She will also be counted on for points in the 400 Meter Dash in which she is ranked #6 in Class 3A. The Vikings qualified in the 4x400m Relay (3A #13) and will need their best race of the year to make it Saturday’s finals. Daija Brown is in the 800 Meter Run. Loyne Farrell qualified in the Triple Jump. Both Brown and Farrell could give their team bonus points in their respective events.

Huntley

Qualifiers – Total = 14 (11I, 3R – 11 Events)

Preview – The Red Raiders have been coming on as the season has progressed. This team is in the hunt to bring home a trophy back from Charleston. They easily won their own sectional with 130 points. It starts and ends with the Johnson sisters. Alexandria Johnson jumped a state leading 41-0.5 in the Triple Jump. Her sister Dominique Johnson jumped a personal best of 40-3.75 to finish second behind her sisters. They currently occupy the top two marks in the state and could give their team huge points in one event. Alexandria is currently the top seed in the Long Jump and has jumped 20-1 in her conference meet two weeks ago. She will challenge for the state title in the event. Dominique will challenge for points in what should be a loaded event. Huntley could score points in all three relays that they qualified for state. Their 4x1 team ran 47.94 to win their sectional and are currently ranked #2 in Class 3A. Huntley is ranked in the top 10 in both the 4x2 and 4x4 and will need points in both events. Alexandria Johnson along with teammate Melissa Aninagyei-Bonsu qualified in what will be a loaded 100 Meter Dash. Either could get bonus points for Huntley. Breanna Burak advance to the finals of the 3200 Meter Run where it looks like she will be in the first section on Saturday. She could score points from that race.

Evanston Township

Qualifiers – Total = 10 (7I, 3 R – 9 Events)

Preview – Evanston qualified 10 to the state meet as they won the Deerfield Sectional with 99 points. The Wildkits are peaking at the right time and could be the team with the state championship trophy at the end of Saturday’s competition. They could score big points in all three relays. Their quartet in the 4x400m Relay has the fastest time in Class 3A by a remarkable nine seconds after running 3:49.66 to win their sectional race. The Wildkits are also ranked #3 in the 4x200m Relay and #9 in the 4x100m Relay. They will need top five finishes in each relay to put themselves in contention for a state trophy. Abrielle Artley ran the state’s fastest time (43.47) to win her sectional race in the 300 Meter Hurdles. She will challenge for the state title in that event. Olivia Whatley is ranked in the Top 12 in the Shot Put and Discus. She could score in either or both events. Madison Hardamon is in the top 15 in the Class 3A 400 Meter Dash and could get bonus points for her team. Hardamon is also entered in the 200 Meter Dash along with teammate Jasmine Wright.

Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

Qualifiers – Total = 9 (5I, 4R – 9 Events)

Preview – The state champions from 2021 are in position to defend their state title after finishing behind Homewood-Flossmoor with 104 points at the Minooka Sectional. The Griffins could realistically score in seven of the nine events that they qualified in. Mariam Azeez will be counted on to get East some big points. Azeez only took one attempt in  the Long Jump yet went 19-5 for the second longest mark in Class 3A. She will challenge for the state title. She did run 12.01 and has the fifth fastest time in the 100 Meter Dash. The senior will look to defend her state title in that event. She did scratch out of the 200 Meter Dash in her sectional. That could make her available for relay work in the 4x200m Relay. Without her in the sectional race, they still won the event but are ranked #13 in Class 3A heading into this weekend. It would be a bonus if that relay scores. Sophia Barnard will pick up big points in both hurdle events where she is ranked #3 in both the 100m Hurdles and 300m Hurdles. Azeez and Barnard were both part of their 4x100m Relay that won their sectional race and is seeded third in this state meet. We could see both runners as part of the 4x200m Relay quartet on Friday afternoon. Jaden Knoop has been one of the top eight athletes in the Class 3A Pole Vault most of the season. She could provide big points for her team in that event.

Mt. Prospect (Prospect)

Qualifiers – Total = 14 (11I, 3R – 12 Events)

Preview – The Lady Knights put themselves in good position to win a trophy after qualifying 14 in winning the Rolling Meadows Sectional with 144 points. The Ginsberg sisters will play a big part on the successes for this team. Both sisters finished 1-2 in the 800 Meter Run. Lily, at 2:14.38, is the top seed from sectionals and will be one of the favorites. Audrey will be seeded fourth. Both ran in Prospect’s 4x4 that is currently ranked #3 in Class 3A. Neither sister ran in the 4x800m Relay. The Knights still ran 9:25.90 to rank #3 heading into Friday’s prelims. Darina Tersina is another Prospect athlete that could give her team some big points. Tersina has the fourth best jump in Class 3A in the Triple Jump and could be among the leaders when all is said and done. She is also among the top 15 sectional qualifiers in the Long Jump that will be so competitive. Tersina could get points there. Tersina also qualified in the 100 Meter Dash and 200 Meter Dash where she could make both finals. Lillian Lucansky qualified in the Discus where she could score points. Madison Payne has one of the top five marks in Class 3A this season in the Shot Put. She could give Prospect big points in that event.

