2023 IHSA State Track & Field Championships - 2A Girls Teams

By Michael Newman

If you believe in Deja vu, you could be looking at the 2A State Meet that begins Friday morning with the preliminary heats. The top three teams from last year all are in the same position with Kankakee once again the favorite chasing after their second straight state title. Normal University and Geneseo may have a say about that.

There is a look at some of the teams that will challenge for the 2A Girls State title.

Teams to Watch

Kankakee – 15 Total, 12 Individuals, 3 Relays

Outlook – The defending state 2A champions look to bring home some more hardware from Charleston. They have the athletes that could accomplish that feat. The Kays qualified in 11 events for the 2A state meet. They could score in 10 events with the possibility of multiple scorers in two of those events. Naomi Bey-Osborne was a part of two relay wins and an individual title as a freshman last season. She has the top 2A time in 400 Meter Dash and will be the favorite in the event. The sophomore went under 25-seconds last week in the 200 Meter Dash and will be one of the contenders in that event. Aniya Lewis will be the seventh seed in the 400 Meter Dash and could also pick up points. Lewis is also among the top five seeded athletes in the High Jump. She could be a surprise in that event.  Neveah Lowe will be busy this weekend starting with the 100 Meter Dash where she could be among the top four finishers in that race. Lowe and Bey-Osborne will be in two relays. The quartet in the 4x100m Relay has the fastest 2A sectional time and second fastest overall time behind Champaign Central. The two teams will challenge for the win. Kankakee ran the fifth fastest 4x400m Relay time in the state (4:05.74). They could contend for a top three finish. Kankakee, with Lowe as their anchor, has the fastest time in the state in the 4x200m Relay. They are seeded second heading into state and will also contend for the title in this race. Na’Kyrah Cooks jumped 5.95m last week in the sectional meet and now has the longest 2A jump heading into the state meet. Cooks is seeded eighth in the Triple Jump and could pick up points in that event. Nikkel Johnson and Tytiana Sutton are seventh and eighth in the Shot Put. Both could score points in that event. Johnson could also score in the Discus.

Normal University – 13 Total, 9 Individuals, 4 Relays

Outlook – U-High could be in the same position as they were in last  year when they finished second in Charleston. They do have the quality points that could challenge Kankakee for the win. The Pioneers qualified in 12 of the 18 events in this meet. They could score points in 11 of those events. Anna Barr will be scoring points in both hurdle races. The senior has the 2A #4 time in the 100 Meter Hurdles and should contend for the win. Barr is among the top 10 athletes in the 300 Meter Hurdles and could surprise some by finishing in the top five. Reese Mitchell is in the top 10 in the rankings in the 100 Meter Dash and will also be in the hunt for points. Mitchell will be part of the quartet that has the fastest time in Class 2A in the 4x400m Relay. U-High has the fifth fastest time in the 4x200m Relay and seventh in the 4x100m Relay. The Pioneers should score in both events. The 4x800m Relay is among the top 10 teams in that event and possibly could score in that event. Zoe Carter is among the top four runners in this meet in the 3200 Meter Run. She has the sixth fastest time in the 1600 Meter Run. She should be all-state in both events. Emily Gross cleared 1.62m in her conference meet two weeks ago. She could finish high as third in this competition. Ciera Turner could be among the top nine finishers in the Discus

Geneseo – 12 Total, 9 Individuals, 3 Relays

Outlook  - Geneseo left Charleston last May with a third-place trophy. They are among the top three teams heading into state beginning Friday. The Maple Leafs put qualifiers to state in 10 events. They could score in nine of those events with one of those events having two athletes score. The bulk of their points should come from the points. The individual athlete to watch from this quad is Annie Wirth. The senior, who will head to the University of Iowa this fall will be the favorite in two of those field events. Wirth has a state leading clearance in the High Jump (1.80m) and is ready to defend her state title. She finished third last year in the Long Jump. Wirth has the second leading mark heading into this weekend and will be one of the favorites. Wirth has the second seed time in the 300m Hurdles trailing defending state champion Emmi Scales in that event by two seconds. Wirth will pick up big points in the finals. Phoebe Shoemaker has the second fastest 2A time in that same event this season. Expect this senior to all capture some major points for her team. Shoemaker and Wirth are part of the quartet in the 4x400m Relay that has the third fastest time in Class 2A ready to challenge for the win. Geneseo also has the talent to finish in the top five in the 4x200m Relay. Johnna Shoemaker and Jocelyn Cechowicz finished second and third in their sectional. Getting points from either of these athletes could be a bonus.

