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DS IL 2015 Season Preview – 3A Girls Sprints / HurdlesPublished by
Ellis and Stewart are the brightest stars in the 2015 sprint / hurdle horizon
By Michael Newman
Two Time 400 Meter champion Brittny Ellis (Warren Township HS, Gurnee) had to take a backseat last year as Parker English and Briyanna DesRosiers had spectacular senior seasons to dominate the sprint scene in Illinois. In her final prep campaign before she heads to the University of Miami, Ellis should step on the center sprint stage in Illinois. She is capable of sweeping all three sprint events. Her team’s sprint squad is also strong. The thing to watch for Brittny this year is whether she will sacrifice individual glory for some team glory within the relays.
Jayla Stewart (Homewood-Flossmoor HS) was in the same situation last year when she was trailing Emma Spagnola in the hurdle races. In her senior season, she will be in the spotlight as the favorite in the 100 Hurdles as well as being a big part of Homewood-Flossmoor’s quest to win a state team championship.
Lincoln-Way East again will have some strong relay squads that will be challenged by some talented teams across the state.
Here is a look at each of the five individual events. We will also give you an idea of the teams to watch for in the relays.
100 Meter Dash
2014 State Top Returnee – Jessica Watkins – SR – Bolingbrook HS – 6th AAA
Preview – At the beginning of last season, who would have thought that Meghan Marias would have won the state championship in this event. The same should apply this season. The 100 Meter Dash is wide open with eight of the nine finalists all graduated. The athlete with the bulls’ eye on her back will be Jessica Watkins. She finished sixth at state and has the fastest returning time (11.93). The next closest athlete is Antoinette Broughton (Homewood-Flossmoor HS) who ran 11.96 last year.
Brittny Ellis has run 12.08 and has the third fastest returning time. She could be in this event. Again, she could be helping her team in the short relays. Ololade Ayoola (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort) is one of the top returning sprinters who could follow the tradition of her school’s sprinters in this event. Mani Lock (Lake Park HS, Roselle), Tatyana Henderson (Crete-Monee HS), and Yakira Love (Westinghouse Academy, Chicago) are some of the athletes that could make a difference in this event.
200 Meter Dash
2014 State Top Returnee – Norma Abdur-Rafia – JR – Oak Park-River Forest HS – 6th AAA
Preview – Just like in the shorter sprint event, there were some quality sprinters that graduated in this event. Only two finalists are back. The runner with the fastest returning time is Brittny Ellis who ran 23.83 at the Southwest Classic at the beginning of June. She qualified for state but opted out of this event last year to help her team in the relays. She has placed in this event in her first two years. Expect her to be among the best in 2015.
There are some talented athletes that will push Ellis in the 200. This event could be big for Homewood-Flossmoor in regards to the state team championship. Antoniette Broughton, who finished eighth last year, and Jayla Stewart could give their team some big points. Both ran 24.3 last season. Jessica Watkins could also be a factor in this event just as she could in the 100. Norma Abdur-Rafia is the highest placing returnee that could finish in the top three at Charleston. Hannah Cohn (St. Ignatius Prep, Chicago), Morgan Harris (Oswego East HS), Sidne’ Williamson (Belleville East HS), and Ololade Ayoola (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort) are some of the athletes that could finish in the top five in this event.
400 Meter Dash
2014 State Top Returnee – Brittny Ellis – SR – Gurnee Warren HS – 3rd AAA
Preview – This event should be wide open…for second place in this event this season. Unless injury detours her, Brittny Ellis will be the big favorite. After winning the state championship her freshman and sophomore years, she ran 54.30 to finish 3rd in a tough final race last May. In the post season, she ran 53.49 to win the AAU National Champions. The cherry on top of the cake is when the U of Miami signee placed sixth at the Youth Olympic Games in China.
It is hard to see anyone getting close to Ellis. She has the fastest returning time in the 400 by 3 ½ seconds. There are four other athletes that have state finals experience led by sixth place finisher Foster Ignoffo (Geneva HS). Charlyncia Stennis (Bolingbrook HS), Tamia Rayford (West Aurora HS), and Hannah Cohn have the talent to contend for a top three finish. I would also keep an eye on Asia Brown (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort), Ashleigh Wilson (Minooka HS), Morgan Harris, and Kierra Weir (Springfield HS) to challenge to be among the best in the 400 this year.
