Illinois HS Track & Field - Athletes to Watch in Class 2A Girls for the 2023 Season

By Michael Newman

Class 2A girls appears to be the toughest classification heading into this track season.

How tough is? 13 of last year’s 14 state champions return looking to repeat their state feats. Emmi Scales of St. Viator won three individual state championships. Naomi Bey-Osbourne of Kankakee won two individual state championships as a freshman in 2022. She was also a part of Kankakee’s two relay titles. They are the top athletes to watch in the non-distance events.

The distance events in this classification are extremely tough led by defending state champions Tatum David of Richland County and Becca Heitzig of Lincoln. You can read about them as well as the rest of the athletes in these disciplines in Illinois Distance Digest.

Here are some of the top athletes to watch for this upcoming season.

Athletes are listed below in alphabetical order

Naomi Bey-Osborne (SO) – Kankakee – This list is predominately filled with senior athletes. Bey-Osborne being a sophomore on this list shows what a great athletes she has already become just beginning her second track season.  She was 4 for 4 in state championships last year including two relays titles anchoring the 4x1 and 4x4 to state titles. She ran a personal best of 56.53 in winning the 400 Meter Dash. Before she ran in the 4x4, Bey-Osbourne ran a personal best of 25.22 to capture the 200 Meter Dash state title. She split 58.04 to anchor her team in the 4x4 following the 200 win. The sophomore has started out her 2023 season on a strong note last week in Chicago first getting close to her 200 personal best running 25.30. She also ran 58.75 for 400-meters in that meet.

Madelyn Bishop (SR) – Rockford Boylan Catholic – Bishop emerged as one of the top athletes in the Shot Put last year in all three classes. She enters this season with the second best returning put of 43-1 that she had in the Friday prelims at state that stood into the finals. She was also all-state in the Discus with her 125-6 personal best throw earning her sixth in the event. Her improvement from her sophomore year to her junior year has been dramatic. She improved seven feet in the Shot Put during that time. Bishop improved a remarkable 28 feet from the 98-11 she threw as a sophomore.

Na’Kyrah Cooks (JR) – Kankakee – The Kays won the state championship last year and are one of the favorites this spring and Na’Kyrah Cooks is one of the reasons. Cooks is a field event specialist for her team competed in both horizontal jumps along with the High Jump.  She took a step into the Long Jump spotlight last year jumping past 18-feet three times. Her best was a 19-2.75 jump that gave her the win at the 2A Kankakee Sectional. There were doubts after her prelim jump at state of 16-6.75 to got her to the finals but only in tenth place. She pulled off a 17-10.25 jump on her final round jump to take the state title. Cooks also qualified for state in the Triple Jump but did not make the finals. Her 36-5.75 jump in her sectional meet was the best for her in the event for the 2022 season.

Brianna Dixon (SR) – Rantoul – Dixon was state champion as a sophomore in 2021 in the 100 Meter Hurdles. She is a five-time all-state athlete including the three that she earned last year. She cleared a personal best of 5-7.75 to win second last year in the High Jump in Charleston. She ran a personal best of 14.25 to finish second in the 100 Meter Hurdles and then a third personal best of the state meet with a 44.89 in the 300 Meter Hurdles to finish fourth. Dixon also had success during the summer post season at the USATF Junior Olympic National Championships. She cleared 5-5 to finish second in the 17-18 age group in the High Jump. She ran 14.64 to finish fourth in the 100 Hurdles earning two All-American honors in the meet. Dixon has started off her season strong within the first month of the year clearing 5-5 in the High Jump three times.

Emmi Scales (SR) – St. Viator – Injuries slowed down Scales in her 2021 sophomore season. She did not compete in both hurdle events during the IHSA season qualifying for both sprint events with an eighth-place finish in the 200 Meter Dash. A successful 2021 summer season was next where she earned All-American honors at the USATF National Junio Olympics in the 400 Meter Hurdles. Her 2022 season was one that dreams are made of. Her emergence in both hurdle events during the IHSA season and the summer season were dreamlike. She saved her best for last in the 100 Hurdles running 14.11 in the prelims and then 14.01 time in the finals to win the state title. She ran 12.32 right after that hurdles race into a headwind to win the second state title of the day in the 100 Meter Dash. Scales’ final race in Charleston was a 42.81 time, more than a second personal best, to win her third state title in the 300 Hurdles. She struck gold again in California in the 100 Meter Hurdles where she ran an all-time Illinois best of 13.52. Dawn Harper ran 13.54 in 2001 to establish the IHSA State Meet record. The fact that Scales ran under 14-seconds an incredible six times during the summer shows us she is ready to do something special in her senior season. Scales will attend the University of Kentucky this fall.

Alice Sotelo (SR) – Sterling – Sotelo is a specialist in the Triple Jump. She qualified for the state meet as a sophomore in 2021 where she did not make the finals. Sotelo showed dramatic improvement jumping 33-9 as a sophomore to 37-3.25 as a junior. Her best of 2022 was the difference in giving her a state title. She won sic of seven meets that she competed in the Triple Jump. Five of those meets Sotelo jumped past 36-feet.

Madyson Swope (SR) – Carbondale – The defending state champion in the Discus, Swope is one of the top five athletes back regardless of classification in the state in that event. She threw a 131-11.5 best in winning the Salem Sectional meet. She followed that up in Charleston throwing 130-11.75 to claim the state championship. Her final three meets in the Discus all had throws over 130-feet. Swope had a personal best of 42-6.75 in the state prelims that held on for second-place at state. She had her best performances in her final meets of the season. We should see more of that from Swope in 2023.

Anne Wirth (SR) – Geneseo – Wirth is an eight time all-state athlete individually and relays. Wirth’s premiere event is in the High Jump where she is the two-time Class 2A State Champion in the event. She cleared a 5-10 personal best two win her second state title. That mark is the top clearance coming back in the event. Wirth added the 300 Hurdles last year. She finished fifth at state in that event. Wirth has been all-state twice in the Long Jump finishing third last year and second as a sophomore. She has been all-state being a part of three relays. She was part of the quartet in the 4x200m Relay that finished fifth.