Illinois HS Track & Field - Athletes to Watch in Class 3A Girls for the 2023 Season

By Michael Newman

Nine of last year’s 14 individual state champions in the Class 3A State Meet are back ready to defend their state titles.

Three of those athletes left Charleston with multiple state championships. Ana-Liese Torian of Homewood-Flossmoor was the queen of the hurdles winning both hurdle events. Alexandria Johnson of Huntley took home both horizontal jumps state titles.

Allison Ince is the lone junior of the three winning both the 800 Meter Run and 400 Meter Dash. Grace Schager of Glenbard North won the 3200 Meter Run in last year’s meet. 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

Alexandria Johnson (SR) – Huntley – Johnson was the queen of the jumps last year even though her sophomore sister Dominique could be a roadblock to the Triple Jump title. She has started to step into the national spotlight in the Long Jump having jumped past 19-feet both indoors and outdoors. Her 20-1 jump at her conference meet last May makes her the ninth best returning jumper in the nation. Johnson jumped 19-8.25 in winning the 3A Long Jump State title for the second year in a row. 2022 was the first year that she competed in the Triple Jump. She won seven out of the eight times that she jumped in the event. Her only loss came to her sister indoors at Illinois Top Times. She jumped over 40-feet four of the five times outdoors. She had a best of 41-0.5 in her sectional meet. Johnson jumped 40-5.5 in the state meet by less than half a foot ahead of her sister. Alexandria has been all-state twice in the 100 Meter Dash placing sixth in 2021 and ninth last season. Her personal best in that event was a wind-aided 11.98 in last year’s state prelims.

Maeve Kelly (SR) – Winnetka New Trier – Two second-place finishes by Kelly in last year’s state meet ended her 2022 season. She would like to take that final step up to the top of the podium at least once this May in Charleston. Kelly had a 43-9.5 best that moved her from third in the prelims to second overall. That mark is the best returning performance in the Shot Put in the state. Kelly won all six outdoor meets in the event leading to state. She was in a rut early in the season in the Discus not being able to throw past 116-feet. She made a huge move up when she threw 131-6.25 in her sectional meet. Kelly improved on that mark at state throwing 136-10.25 in the finals to finish second. That mark is the top mark returning in Class 3A.

Jaiden Knopp (JR) – Lincoln-Way East – One athlete that is ready to step into the state spotlight in the Pole Vault entering her junior season. She did not make it to state her freshman season even though she cleared 11-0 at her conference meet. Things went up for Knopp as she cleared an indoor best of 12-1.75 to finish second at Illinois Top Times. She duplicated that clearance in May at the state meet where she also finished second. It has been a hot start for Knopp this indoor season with her lowest clearance at a meet only 11-10. She cleared 12-3 at a club meet in December. Big things are ahead for this Lincoln-Way East junior.

Katelyn Lehnen (SO) – Chatham-Glenwood – There was plenty of hype for Lehnen after a successful middle school career heading last February into high school meets. She stepped into the spotlight at the end of the indoor season winning the 60 Meter Dash (7.62) over a loaded field at the Illinois Top Times Championships. She qualified for three individual events for the state meet in May. She ran 11.64 in the prelims of the 100 Meter Dash. She finished third in the finals. She has the fifth fastest time for her sophomore class in the nation heading into this season. Lehnen made the finals of the 400 Meter Dash where she ran a personal best of 56.43 to finish third. Third time was a charm as she stepped into the blocks of the 200 Meter Dash in that meet as she ran 24.75 to win the state title in that event. We can’t wait to see what she does in the next three seasons of high school track and then beyond that.

Rylee Lydon (SR) – Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge – Lydon is one of the most versatile Girls athlete in the state. It showed even more so in her summer season when she won the 17-18 division Heptathlon at the USATF National Junior Olympics. It is an event we should see her compete in when she attends Texas A&M University this fall. She is a five time all-state athlete including two state titles. She won the 400 Meter Dash as a sophomore in 2021. Lydon finished seventh in that event last year. She is the defending state champion in the High Jump clearing 5-6.25 in the finals. She cleared a personal best of 5-9 during the season. Lydon also jumped 18-8 to finish third last May in the Long Jump.

Ana-Liese Torian (SR) – Homewood-Flossmoor – A six time all-state athlete that includes three state titles in the last two years. One of the reasons why the Vikings will contend for their second straight state team championship. She is the two-time defending champion in the 100 Meter Hurdles running 13.87 for the win in 2021 and 13.82 for the second win last May. Her third state championship came when she ran 42.88 last year to win the 300 Meter Hurdles. She ran in the 200 Meter Dash last year where she did qualify for the finals. Torian was also part of HF’s 4x100m Relay that finished seventh in the state finals.