3A Girls Sprints Preview: The Shelf Is Stocked With Talent

Kaylah was on top of the world in the short hurdles indoors and outside in 2018

100HH-
2018 State Champion: Kaylah McCall (Jr., Homewood-Flossmoor) 14.06 [+1.2]
Key Athletes: McCall, Halle Bieber (Sr., Naperville North), Laqwasia Stepney (Sr., Belleville West), Kayla Walters (Sr., Bolingbrook), Erin Oleksak (Sr., Palatine), Kelvi Searcy (Sr., Belleville West), Victoria Spagnola (So., West Aurora), Katelyn Johnson (Sr., Bolingbrook), Brittany Rainey (Sr., Dunlap),
Outlook: Yes it was Kayla Walters who hit the last two hurdles in last year's state championship that denied her a gold medal for the second straight time. But that mistake should not take away from then Kaylah McCall who was calm and cool coming in. That's because she experienced battle scars from a tough schedule that included winning Top Times, running a leg on the state championship 4x100 relay, and scrappy practices. These ingredients cannot be measured up.

This season things will be tougher as the workload and expectations are going to be magnified to the maximum. Walters, Halle Bieber, and Stepney will be on her like a tracking device. The latter girls were within inches running fast 14.13 and 14.16 respectively. Walters' teammate Katelyn Johnson is a strong hurdler and will reap the benefits this season.

How about Tori Spagnola? She fought the pressure of competing in a virtual sense against her superstar sister and former West Aurora great Emma Spagnola. The young lad was the only freshman to make the final in her introductory season.