Class A Girls Preview

by Dan Andrews- dyestat IL contributor

Long Jump:

Last year's 1-2 is this year's returning 1-2 with Katelyn Moore of Camp Point Central and Kolby Hoffman of Dwight. In addition the field includes IPTT Meet Champ Jalyn Jant of Litchfield and all but 1 of last year's finalists in what was a hotly contested event in the State finals last year. Penny Grant’s points here could be huge for Beardstown.

Pole Vault:

Rachelle Harbert of Pana, Alyssa Donner of Princeton, and Byron’s Brittany and Paige Knodle should be the favorites. Byron needs to score well here for high team placing.

High Jump:

Kelsey Holman of Eureka, Nikki Snearly of Newton, Kendra Jennings of Camp Point, and Alexis Atkins of Bloomington Central Catholic are top returnees, but 2 freshmen are in the top 3 seeds with Jena Hemann of Breese Central and Tess Godhardt of Hinckley. Holman, Atkins, and Snearly will be battling for team points.

Shot Put:

Freshman Kelsey Card of Carlinville is the top seed and will only be challenged by Allison Kereven of Oregon. Hanna Wilkins of Slidell and Heather Pruemer of Teutopolis are no slouches, but likely will be the best of the next tier.

Triple Jump:

Welcome to the Leah Orley show, Orley from Benton, is the clear favorite in this event and is one of the best triple jumpers in the country. Alisa Baron of Bureau Valley, Jennifer Sio of Rockford Christian Life, and Stephanie Denius of Oakwood could challenge her though. Orley’s teammate Courtney Smith will be looking for points.

Discus:

Kelsey Card once again is a clear cut above the competition with only 1 other likely competitor in Ashley Rojemann of Galena. Ashley Webb of Benton could provide the Rangerettes a point buffer on the rest of teams likely to be chasing them.

4x800m Relay:

Elmwood and Winnebago squads are the top 2 seeds with Byron and Eureka amongst the top seeds in what should be an exciting race. Can Elmwood or Winnebago push 9:30 is one sub plot while the other is a likely points battle for a potential trophy for Byron or Eureka.

4x100m Relay:

Sherrard is the top dog in this relay, likely to only be challenged by Carthage, Kewanee Wethersfield, Pittsfield, and Bureau Valley. Potential finalists of Bloomington Central Catholic, Byron, and Newton could be fighting for valuable team points with the Carthage team.

3200m Run:

Eureka’s Olivia Klaus under most circumstances would be the top rated 3200m runner and she’d likely be able to control this race with Kelly Curran of Bloomington Central Catholic without being in the 4x800m relay. Kerry Pelton of Bloomington Central Catholic is also a top contender and the one-two punch of Curran and Pelton should put BCC in the early points lead. Ann Schuette of Aurora Christian and Cara Feeney could play spoiler roles.

100m Hurdles:

Sara King of PORTA will be looking for redemption, she’s had a bit of bad luck at the State meet in this event, but is this year’s top seed by a wide margin. Leah Orley and Alexis Atkins could be finalists battling for team points.

100m Dash:

Kimberley Spencer has owned this event for the past couple of seasons. The returning champ looks to be the clear favorite again. Macey Black, Kayla Heal, and Brittany Lowdermilk should be pushing her though. Courtney Smith of Benton will be looking to score team points as a potential finalist. Benton should hold the upper hand in team points by this point.

800m Dash:

Stephanie Brown of Tri-Valley is the clear favorite in this event and she’ll be looking to take down the State Meet record. While she doesn’t ever appear to have potential challengers her fast pace will bring likely help pull other competitors to fast runs. Kelly Curran will be looking to play catch up for her team in the points race. However, she will be facing a host of previous medalists in this like Afta Noon and Jodi Hoekstra.

4x200m Relay:

Rushville looks to be a 2s favorite on paper, but Carthage has likely yet to have been pushed and this will be the start of their points run and they will find plenty of pushing from the likes of Kewanee Wethersfield, Pleasant Plains, and Camp Point Central, the latter being able to possibly put themselves into contention in the team points race.

400m Dash:

Regina George of Chicago St. Gregory will have a quick turnaround here from the 800m assuming she makes the finals in that race leaving a slight edge to Leann Michl of Newton and Alisa Baron of Bureau Valley. Michl’s points could be huge for Newton and if Benton’s Smith can make finals her points would likely put the title out reach from any contenders.

300m Hurdles:

Leah Orley once again is another clear favorite in this race, she likely will only be pushed if Amy Byers of Carthage is recovered from her turnaround time in the 4x200m relay, but Byers will be fighting to stay in contention with Paig Knodle, Sara King, and Jerilyn Mandac of Reed-Custer. Alexis Atkins of BCC is a potential finalist and any points from her would improve BCC’s trophy chances. This race has huge implications on Byron’s and Cathage’s chance for team points.

1600m Run:

A Battle Royale could take place in this race between Stephanie Brown and Olivia Klaus. They went 1-2 at sectionals and were separated by less than a tenth of second. If they put on that kind of show in the Finals we could see sub 5 minutes easily. Kelly Curran will likely be fighting fatigue to stay with Brown and Klaus, but her points would be significant for BCC in the team race against Benton.

200m Dash:

Kim Spencer is a 2s favorite in this race, while Regina George and Courtney Smith could push her. Smith is a former winner of this race and George is phenomenal mid distance runner whose 200m times are more than adequate. Kayla Heal or Macey Black could surprise here, but expect a battle between Spencer, George, Smith, Orley, and Lowdermilk. Orley and Smith should solidify Benton’s place a top the team standings in this race.

4x400m Relay:

Kewanee Wethersfield is the top dog in this race and the finals should bring some excitement as there a host of teams that could win this race. A big showing on finals day and in this race could put Bureau Valley into trophy contention and a potential finalist in Byron could have then solidify a team trophy as well. However with about 20 teams within 3s of each other heading into prelims anything could go as Eureka, Carthage, and Newton are potential finalists as well.

Teams:

It looks to be a three way battle between Benton, Bloomington Central Catholic, and Eureka for the top spot with an edge going to Benton. BCC and Eureka must also be wary of Byron, Carthage, Princeton, and Bureau Valley as those teams would need some better than expected performances to make up the gap to a potential trophy and Newton cannot be overlooked because with several high placed performances they could looking at over 30 points as well.

Top Seven Prediction

1. Benton
2. Bloomington Central Catholic
3. Eureka
4. Byron
5. Bureau Valley
6. Newton
7. Carthage