Scouting girls track and field in Lake County

All roads in the Northern Lake County Conference for girls track this spring appear to once again go through Grayslake Central.

The defending-champion Rams are stacked with key talent, with the likes of Mia Morello, Bella Domier, Catherine Guckenberger, Bryn Sato, Alexis Anderson, Grace Kokkin, Caroline Kokkin and Sofia Witt all bringing back state meet experience from a year ago.

Morello finished second in the state in the pole vault, while Domier was second in the 800 and was part of the Central 3,200 relay team that took fourth. Sato was part of that 3,200 team as well. Guckenberger was part of the 1,600 relay team that qualified for state, while Anderson holds the school record in the triple jump. Morello won four conference titles last year and Domier took home three, while Ashna Desai, Sophia Schleg, Tatum Schuerman, Monica Schleg and Victoria Piela also are returning conference champions.

"We are blessed to be returning the majority of the team from last year," Rams coach Shawn Murphy said. "We feel we are going to be balanced and look to focus on our whole team and not individuals. We are coming off a strong indoor season (NLCC champions) and look to build depth in all our events as the outdoor season progresses."

•Grant took second in the NLCC and has senior distance standout Aly Negovetich (all-state 3,200, school record-holder in 1,600 and 3,200) back, along with defending NLCC triple jump champion Asha Chatterjea, who broke the school indoor high jump record recently (5 feet, 2 inches). Senior Laura Bishop (distance) and freshman Amelia Szopinski (800, 400; ran 63 seconds indoors in 400) and Malia Henriot (sprints, triple jump) will also help. Coach Greg Wodzien is excited about the prospects of double scorers in the 3,200 and 1,600, triple, high jump and hurdles with Melissa Ketter in the mix in the high jump and hurdles and Kelsy Albovias in the hurdles.

•Paige Caruth, Josie Gates, Madison Perez, Becca Runyan and Madison Twarling are all returning state qualifiers and conference champions for Lakes, which was third in the NLCC a year ago. Junior Joycelyn Crum holds the school record in the indoor 60 hurdles (9.57) and will help in pole vault and sprints, while Brianna Gara (distance) and Julia Blasinski (pole vault) provide even more scoring potential. Eagles coach Christine Zucker said Lakes has the potential to send three vaulters to state. Riley Beerbower, Ava Bullock, Thea Lungay, Amelia Plohg and Shelby Stall provide depth in the sprints. Lungay was a point-scorer in the long and triple jump at conference indoor.

•Grayslake North senior Leialoha Akalaonu qualified for state in the 200 and also won the NLCC 100 and 200 titles. She is joined by a returning cast that includes seniors Christina Hall (sprints, jumps), Abby Oviedo (throws) and Lizzie Green (pole vault), along with sophomore Meadow Ptak (jumps). Nearly 70 percent of the Knights' team are underclassmen this season.

•Antioch returns junior captain Julia Kraus, who qualified for state in the 100 and 300 hurdles. Fellow captains Samantha Sy (throws), Samantha Kempf (hurdles, vault) and Sarah Benes (mid-distance) are the only seniors on the team.

•Round Lake welcomes back seniors Jenny Cortes (1,600, fifth in conference) and Kaitlyn DeNapoli (100, 200, 400) and juniors Lilli Burton (jumps) and Karime Llamas (shot put). DeNapoli won the NLCC 400 indoor title recently, while this is Burton's first year doing track. Natalie Mariscal, America Martinez and Iyonna Nixon will help in the 400, while S'yrai Johnson (disc) and Damayah Turner (triple jump) will help in the field events for coach Kristin Lilla's squad.

NSC

•Lake Zurich won the North Suburban Conference last year for the third year in a row and return state qualifiers in junior AJ Burk (all-state, pole vault), junior Brooke Johnston (all-state in 800, also ran 4:54.32 in 1,600), sophomore Riley Betz (13th in state in 100), plus the 800 relay team of seniors Audrey Pratt and Rayna Kauffman, along with Betz and sophomore Baelyn Zitzman. Burke, Johnston and Emilia Kubik (pole vault) all qualified for the Prep Top Times indoor meet.

•Of note for Stevenson is all-state shot putter Ella O'Neall, who currently has the top indoor mark in the state this year and eighth nationally. O'Neall, third in the state in the shot last year, is the defending NSC shot and discus champion. Juniors Ava Mecir and Katelyn Robinson and senior Eve Traficanti were part of the NSC-champion 400 relay. Junior Alex Wu (sprints, jumps) and Adeline Gobble (800, 1,600) also return.

•Warren senior Mia Pasha is back after qualifying for state in the 3,200. The Blue Devils also are looking for big things from senior Jada Vaughn (100, 200, relays) and junior Madison Hecker (400, missed state by 0.01 seconds last year).

•Mundelein returns 800 school-record-holder Jordyn Miller, who finished fifth in the event at state last year. She also runs the 400 and 1,600. The Mustangs also return senior Alexis Bellecomo (high jump, 200, relays), and juniors Praise Oyebanji (800, 1,600) and Lauren Mjoen (long and triple jump).

ESCC

•Carmel has plenty of promise with Anna Kegel (who had indoor success in the 55 dash), who also is part of the 800 relay with Nora Christensen, Jordi Landy And Abby Hartzer (Top 8 state ranking indoors). The Corsairs' 3,200 relay of Maddie Ives (state qualifier in 2021) and three freshmen in Izzy Bing (state cross country qualifier), Norah Belmont and Sydney Krcmarik. Kegel, Christiansen, freshman Angela Coe, Ashley Coe and Sophie Puszynski (2021 state qualifier) in the mix there. Theresa Flor qualified for state in the discus last year and coach Jim Halford said she could be a potential finalist this year. Bing is highly touted in the 3,200, along with Kegel in the 100 and 200. Freshman Ella Dicara also will help. "We are a very well-balanced team with strength in both distance and sprints," Halford said.

CSL

•Defending Central Suburban North champion Vernon Hills has three members of its 400 relay state-qualifying team back in Jenna Coty, Nickole Spytek and Kylie Spytek, as well as all four members of the 800 relay state team in Coty, junior Becca Tran and the Spyteks. Kylie Spytek qualified for in the 200 and Erica Bunning, who recently tied the school record indoors in the pole vault at 10-0, also is a returning state qualifier.