Chicago (Whitney Young)

Qualifiers – Total = 11 (8I, 3R – 9 Events)

Preview – The sprints will be the key for the Dolphins at state. Their sectional performances put them in great shape to be in contention for a trophy after winning the sectional at St. Ignatius with 145 points. They have 11 qualifiers. It will be four events that will get them points. Whitney Young ran the fastest time in the state with their 47.29 win in the 4x100 Meter Relay. They came back to have a sectional leading time of 1:39.88 in the 4x200m Relay. The Dolphins, along with Kenwood, are two seconds ahead of the rest of the sectional qualifiers. Rachel Robinson and her sister Sydney were part of both of those relays. Rachel enters with the fastest time in the state at 11.82. Sydney is ranked #7 in 3A at 12.03. Sydney and Rachel are ranked third and fourth seasonally in the Class 3A 200 Meter Dash. Simone Bernard qualified in the Long Jump and the 100 Meter Hurdles. The freshman could get points for her team in the Long Jump. One slip up in either of those two relays and two sprints could put the team out of contention for a trophy. If there are on, Whitney Young will contend for a trophy.

Naperville (Neuqua Valley – 9 Events)

Qualifiers – Total = 10 (9I, 1R)

Preview – The Wildcats could be a surprise in this meet after winning at Plainfield North with 99 points. Two athletes will play a big role in this weekend’s team success. Inara Ukawuba ran a huge personal best of 14.24 to win her sectional race in the 100 Meter Hurdles. It puts her second in Class 3A and in the hunt for an individual state championship. The sophomore is seeded fourth in the 300 Meter Hurdles where she could also get her team big points. Zawadi Brown is among the top qualifiers in the 400 Meter Dash and top five in the 200 Meter Dash. This sophomore could be all-state in both events. Brown is also among the top 12 3A athletes this year in the Long Jump. The opportunity is there for her to finish in the top nine in that event. Ukawuba and Brown are part of the team’s quartet in the 4x100m Relay. The Wildcats could also score in that event.

Chicago (Kenwood)

Qualifiers – Total = 10 (7I, 3R – 9 Events)

Preview – The sprints and the jumps will be the events to watch for if the Broncos are to finish among the top five teams. Their 4x1 and 4x2 Relay teams will be in contention for wins. Their quartet in the 4x2 has the fastest time in the state this season with a 1:39.71 time run in their league championships. They ran 1:39.97 last week with the second fastest 3A sectional time. Kenwood has a 48.18 time (3A #6) in the 4x100m Relay where they could also get big points. Sydney Weaver will be in those relays. She could also finish all-state in the 100 Meter Dash. Weaver was the sixth best out of sectionals in the Triple Jump. She could also score there. Jaliyah Shepherd will be in the mix to finish in the top five in the Long Jump.

Naperville (North)

Qualifiers – Total = 7 (4I, 3R – 7 Events)

Preview – The Huskies compete at their best when they get to the state meet. Naperville North finished second at the Hinsdale Central Sectional with 81 points advancing in seven events. Their quartet in the 4x800m Relay is ranked second outdoors in Class 3A after their win on Friday night. Their 4x400m Relay team ranks sixth heading to state and could pick up all-state medals in that race. Emma Berres, who was part of both their relays, also qualified in the 800 Meter Run where she could finish in the top five if the freshman advances to Saturday. Denise Hernandez jumped a huge personal best of 19-2 to win the Long Jump in her sectional. She is currently ranked #3 in Class 3A. Madeline Andelbradt missed most of the outdoor season due to injury. She made it to state last Friday in the High Jump. She finished fourth last year at state and cleared 5-7.25 indoors. She could be a surprise in Charleston.

Normal Community

Qualifiers – Total = 4 (3I, 1R – 4 Events)

Preview – This is a pretty simple analysis. The Ironmen finished second at the Danville Sectional with 62 points. Allison Ince was a part of 40 of those team points. The sophomore is going after a triple where she has the top times in the state in the 400 Meter Dash, 800 Meter Run, and the 1600 Meter Run. The 4x400m Relay, in which Ince anchors, currently has the fourth fastest time in that event. Normal could score anywhere from 36 to 40 points. That could put them in the top five. It could get them close to a state trophy.