Courtney Sockwell (in purple) has competed to some of the best enroute to state
Sprints and relays is what track and field is about on the oval-
Courtney Sockwell (Jr., Rockford Lutheran) is a "newcomer" to high school track in the sense that she has mostly competed in summer track and sparingly on the IHSA scene prior to 2016 as a member of Rockford Christian Life High School. 2014 is a distant memory now and it appears after getting reacquainted during the indoor season which resulted in a 60m title at the Illinois Top Times. Sockwell has not stopped her domination outdoors despite limited competition due to inclement weather. Sockwell has the top sectional mark of 12.43. Her personal best is 12.18. Although Rebecca Waite (So., Milledgeville) ran 12.46 in her sectional run she is going to need a perfect start, middle, and finish to get by Sockwell in the final. Defending state champion Mariah Woods (Sr., South Holland Seton Academy) did not compete at the Seneca Sectional.
It could be Sophie Keith's (Sr., Pinckneyville) time after finishing fourth last year. She rolls into Charleston with the top classification time of 57.98. Mariah Brodie will double back from the 800 after posting the top mark in that event. Indoor champ Cherree Miller (Sr., Fairfield) is locked and loaded as well.
The 200m seems a bit more open with several athletes closely together. Sockwell along with Taylor George (Jr., Warrensville-Latham) are seeded #1 and #2 going into the state prelims. They will duel with Jenny Kimbro who may or may not have any legs left after a long day of competing. Don't forget that Erika Zimmerlein (Sr., Amboy) beat Sockwell at Top Times pretty easily. Either way it is going to take a mid 25-second effort on the top end for the finals.
Jenny Kimbro is the state leader in the 300 Hurdles and among the nation's elite long hurdlers. The 43.10 mark from the sectional round is nearly 2.5 seconds ahead of Emery Podowicz (Jr., Clifton Central) and another second over Annie Carlson (Sr., Westmont). There is no doubt if any that Kimbro is unbeatable here. Her only opponent will be the hurdler barriers and the stadium clock. The same will be for the 100HH for Kimbro who admittedly likes the short race more. Kimbro has run a swift 14.60 at sectionals.
The 4x800 championship will go through indoor champion and classification leader Springfield Lutheran. They have logged 9:51. They will hopefully get a rematch with DeeMack and then all takers such as sectional leader Dakota.
Decatur St. Teresa is sitting pretty in the 4x100 on the strength of a stout quartet who ran a list leading 50.20. St. Joe-Ogden comes in at 50.33 and will be tough to handle on the blue oval. But the team that everyone must watch out for is Chicago Luther North. The speedsters from the north side of Chicago have a champions mentality and is fully intact led by Jada Williams and will be after the state meet record.
Luther North is the defending 4x200 champion who missed the classification meet record by less than a tenth of a second. Additionally they will be motivated by a disqualification at Illinois Top Times. Can Luther North rebound in Charleston and finally get the record they covet?
The showstopper should be just that- a showstopper. There is no clear cut favorite this year. No team has run under 4:05 indoors or outside. Farmington should be the first squad to make some noise with the top classification seed. Seneca, Clifton Central, and Illini West are top contenders.