100 Meter Hurdles
2014 State Top Returnee – Jayla Stewart – SR – Homewood-Flossmoor HS – 2nd AAA
Preview – Just as Emma Spagnola was dominant in 2014, Jayla Stewart could follow the same trail in 2015. She did beat Spagnola in one race last season but ended up finishing second at the state meet. Stewart ran some great races in the post season including a 13.81 at the AAU Nationals in August. Stewart is so far ahead of the rest of the returnees. Maya Neal (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville) is the next fastest returnee, but she is almost one second back.
There are three other state finalists back besides Stewart. Alexia Harvey (Evanston Township HS), Maya Mason (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect), and Kyla Jimmar (Richards HS, Oak Lawn) all are capable of placing within the first five. One athlete to keep an eye on is Grace Cronin (Fenwick HS, Oak Park). The junior finished second in the 2A finals last year. I would not discount her. She could end up in the top 5 in the higher level race.
300 Meter Hurdles
2014 State Top Returnee – Morgan Schulz – SR – Cary-Grove HS – 2nd AAA
Preview – Morgan Schulz qualified for three events at last year’s state meet. Her best event could be this one. She showed great improvement in the last year dropping her time two seconds from 45.56 her sophomore year to 43.02. She should be the favorite in this event. Her chief competition could come from Grace Cronin. The Fenwick junior finished third in the 2A finals last year. She has the talent to drop her time even more in 2015.
Tineja Foy (Crete-Monee HS), Kyla Jimmar, and Sabrina Matias (Lane Tech HS, Chicago) are the three other finalists back from last year. Maya Neal, if she runs this event, could be a difference maker. Alexis Pierre-Antoine (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort) and Caitlin Riedy (Palatine HS) should also contend for top five finishes.
4 x 100 Meter Relay
2014 State Champion – Frankfort Lincoln-Way East HS – 46.04
Preview – Lincoln-Way East will try for their third straight win in this relay despite losing Alexis Hyshaw and Meghan Marias to graduation. They still have a good group back led by Ololade Ayoola and Asia Brown. Homewood-Flossmoor could be the one team that could replace the Griffins at the top. The Vikings return everyone from their third place team including Antoinette Broughton. Bolingbrook could be another team to chase after the top spot led by Jessica Watkins. They also return all of their runners from last year’s sixth place team.
Brittny Ellis and Autumn Santos lead Warren that finished eighth last year and return all of their runners. They could be among the top squads in 2015. St. Charles East, Belleville West, Oak Park-River Forest, and Danville could challenge this season. Also keep an eye on Springfield. The Senators return three from last’s year’s team that placed 2nd in the 2A finals.
4 x 200 Meter Relay
2014 State Champion - Frankfort Lincoln-Way East HS – 1:39.71
Preview – Homewood-Flossmoor will try to prevent Lincoln-Way East from winning their third straight championship in the 4x2. HF finished fourth a year ago but returns all four of last year’s quartet. Lincoln-Way East returns two from last year’s team led by Asia Brown. Bloomington could be a threat to both of these teams. They finished fifth last year and return all of their quartet.
Springfield returns three from their team that finished 4th in 2A. Minooka, Waubonsie Valley, Bloom Township, Oak Park-River Forest, Evanston, and O’Fallon could all have the teams that could place in the top five this season.
4 x 400 Meter Relay
2014 State Champion – St. Charles East – 3:49.33
Preview – St. Charles East could be one of the teams to watch this year as they return three from last year’s state championship team. They will have to find someone to replace anchor Jordan Shead who has graduated. This event could be wide open as most of last year’s state finalists could be rebuilding their quartets. Second place Lincoln-Way East returns two but has a good nucleus to reload from. Springfield won the 2A championship. They have three coming back from the team that ran 3:56.13 at state.
Bloom Township, Palatine, Glenbard West, Barrington, East St. Louis-Senior, and Warren Township are teams that could step up into the first five teams at the end of May. More news |
