IHSAA Girls Track and Field Sectionals 1-16 Meet Previews

Flynn and Griffith's Lacy Edwards should provide entertaining racing in the hurdle events on Tuesday evening. Flynn's best time of 17.61 in the 100m Hurdles is just three tenths quicker than Edwards' best, while Edwards is a bit faster in the 300m Hurdles.

The sectional from Highland will begin at 5:00 Central Time.

Sectional 2 - Lowell

Lake Central is the heavy favorite to win the team title on Tuesday. Look for Lake Central Senior Missy Fritz in the sprints, her best times of 12.53 in the 100-meter dash and 25.66 in the 200-meter dash are competitive with some of the best in the state.

The sectional from Lowell will get started at 5:00 Central Time.

Sectional 3 - Chesterton 

Valparaiso's Kayile Politza headlines Sectional #3 at Chesterton. Politza is a heavy favorite in both the 800-meter run and the 1600-meter run, with best times of 2:12 and 5:01 in those events. Led by Politza and thrower Ayla Rice, Valparaiso will look to capture their 25th sectional championship.

Valparaiso's biggest challenge will come from Wheeler. London Holm comes into this meet as the top sprinter, and will look to collect plenty of points for Wheeler in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash.

Sectional 4 - Kankakee Valley

Girls Sectional 4 is hosted by Kankakee Valley, and the Kougars look poised to take their 12th sectional title. The best race of the evening will be the 800-meter run, which will feature a good battle between Kankakee Valley's Emma Bell and Morgan Township's Makenne Schnick. Bell's best time of 2:37.6 is just a scosche faster than Schnick's best this spring.

The sectional from Kankakee Valley will begin at 4:45 Central Time.

Sectional 5 - Mishawaka

Penn, South Bend St. Joseph and South Bend Adams will have a great fight for the sectional championship in Sectional #5. Adams is strongest in the sprints with Angel Thomas and Sofia Frazee, Penn is the best in the jumps with Kennedy Szabo, Paige Yewchuk and India Galaviz-Anderson, while St. Joseph's Maeve Kearney, Tess Collins, Mary Clare Elliott, and Kiley McGuire will take plenty of points in the distance events.

Clay's Anna Borger and Penn's Reagan Hoke should put on a good show in the 3200-meter run. Borger's best time this year is 12:33.6, less than half a second better than Hoke's best time.

Sectional 5 at Mishawaka will get started at 5:00 Eastern Time.

Sectional 6 - Bremen

The top two teams coming into the girls sectional at Bremen are Manchester and Rochester, and neither has seen a sectional championship lately. The last time Rochester won a sectional title in girls track was in 1977, while Manchester has never won a girls track sectional in school history.

Manchester will be the team to beat in the sprints on Tuesday night with Olivia Audler and Seniors Emma Garriot and Kailea Kerr. Watch for Rochester's Zoe Seward and Madilyn Calloway to pick up points in the distance events.

Girls Sectional #6 will get started at 5:30 Eastern Time. 

Sectional 7 - Warsaw Community

Girls Sectional #7 will be run at Warsaw Community High School, where the Tigers are heavy favorites to win their 14th consecutive sectional championship. Warsaw athletes will be in the mix during each and every event on Tuesday night, from sprints to relays and field events.

Warsaw's best athlete may be hurdler and high jumper Marin Hart, whose time of 15.73 in the 100-meter hurdles is nearly two seconds clear of anyone else in this meet and ranks in the top twenty statewide. Also of note are Freshmen distance runners Josefina Rastrelli and Elizabeth Vander Bie, both of whom have run impressive times in their first high school season.

The Warsaw Sectional will begin at 5:30 Eastern Time.

Sectional 8 - Western

Joan Easter out of Northwestern is one of the state's best all-around athletes, and she will get a chance to prove it at Sectional #8 hosted by Western. Easter is a jumper and a sprinter, and her personal record of 18-0.5 ranks ninth in the state this year. While we can expect Easter to dominate the long jump on Tuesday, she will face challenges from Madison-Grant's Emma Ewer in the sprints and Azmae Turner in the high jump, another Argyll.

Western is a slim favorite to take the sectional championship over the Easter led Northwestern Tigers and the Lewis Cass Kings. If Western does manage to win on Tuesday, it will be thanks to their depth. The Panthers don't have many individual athletes that will win their events, but you can expect to see them in the top five all night and their relay teams will be as good as anyone.

Sectional 8 will get started at 5:30 Eastern Time

Sectional 9 - Benton Central

Benton Central's girls program has won 25 of the last 30 sectionals, including every year since 2013. If they are to do it again this year though, they will have to overcome a Seeger squad that should dominate the distance events. Should Seeger pull off the win, it would be their first sectional championship in school history.

Jennifer Romero, Hadessah Austin and Allison High will ensure that Seeger gets nearly maximum points in the distance events, as two of those three can be expected to finish right at the top of the 800-meter run, the 1600-meter run and the 3200-meter run. Benton Central can count on Carlee Musser and Sierra Rice to pick up points in the throws and Ava Sayre to do the same in the sprints, and they will have to hope Janell Robson can steal some points from those Seeger distance runners.

Sectional #9 from Benton Central will begin at 5:30 Eastern Time.

