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IHSA Girls State Track & Field Championships - Class 3A Storylines to Watch

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Illinois IHSA Outdoor State Championships   May 18th 2022, 2:05pm
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IHSA Girls State Track & Field Championships - Class 3A Storylines to Watch

 

Photo: Allison Ince looks to add more state championships to the two she won as a freshman in 2021 (Kevin Dorsey Photo)

 

By Michael Newman [email protected]

 

We are back to normal in the way with state meets are conducted after our COVID-19 style state meet of 2021. The preliminary session on Friday afternoon will play a big factor in this meet especially with how coaches setup their lineups.

 

The big story in this meet will be the attempted triple by Allison Ince. You can read more about that below.

 

The team title is wide open led by defending 3A Champion Lincoln-Way East. A number of teams led by last year’s second-place team Homewood Flossmoor will look to surpass the Griffins. You can read more about the top teams in Class 3A in the attached article.

 

The journey towards the “Triple”

 

Allison Ince of Normal Community after winning the 1600 Meter Run at Distance Night in Palatine on April 23 was asked what she thought she would run at the state meet in May. Her reply was of course to defend her titles in the 800 Meter Run and the 1600 Meter Run. She would help her team again defend their title in the 4x400m Relay. She would also run the 400 Meter Dash.

 

The 400?

 

It made sense. Ince at the time had the fastest time in the state at that distance. She lowered that down to 56.04 three days later at the Bloomington/Normal Inter-City Championships. She won all three events that she hoped to run at state fairly easily considering this was a lower scale of competition.

 

The distance triple in the 3A State Meet is perhaps one of the toughest things to accomplish in Charleston considering the time schedule that Ince will be dealing with. It means eight races in a span of 28 hours. She will race four times in a span of a little over two hours during the Friday afternoon preliminary session. Ince will step onto the track just after 2 PM to run her heat in the 800 Meter Run. 30 minutes later, she will be in the blocks for the 400 Meter Dash. Another 30 Minutes after that, she will be on the line for her heat of the 1600 Meter Run. She will be on the track after 4 PM to complete her day with her team in the 4x400m Relay. That is a lot of running in just a span of two hours.

 

The schedule for State Finals Saturday has just as an extensive schedule of racing. She will be on the track for the first time around 2PM for the finals of the 800 Meter Run. She will have close to an hour break before she goes to the blocks in the 400 Meter Dash. She will only have about 40 minutes of a break before the start of the 1600 Meter Run. Then another 45 minutes before the final race of the day with the 4x400m Relay.

 

Some thought that it would be nearly impossible for Katelynne Hart to win the 3200, 800, and 1600 in the 2019 State Finals. She ran five races in the same time span covering almost five miles in that time to accomplish that for the first time in the Class 3A State Meet.

 

Now Ince steps up trying what could be a tougher individual triple but running 6400-meters in 28 hours.

 

She will do what she has to on Friday to qualify in the 800 and 1600, have to go all out in the 400 and the 4x4.

 

Ince came close to the State Meet Record in the 800 Meter Run in last year’s state meet missing Courtney Clayton’s meet record of 2:07.05 by just one hundredths of a second. She ran the second fastest time ever for an Illinois High School girl in winning the 1600 Meter Run last year.

 

Ince does have it in her to go after fast times as we have seen this year going undefeated in every race in which she has competed. However, this weekend may not be about records but about championships.

 

In Ince’s case in the way she races, we could see both. Conditions have changed now with a temperature near 80 degrees with a chance of rain. We saw this happen last year when the meet was delayed 4.5 hours do to thunderstorms. Will lightning strike twice in this meet and for Ince?

 

Ince hopes that “lightning” strikes three maybe four times on the Big Blue Oval of Eastern Illinois University.

 

The three Ince State Races

 

Let us not forget that Ince will be back on the “Big Blue Oval” where she won two state titles in her freshman season in 2021. Throwing in the 400 Meter Dash could change the strategy in her racing.

