Girls track and field: 5 storylines to watch in The Herald-News area

Track and field is always an interesting topic in The Herald-News area. Storylines abound from team to team. Here are five to keep an eye on in the upcoming 2023-24 season.

Can Seneca take the next step?

Last season, the Fighting Irish finished second to Winnebago, 50-48, in the state meet, bringing home the program’s first state team trophy.

There are plenty of returning athletes that may form a core that can take them to the top.

Anna Bruno, who won the long jump and earned a medal in three relays, has graduated, but the other three members of the state champion 4x400 relay – Clara Bruno, Evelyn O’Connor and Lila Coleman – all return. O’Connor finished seventh in the 800-meter run at last year’s state meet. Coleman and Teagan Johnson return from the third-place 4x100-meter relay team, while Coleman and Clara Bruno return from the runner-up 4x200 relay team.

Who’s the fastest?

Tradition says that whomever wins the 100-meter dash is the fastest person.

In the area, Romeoville’s Tania Miller currently holds that claim, as she finished third at the Class 3A state meet with a time of 11.89. Miller returns this season, and one of the two runners that finished ahead of her has graduated. She was .10 behind Neuqua Valley’s Zawadi Brown among returning athletes.

In the 200-meter dash, Lincoln-Way West’s Alanah Smith is the top returner with a time of 24.98 in finishing ninth in the state last season.

Going the distance

Seven area runners that qualified for state in the distance races return this season. Besides Seneca’s Evelyn O’Connor, who finished seventh in the Class 1A 800-meter run, Peotone’s Celeste Richards was a Class 1A 1600-meter run qualifier. In Class 2A, Joliet Catholic Academy’s Ella Heinen (800) and Claire Blotnik (1600) return as state qualifiers. In Class 3A, returning qualifiers are Joliet West’s Janelisa Oceguera, Lincoln-Way Central’s Nadia Bowden and Romeoville’s Sophia Flores return as qualifiers in the 800.

A throwing concern

Not a lot of area schools have a returning state qualifier in the throwing events. The only returning state qualifiers are Dwight’s Isabella Bunting and Seneca’s Gabi Maxwell and Faith Baker in the Class 1A shot put and Maxwell and Baker in the Class 1A discus.

Jumping for joy

The area has a wealth of returning state qualifiers in the jumping events.

In Class 3A, Alaina Pollard of Lincoln-Way East returns after taking eighth in the high jump, and teammate Jaiden Knoop is back after taking seventh in the pole vault. Jahnel Bowman of Plainfield South returns after finishing fourth in the triple jump last season, while Grace Griffin of Romeoville returns after taking 18th in the same event. State 3A pole vault returning qualifiers include Lincoln-Way Central’s Gabriella Bush and Kylie Koehler and Lockport’s Nicki Kuchyt.

In Class 2A, the only returning state qualifier in the jumping events is Joliet Catholic Academy’s Symone Holman, who took seventh in the long jump. In Class 1A, Seneca’s Teagan Johnson returns after taking fifth in the pole vault and qualifying in the pole vault. Teammate Addison Stiegler also returns after qualifying in the pole vault.