Mt. Zion – 13 Total, 10 Individuals, 3 Relays

Outlook – The Braves finished ninth in last year’s state meet but have an eye on the prize of a higher finish. Mt. Zion qualified in nine events and should score in seven of them. Mt. Zion is the defending champion in the 4x800m Relay. A new lineup but still could finish in the top three in that event. Their quartet in the 4x400m Relay has the sixth fastest time in Class 2A and should be among the top five teams in this meet. Sofia Munoz is among the top eight runners in the 800 Meter Run. She will be counted on to score points in that event. She also qualified in the 1600 Meter Run. If Munoz makes the finals, she could also score in that event. Lydia Trump is among the top 10 athletes in the 300 Meter Hurdles. She could finish in the top six if Trump makes the final. Brooklyn Kondritz has cleared 3.81m this season in the Pole Vault and is among the top three in Class 2A. The sophomore has a good chance of winning that event. Alexa Weter also qualified in that event and could pick up some bonus points.

Champaign (Central) – 13 Total, 11 Individuals, 2 Relays

Outlook – The Maroons have come on strong late in the year and could be in contention for a trophy if they can pick up big points in a couple of events. Central qualified in 10 events. They will most likely score in six of them. Kennedy Ramshaw ran the second fastest time in Class 2A winning in the 400 Meter Dash at Rantoul last week. She will be one of the favorites in the event. Both quartets in the 4x100m Relay and the 4x200m Relay could be among the favorites this meet. Their 4x1 squad ran a 2A leading 47.46 time at the News-Gazette Honor Roll Meet on Monday. The time in the 4x2 (1:43.28) is fourth in Class 2A. Kyla Canales and Audrey Allender will be in the mix for a top nine finish in the Pole Vault. Braelyn Alexander is among the top jumpers in the Long Jump. She could finish higher in this meet.

Cahokia – 8 Total, 7 Individuals, 1 Relay

Outlook – The Comanche had a strong sectional win last week at Civic Memorial. They put themselves in good position for this coming weekend. Cahokia qualified in seven events and could score in five of those events. Kayda Austin has emerged as one of the top sprinters in Class 2A this season. She has the fastest time in the state (11.78) in the 100 Meter Dash. Austin ran 11.94 in her sectional win. She is a quarter of a second ahead of the rest of the field, Austin also has the fastest time in the 200 Meter Dash (24.42). The junior will also be the favorite in that event. Keymora Hayes ran the fifth fastest sectional time in the event and should pick up some big points. The two athletes are among the 4x1 quartet that are ranked in the top five in Class 2A. Hayes is among the top six in the Long Jump and should pick up points there. She is #8 also in the 100 Meter Hurdles. Watch for her also to score points in this event.

Lake Villa (Lakes) – 11 Total, 8 Individuals, 3 Relays

Outlook – The Eagles dominated the sectional at Richmond-Burton qualifying in 10 events. They should score in five of those events. Josie Gates and Joycelyn Crum qualified for state last week in the Pole Vault clearing 3.58m. Both could earn all-state honors. Crum also qualified in the 100m Hurdles and could be among the top athletes in this event. Their 4x800m Relay quartet finished second last year. The team returns the bulk of that team and could again challenge for the win. They currently have the seventh fastest time heading into this meet. Paige-Elicia Caruth is one of the top 10 runners in the 3200 Meter Run and could get the team some points. Lakes could also score points in the 4x200m Relay.

Peoria (Richwoods) – 12 Total, 9 Individuals, 3 Relays

Outlook – Keep an eye on Richwoods in this meet. The Knights came away from Galesburg with the sectional title. Richwoods qualified in nine events with the possibility of scoring in six of those events. Lena Jackson is seeded sixth in the 200 Meter Dash. Jackson should score in that event as well as the 100 Meter Dash. Mia Jackson was among the top 10 qualifiers in the 100 Meter Hurdles. She could score in that event. The Knights are the third fastest team in the 4x100m Relay. They have the #2 time in the 4x200m Relay and could challenge for the win. Richwoods also has the seventh fastest time in the 4x400m Relay and could be among the top five to end the meet.