 

I do not think much will change in the 800 Meter Run. Ince ran 2:05.42 at Arcadia in April and now holds five out of the top six times ever for an Illinois runner in the event. With Audrey Allman and Sophia McNerney, the runners with the second and third fastest times this year at this distance, there is a nine second difference between Ince and the rest of the field. Lily Ginsberg of Prospect ran 2:14.38 to win her sectional race and leads the rest of the field. Catie McCabe of Hinsdale Central, Brooke Berger of York, Bella Domier of Grayslake Central, Emma Berres of Naperville North, Audrey Ginsberg of Prospect, and Naomi Ruff of South Elgin all have times within two second of Lily Ginsberg. But it will be good enough to get close to Ince?

 

Ince is a novice in the 400 Meter Dash but has the times to win her second state championship in the meet. She will have to defeat defending state champion Rylee Lydon of Prairie Ridge to accomplish that. Lydon ran 56.25 to win the state title in 2021. She has a season’s best of 56.42. Lydon improved on her sectional time in the 2021 state series by over a second. Will we see the same time drop in this weekend? Ince has run 56.04 twice this spring including winning this race at the Danville Sectional. Alexandria Edison of Homewood-Flossmoor and Ashley Oliver of Hoffman Estates have run under 57 seconds and could get close to Ince. Freshman Katelyn Lehnen of Chatham-Glenwood is peaking at the right time and could be a factor.

 

Ten 3A runners have run under 5-minutes for the 1600 Meter Run and all qualified for the state meet. Eight of those runners will be doubling back from the 3200 Meter Run. Audrey Allman of Glenbard West is the one runner that is concentrating on just this race. Her double at Arcadia in April is a convincing argument that she could contend for a state title at this distance. She ran 2:12.94 in the 800 Meter Run at Arcadia. Allman came back three hours later to run 4:50.77 to win her section of the 1 Mile Run. That time is equivalent to 4:49.08 for 1600-meters.

 

Ince has the best time in the state at 4:46.84. This final will be her seventh of the weekend. Allman destroyed a great field in the Lake Park Sectional and that was by pushing the pace from the start. Will we see a strategy like that in the state final?

 

There are so many great runners doubling back in this race that could be in the mix in the front including Scout Storms of Barrington, Sophia McNerney of Downers Grove South, Brooke Johnston of Lake Zurich, Katrina Schlenker of Batavia, Grace Schager of Glenbard North, and Aly Negovetich of Grant.

 

Returning State Champions

 

The 2021 State Finals was underclass dominated. Eight athletes are back ready to defend their state championship. Ince is one of those state champions that we mentioned above. Here are seven more athletes that will look to defend this weekend.

 

Mariam Azeez – Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

 

One of the reasons why Lincoln-Way East won the team title in 2021 and are in position to win again are the exploits of Azeez. She returns as the defending champion in the 100 Meter Dash and currently has the fifth fastest time in Class 3A. She will anchor her team in the 4x100m Relay this weekend that has the third fastest time in the event. She did not run the 200 Meter Dash in this year’s sectional. She finished third in the state last year at that distance. She is on the relay card for the 4x200m Relay. We could see her there. Azeez, who finished second in the Long Jump last year, is in the event ready to challenge again for a state title. She jumped her seasonal best of 19-5 last week at the Minooka Sectional.

 

Alexandria Johnson – Huntley

 

Huntley will contend for a team title and one of the reasons why is become of Johnson. The junior jumped 19-5 to win the state title  in the Long Jump in 2021. She went past that mark twice in the last two weeks including jumping 19-6.25 last week at sectionals and a personal best of 20-1 in her conference meet that is the top mark in the state and #7 in the United States. Johnson also added the Triple Jump to her meet agenda and could be the favorite in that event. She jumped a state leading 41-0.5 to win at her sectional. Her main competition will be her freshman sister Dominique who is within a foot. Alexandria will be a factor for her team in the 100 Meter Dash and the 4x200m Relay.

