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DS IL 2015 Season Preview – 3A Girls Field EventsPublished by
Does Catherine rewrite the Pole Vault record books in 2015?
By Michael Newman
There are so many great storylines that we will be watching in the 3A Field Events during this upcoming season. The biggest story could be how high will Brooke Catherine (Normal Community HS) go in the Pole Vault? Catherine had a breakout year last spring culminating with the 3A state championship. She has started out the indoor season with a fury. She cleared an Illinois indoor state best of 13-4 on January 17 at the Reno Pole Vault Summit. That performance is equal to that of what Lindsay Murray did in the 2A finals last May to establish a new IHSA record. We could see some special things in that similar to what Luke Winder did last spring.
Emma Haugen (Lyons Township HS, LaGrange) will also be in the spotlight as she will be going for her third championship in the High Jump. Lajarvia Brown (Alton HS) will try to repeat her 2014 win in the Triple Jump. Courtney Morgan (Metea Valley HS, Aurora) will go for a 2nd win in the Shot Put and try to add the Discus crown to her resume. There will be a new champion in the Long Jump. There are a number of athletes that are willing able to step to the top of the podium.
Here is a look at each of the 6 disciplines that are contested within the field events.
Long Jump
2014 State Top Returnee – Brittani Griesbaum – SR – Lake Villa Lakes – 2nd AAA
Preview - With 2014 champion Janille Rogers and 3rd place finisher Emma Spagnola graduated, the door is open for a new face in the spotlight. The top six athletes back this spring are within a foot of each other. There is no clear favorite. Brittani Griesbaum is the highest placing athlete back in this event. However, she has the third best jump (18-9.5). The longest returning performance belongs to Briana Driver (Mother McAuley HS, Chicago) who jumped 19-3 at the end of June at an AAU Qualifier. The rest of her jumps during the season were near 18-0 which was good enough to get her seventh at the state meet.
Maya Neal (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville) is a great multi-event athlete. Her best event could be this one. The University of Tennessee signee jumped 18-7 ¼ at Arcadia last April. She did jump 19-0 feet her sophomore year. She has the potential to pop some great jumps in 2015. She finished fourth at last year’s state meet. Janae Cox (Bradley-Bourbonnais HS) finished fifth last year at state, but her 18-10 ½ leap at the USATF Nationals in July should give her the confidence needed to go for the state championship.
Catherine Sherwood (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect) finished ninth at state last May but could be someone to watch in this event. The senior did have an 18-7 seasonal best. Also watch for Triple Jump champion LaJarvia Brown (Alton HS) to be a factor in this event. She finished sixth last year. The Rock Island duo of Mariah Hoover and Hannah Willhite have the talent to place in the top five this season.
Triple Jump
2014 State Top Returnee – LaJarvia Brown – JR – Alton HS – 2014 AAA State Champion
Preview – Defending champion LaJarvia Brown will be the lady to beat in this event. She was undefeated against Illinois athletes during last year’s outdoor season. She was also the most consistent with four jumps over 38 feet before the state series. She peaked at the right time moving her personal best up by over a foot culminating with a 40-3 ½ winning jump at the state meet.
The surprise athlete in the Triple Jump last year was Viktorija Marmaite (Lemont HS). She moved to the United States from Lithuania. She caught everyone’s attention when she jumped 39-6 at her conference meet. She jumped one inch farther at the state meet. She will be the one athlete that I believe can challenge Brown this year. Cierra Pulliam (Romeoville HS) finished third last year and will again challenge for a top three finish.
Allison Chmelik (East HS, St. Charles), Catherine Sherwood, Emma Haugen, and Anna Laudizio (North HS, Plainfield) all earned all-state honors last year and will once again be among the elite in this event this season. Hannah Willhite, Courtney Manning (Normal Community HS), and Hannah Schilb (North HS, St. Charles) also are athletes to keep an eye on this season.
