Girls Track and Field: Kane County Chronicle 2024 season preview capsules

With outdoor competitions set to begin in the coming weeks, here are previews of high school girls track and field teams in the Kane County Chronicle coverage area.

Aurora Central Catholic

Coaches: Leah Bohr, Troy Kerber

Top athletes: Ceci Hilby, so., distance; Olivia Koral, sr., sprints; Mayte Acosta, jr., sprints; Carolina Dervis, jr., long sprints; Sofia Orozco, fr., middle distance; Allidzie Perez, fr., distance; Molly Russelburg, fr., pole vault

Worth noting: The Chargers enter the season with lots of talent from the underclassmen. Hilby is returning after earning All-State honors in the Class 2A 800-meter race with a sixth-place finish in 2 minutes, 18.49 seconds, and also qualified in the 1,600. Kerber said he’s excited to see Hilby lead the team, as well as seeing the athletes put in strong efforts at conference, sectionals and state.

Aurora Christian

Coaches: Sarah Rodgers, Stacy Beebe, Mayra Johnson

Top athletes: Grace Knight, so., sprints; Emily Scudieri, so., sprints; Talia Cakmak, so., distance; Kaylee Martinez, jr., sprints/jumps; Payton Jewell, so., sprints/jumps; Chloe Meyer, fr., jumps; Josie Chenault, fr., jumps; Dylann Coley, so., throws; Hannah Kaczor, fr., throws; Ellie Stark, fr., throws

Worth noting: The Eagles will sport a young team that shows promise for growth across the board. Rodgers said Aurora Christian has a lot of returning athletes and a lot of newcomers who will look to make an impact.

Batavia

Coach: Justin Allison

Top athletes: Izzy Taylor, sr., sprints; Elizabeth Wende, so., sprints; Mariah Wilson, sr., sprints/jumps; Madison Wilson, sr., sprints/hurdles; Alli Olson, sr., distance; Sarah Hecht, sr., throws; Alyssa Andersen, jr., hurdles/jumps/sprints

Worth noting: The Bulldogs are heading into the outdoor season fresh off winning the DuKane Conference indoor championship and they’re looking to continue their outdoor conference streak. The sprinting quartet of Taylor, Wende and the Wilson sisters will be the focal point of the team’s scoring this season. Taylor and the Wilson sisters also will be looking to again earn all-state honors after placing sixth at state in the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 in 2022, but failing to do so in all three events last season. This season looks to have some promise from the start. The quartet set the school indoor record in the 4x200 with a time of 1:43.96 at the Bulldog Invite to end the indoor season.

Burlington Central

Coach: Vince Neil

Top athletes: Abby Burke, jr., mid-distance/distance; Maddie Mucci, sr., sprints/jumps; Kenzie Andersen, sr., sprints; Danica Wiegel, sr., sprints/pole vault; Keira Heindl, sr., sprints; Corryn Kester, sr., sprints/mid-distance; Sia Patel, sr., sprints

Worth noting: The Rockets took a major blow to their roster after losing All-Staters Paige Greenhagel, Tiana Foreman and Tia Brennan to graduation. Greenhagel now competes for Liberty. Despite the losses, Neil said he expects the team to be even deeper and more rounded this season. Mucci is expected to be a top point-getter after competing in the triple jump and with the 4x200 team at state last season. Burke is expected to grab some points in the longer distances for the Rockets. Neil said he wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the freshmen become standouts for the Rockets this season.

“We graduated some huge point scorers last year but I think we are going to be deeper in our overall team depth,” Neil said. “We are going to have to rely on everyone to be a contributor.”

Geneva

Coach: Peter Raak

Top athletes: Reilly Day, sr., sprints/jumps; Sarah Hahn, sr., mid-distance; Vicki Karalis, sr., throws; Brooke Lussnig, sr., sprints/jumps; Avery Whitehead, sr., sprints; Kendall Young, sr., high jump/pole vault; Bridget Hecker, jr., sprints; Sofia Borter, so., distance; Alyssa Flotte, fr., sprints/hurdles/jumps

Worth noting: Geneva heads into the outdoor season boasting a combination of seasoned veterans and fresh talent throughout the roster. Hecker returns after being the only Viking to qualify for state last season in the 400. Young talent such as Borter and Flotte made their presence known during the indoor track season. Raak said he is looking forward to seeing the team continue to progress, compete at a high level and qualify several athletes to the state meet.

Kaneland

Coach: Andrew Franklin

Top athletes: Cora Heller, sr., sprints/jumps/throws/pole vault; Olivia Pastovich, sr., sprints/hurdles; Danielle Bower, so., distance; Charolette Krage, jr., throws

Worth noting: The Knights moved up to Class 3A, but Franklin said the girls are unfazed by the jump up to compete against bigger schools. Heller and Pastovich, who both qualified for the Class 2A state meet last season in the pole vault and 300 hurdles, respectively, return for their final season with the Knights. Both are expected to be the leaders of the squad. Franklin said the goal is to win the Interstate 8 Conference.

Rosary

Coach: Vic Mead

Top athletes: Vivian Wyller, sr., distance; Viviana Ruby, sr., throws; Olivia Kunio, sr., mid-distance; Christina and Jillian Ferraro, sr., sprints/hurdles; Chiara Surtz, jr., distance; Peyton Saltijeral, so., sprints; Katie Kostro, so., jumps/hurdles; Madeline Ehrenberg, fr., hurdles/sprints; Clara Bello, fr., jumps/sprints; Ania Patel, jr., pole vault

Worth noting: The Royals have a good combination of sprinters and distance runners on their roster this season. Wyller is coming off a sixth-place finish in the 1,600 in the Class 2A Illinois Top Times indoor championships. Both Kostro and Ehrenberg almost broke the 10-second mark in the 60 hurdles. Along with depth across the board for Rosary, Mead is hoping for a top-five finish in the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference and state qualifiers in eight events.

St. Charles East

Coach: Bradley Kaplan

Top athletes: Marley Andelman, sr., distance; Addison Schlib, so., jumps/sprints; Naomi Moody, so., sprints; Maddie Piekarz, so., sprints

Worth noting: The Saints come into the season with a fairly young team after losing All-Staters Claire Vanlue, Morgan Sandlund and Lauren Lewison to graduation. Andelman is one to watch again this season. The TCU triathlon commit and two-time All-Stater won the 800 at the Illinois Top Times indoor championships in 2 minutes, 15.65 seconds, and will be looking for her third all-state finish in May. Kaplan said he’s looking forward to the younger athletes stepping up and filling in the gaps by the time the major meets come around.

“We’re looking to run our best when it matters at the IHSA sectional and see how many athletes we can qualify for the state meet,” Kaplan said.

St. Charles North

Coach: Anthony Enright

Top athletes: Tosin Oshin, jr., throws; Gwen Hobson, fr., distance; Julia Rodney, fr., distance; Alanna Gupta, fr., hurdles; Reese Thomas, so., mid-distance/hurdles; Ava Miedema, jr., mid-distance; Zoe Ulaszek, sr., mid-distance; Aliya Clayton, jr., sprints/jumps

Worth noting: The North Stars graduated both of their state qualifiers from last season (Hannah Wallace and Jocelyn Kane) and are looking to get athletes back to Eastern Illinois by the end of May in their first season under Enright. Oshin is set to lead the field events after just missing out on state qualifying in the shot put last season. Enright said he feels confident in both the 4x400 and 4x800 teams performing well throughout the season.

“We have a strong team made up of hard workers and look to make the most out of the opportunities and challenges in front of them,” Enright said