 

Ana Liese Torian – Homewood-Flossmoor

 

The junior did not start her season until outdoors after playing basketball for her school in the winter. That layoff did not affect her at all. Torian won the 100 Meter Hurdles in last year’s finals with a 13.87 time. She will again be the favorite in that event having run under 14-seconds three times including a 13.90 seasonal best at the Minooka Sectional. She added the 300 Meter Hurdles this spring and has gone undefeated in that race. She has the second best time in the state behind Evanston’s Abrielle Artley by four hundredths of a second (43.47-43.51). Torian finished second last year in the 200 Meter Dash and enters this meet with the third fastest sectional time (24.82). She will also be a part of the Homewood-Flossmoor’s quartet in the 4x100m Relay that could contend for a state title.

 

Sydney Robinson – Chicago (Whitney Young)

 

The senior along with her twin sister Rachel will be reasons why the Dolphins contend for a state championship. Sydney Robinson surprised some last June by running 24.46 to win the 200 Meter Dash. She also finished fifth in that meet in the 100 Meter Dash. The Robinsons are part of Whitney Young’s quartets in the 4x100m Relay and 4x200m Relay that will contend for state titles. Sydney is seeded seventh in the 100 Meter Dash and sixth in the 200 Meter Dash for this weekend’s meet.

 

Rylee Lydon – Crystal Lake (Prairie Ridge)

 

This junior surprised some in last year’s state finals running 56.25 to win the 400 Meter Dash. She currently has the second fastest time in the state (56.42) behind Allison Ince and will be one of the favorites in the event. Lydon cleared a state leading 5-9 at the McHenry County Championships in April and will be the favorite in the High Jump. She also has the fourth best mark in the Long Jump and will contend for a top three finish. Lydon also is qualified in the 200 Meter Dash.

 

Josephine Welin – Oak Park-River Forest

 

We did not think we would see this runner in Charleston this weekend. Welin won the state title in the 3200 Meter Run in 2021 and then ran in that memorable 1600 Meter Run where she finished second. Welin was looking forward to a fruitful track season after winning the 3A State Cross Country individual title. This senior did not race most of the season due to another stress fracture injury. Welin still had her sights set to run at EIU. She aimed to her sectional meet at Proviso East. If she made it, great. If not, she was looking towards the roads ahead. She made it to the sectional and then beyond. Since she had not raced during the season, she was put into the first section of the 3200 Meter Run where she ran 11:05.21 to win by over three minutes. The same held true in the 1600 Meter Run where she ran 5:04.91 to win her section by a minute qualifying to state in both races. Welin has the 19th fastest sectional time in the 3200 Meter Run out of 30 runners meaning she again will be in the first section of Saturday’s meet. Whatever she accomplishes this weekend, it is clear that Josephine Welin has already won by just making it to the state meet.

 

Lillianna Ifft – Bloomington

 

The senior cleared a personal best of 12-9.25 to win last year’s state championship in the Pole Vault. Ifft cleared 12-8.75 indoors. She has only cleared 11-11.75 during this outdoor season but still made it back to the state meet this weekend where she will be one of the favorites along with Tessani Foster of Plainfield Central and Mia Morello of Grayslake Central.

 

Three freshmen to step into the spotlight this weekend

 

It is always great to watch to see new athletes rise to the top of their events as the season progresses. There are three freshmen that could make some big noise this weekend.

 

Scout Storms of Barrington made her presence known last fall when she earned all-state honors in the 3A State Cross Country Championship. This freshman has stepped up in a big way having run the fastest 3A time in the 3200 Meter Run (10:27.31) and the second fastest time (4:50.85) in the 1600 Meter Run. She will contend for state titles in both events.