Sectional 10 - Harrison (West Lafayette)

West Lafayette Harrison hosts Girls Sectional #10, and they have one of the state's best girls programs. Jaylie Lohmeyer, Karli Langley and Jada-Marie Davis are a few of the highlights on the star studded Raider squad. Langley and Davis are both elite hurdlers, while Lohmeyer's 400-meter dash time of 57.71 is in the top ten statewide.

The most intriguing events in this meet could be the throws. McCutcheon's Ikeava Bryant and Harrison's Nakia Harris both rank in Indiana's top five in shot put. The two met earlier this year at the North Central Conference meet, with Harris winning the shot put and Bryant winning the discus on that occasion.

Girls Sectional #10 will get under way at 5:30 Eastern Time.

Sectional 11 - Hamilton Southeastern (MileSplit Indiana will be on-site for meet coverage)

Sectional 11 at Hamilton Southeastern is loaded with talent. Westfield's Princess Campbell (sprints), Noblesville's Kiana Siefert (hurdles), Carmel's Annie Christie (distance), Noblesville's Rylee Hassan and Malina Miller (jumps) Lebanon's Ashlyn Terril (throws) and Noblesville's Hannah Alexander (throws) all have season bests that rank in the top ten of their events.

Ella Scally out of Fishers may be the most impressive athlete at this meet. Her 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash times are both in the top five statewide, and her long jump record of 18-8.5 is more than two inches better than anyone else in Indiana.

This meet should provide entertaining racing throughout the evening. The distance events will all be hotly contested between Hamilton Heights' Maria Mitchell, Hamilton Southeastern's Halle Hill, and Carmel's Christie and Jasmine Klopstad. The 4x800-meter relay features four teams (Fishers, Hamilton Southeastern, Carmel and Noblesville) that can run under 9:50. The team competition should be close as well, with Hamilton Southeastern, Carmel and Noblesville fighting for the top spot.

Sectional 12 - Zionsville

Girls Sectional 12 is at Zionsville, and the hosts are eyeing back to back sectional championships. Zionsville's best athlete is sprinter and long jumper Michelle Nazarov. Her 400-meter dash time of 58.84 ranks seventh in the state and her best long jump of 18-3 cracks the top five in Indiana. Zionsville can also count on Kiersten Hill to make an impact in the distance events, and the Eagle relay teams will be a contender in all three relays.

Zionsville's closest competition will come from the Brownsburg Bulldogs. Brownsburg's hopes will rely on relays and their extensive fleet of distance runners which includes Eva Altschul and Senior Abigail Lynch. Lynch was a state runner-up in the 1600-meter run as a sophomore in 2019, and has committed to continue her running career at the University of Illinois next year.

Girls Sectional 12 will begin at 5:30 Eastern Time.

Sectional 13 - Angola

East Noble's girls team comes into Sectional 13 looking for their third consecutive sectional championship. Sprinters Emma Forker and Hope Fleck lead the way for the Knights, and hurdler Mariah Maley could win the 300-meter hurdles by more than two seconds. Pole vaulter Kylie Garton is another impressive athlete out of East Noble, her top mark of 10-8 is the eleventh best vault in Indiana this year and she should cruise to a victory in the sectional.

Look for Angola's Gracynn Hinckley at the top of the distance events Tuesday night. Hinckley's season best time of 11:19 in the 3200-meter run is twenty seconds faster than anyone else in this meet.

The best races of the evening could be the relays. Expect Angola and East Noble to put on a good show in both the 4x800-meter relay and the 4x400-meter relay.

Sectional #13 from Angola will get started at 5:00 Eastern Time.

Sectional 14 - Fort Wayne Northrop

Girls Sectional 14 at Fort Wayne Northrop features Zoe Duffus, the state runner up in cross country last fall and winner of the stacked Flashes Miracle Mile earlier this track season. The Carroll Senior and Penn State commit should roll through the distance events at this sectional.

Thanks to the talented distance runners at Carroll, the Chargers look ready to take their first sectional championship since 2008. Their biggest challenge will come from Leo, whose sprinter Karis Davis is the favorite to win both the 100-meter and 200-meter dash, and Lion Leah Handshoe is the favorite in the 300-meter hurdles and the 400-meter dash.

The Fort Wayne Northrop Sectional will begin at 5:45 Eastern Time.

Sectional 15 - New Haven

Sectional 15 at New Haven will see Addy Wiley's return to the Indiana track state tournament. As a Freshman two years ago, Wiley surprised everyone as she put together an incredible race to win the 1600-meter run state championship in 4:46.9, more than thirty seconds faster than she ran in her sectional that year. Now, Wiley is a known state contender and her 800-meter run time of 2:09.4 is more than two seconds faster than anyone in Indiana.

Led by Wiley, Huntington North is the clear favorite to win this sectional, what would be the 24th title in school history. South Adams looks like the second best team in this sectional, bolstered by a great group of sprinters.

Sectional 15 will begin at 5:00 Eastern Time.

Sectional 16 - Marion

Sectional 16 is hosted by Marion and will be run on the track at Indiana Wesleyan University. Norwell brings the best team to this meet, led by a great distance duo of Lauren Bales and Sarah Mahnensmith. Bales and Mahnensmith should take the top two spots in both the 1600 and 3200-meter run, and could finish more than a minute ahead of third in the 3200.

The best race of the evening may be the 400-meter dash. Norwell Senior Kaylee Fuelling and Olivia Howell, a Freshman from Eastbrook, both have season best times of 1:01 in that event.

The Marion Sectional will get started at 5:30 Eastern Time.