High Jump
2014 State Top Returnee – Emma Haugen – SR – LaGrange Lyons Township HS – 2014 AAA State Champion
Preview – Five all-state athletes are back led by 2 time state champion Emma Haugen. The Lyons senior was not on top of the leaderboards last year. Most of her meets she only cleared 5-5. When the money was on the line at the state meet, Haugen stepped up like a champion does clearing 5-7 for the win. It could be the same scenario in 2015.
This is a tough event with 6 athletes with clearances of 5-7 or better. Ololade Ayoola and Julia Junkroski (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort) both have the highest clearances coming back (5-8). You can expect both athletes to score some big points for their team. Mani Lock (Lake Park HS, Roselle) and Kenna Lonergan (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville) both have cleared 5-7 last year and could be in the hunt for the championship. Rachel Augius (Yorkville HS) finished third last year. Do not count her out.
Pole Vault
2014 State Top Returnee – Brooke Catherine SR – Normal Community HS – 2014 AAA State Champion
Preview – When I started looking at this event at the beginning of January, I thought that this could be a close event. That still could be the case. Brooke Catherine changed the look of this event when she cleared 13-4 at the Reno Pole Vault Summit a couple of weeks ago. She has already tied the best ever for an Illinois athlete. By the time this season is over, she should re-write the Illinois record books and be one of the elite prep vaulters in the United States.
Catherine’s chief competition should be Julia Junkroski. The University of South Dakota signee finished second a year ago clearing 12-3. Her seasonal best of 12-6 occurred at the AAU Regional Qualifier. She was consistent most of the season with clearances between 11-6 and 11-9.
This will be a tough event. Only one athlete out of the top nine graduated. Mackenzie Gallagher (Normal West HS), Nikki Ogorek (Normal Community HS), Jacque Desmond (Lemont HS), Lily Moore (Libertyville HS), Heidi Nassos (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS), and Delaney Lyman (Huntley HS) were all-state in 2014. Hannah Swift (Pekin HS) and Danielle Wojciehowski (Lake Park HS, Roselle) both were over 12 feet last year but did not finish in the top nine. They will be hungry to do some big things in 2015.
Shot Put
2014 State Top Returnee – Courtney Morgan SO – Aurora Metea Valley HS – 2014 AAA State Champion
Preview – Whenever a freshman wins a state championship, it is cause for surprise. Courtney Morgan stepped into the spotlight when she finished second at the Illinois Top Times Championships last March. It was during the outdoor season when she made a statement. Every meet outdoors was over 40 feet. She peaked at the right time with a season best put of 45-3 ½ to win the state championship. She is only a sophomore. She will only get better this season.
Even though there are only two all-state athletes besides Morgan coming back, this should still be a great event in 2015. Fiona Kanam (Niles North HS, Skokie) is only two feet behind Morgan. She finished eighth at state. Morgan’s teammate Holly Julifs finished 10th at state, but has the talent to finish in the top three this season. She had a 41-9 best put last season. Olivia Griswold (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville) also had a 41-9 seasonal best last year and finished ninth at state. She could be a threat to finish in the top 9. Lane Kadlec (Lockport Township HS) and Aaliah Herron (East St. Louis-Senior HS) are other athletes that I would watch towards the front this season.
Discus
2014 State Top Returnee - Courtney Morgan SO – Aurora Metea Valley HS – 2nd AAA
Preview – Courtney Morgan finished second a year ago at state and could be one of the athlete that could find her way at the top of the podium. This could be the better of the two weight events for Holly Julifs. She is close to her teammate Morgan in this event. They both threw 144-6 at the state meet with Julifs settling for third. She did throw 154-0 last season as has the longest returning throw. Do not be surprised if she leaves Charleston with the win.
It would not be a surprise if the two Metea Valley athletes go 1-2 in this event. They are the only all-state athletes coming back. After Morgan, there is a 14 foot drop off before the next athlete. Cary Grove’s Olivia Roehri and Nikki Freeman are capable of placing in the top five. Also keep an eye on SaMaya Hunt (West Aurora HS), Janez Winston (Thornwood HS, South Holland), and Keely Knobbe (Warren Township HS, Gurnee) to be among the top athletes this season in the Discus.
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