 

The spotlight is something that Chatham-Glenwood freshman Katelyn Lehnen is familiar with especially with her success in middle school. She steps onto the Big Blue Oval for the first time with high expectations. Lehnen has the third fastest 3A time in the 100 Meter Dash (11.89) and is within the top time in the state by seven hundredths of a second. Her time of 57.05 is when she finished second behind Allison Ince at the Danville Sectional. She also ran the 3A #2 time of 24.62 to have the top sectional time in the 200 Meter Dash. She should be all-state in all three of those events. It might also mean state championship s that she leaves Charleston with.

 

Dominique Johnson of Huntley is literally following her sister Alexandria’s footsteps in the horizontal jumps. Her expertise appears to be in the Triple Jump where she won at Illinois Top Times with a 40-9.25 best. She is currently ranked second in Class 3A behind her sister in the Triple Jump. Johnson also qualified in the Long Jump where she should contend for all-state honors. She will also be a part of two Huntley relays in helping to bring a team trophy back to their school. Her outdoor mark of 40-3.75 puts her second among freshmen nationally.

 

Event Glimpses

 

Prospect has not loaded their quartet in the 4x800m Relay to include both Lily and Audrey Ginsberg since the Mustang Relays where they achieved the best time in the state (in or out) with a 9:21.20 time. They could run between 9:05 to 9:10 in Saturday’s finals. York has the best sectional time at 9:22.27 followed by Naperville North, Prospect, Lyons Township, Hersey, and St. Charles East. All of those teams behind York have sectional times under 9:30.

 

The 3200 Meter Run will be intriguing especially with Josephine Welin in the first section of the event. Last year’s second finisher Sophia McInerney of Downers Grove South is running hot and could contend for the win. Scout Storms of Barrington and Aly Negovetich of Grant have times under 10:30 as the top two times in Class 3A. This is loaded field where we could see a winning time under 10:20 especially with favorable conditions. Grace Schager of Glenbard North, Katrina Schlenker of Batavia, Brooke Johnston of Lake Zurich, and Catherine Sommerfeld of Lyons Townships all have times under 10:40 and could win. Peyton Schieppe of O’Fallon could find her way into a top five finish.

 

Alexandria Edison of Homewood-Flossmoor is entered in all three sprint events where she could possibly come away with three wins. She is one of four athletes under 12 seconds led by 3A leader Rachel Robinson in the 100 Meter Dash. Lindsey Miller of Simeon and Katelyn Lehnen are also under that mark. Defending champion Mariam Azeez ran 12.01 and cannot be dismissed in this race. Edison has the third fastest 3A time (56.82) and will look for a win. Edison is tied for fourth season wise in the 200 Meter Dash and will contend for the state title challenging list leader Lindsey Miller along with Sydney and Rachel Robinson.

 

The weather has improved just at the right time. So have the relay times as they have continued to drop. Whitney Young ran 47.29 last week in their sectional and will be chased by Huntley, Lincoln-Way East, and Homewood-Flossmoor in the 4x100 Meter Relay. Kenwood has the fastest state time in the 4x200m Relay with a 1:39.71 time run in the Chicago City Championship. Whitney Young also went under 1:40 last week and defeating Kenwood having the edge in the event. Both team have a two second advantage over a field led by Evanston Township and Belleville East.

 

I am guessing Evanston has a long memory after getting nipped by Normal Community in last year’s 4x400m Relay to finish second. The Wildkits ran 3:49.66 for the state leading time in the relay with a nine second margin ahead of Kenwood, Prospect, and Normal Community all who have times under 4:00.

 

Sectional meets were huge especially in the Shot Put ring where eight athletes in the top ten achieved bests in those meets. Ella O’Neall of Stevenson had a 45-4.5 best to lead this field with Maeve Kelly of New Trier two feet behind and Becca Caliendo of Hersey almost another foot back. Three athletes over 130-feet lead the field in the Discus led by the 138-5.5 throw by Marla Hayes of Lincoln-Way Central. Courtney Clabough of Yorkville and Maeve Kelly will challenge for the win.

 

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