2026 Girls Conference - Thursday Previews

DuKane Conference

The distance events are stacked at DuKane, we should see some great matchups all over the place. In the 3200, Kara Glenn of St. Charles North will go up against Sofia Borter of Geneva. Borter has been on the rise lately, but taking down an athlete like Glenn will take a great performance from her. In the 1600, you’ll see Gwen Hobson of St. Charles North, Avery Hacker of Batavia, and Nicole Mayer of St. Charles East battle it out for the win. Hobson and Mayer are both traditionally 800 runners, while Hacker is specialized in the longer races. This creates an interesting dynamic in the middle ground, it will be a mismatch of tactics in this race. In the sprints, Alexandria Richardson of St. Charles North and Madeline Piekarz of St. Charles East are the big names to watch. Both athletes are ranked in the top 10 in their respective events, Piekarz is the favorite in the 100, and Richardson is the favorite in the 200. The 4x4 should also make for a great race between St. Charles East and St. Charles North. STCE has the better season best of 4:00, but STCN had a much better indoor mark of 3:54. Both teams have the capacity to shatter the 4 minute barrier. The standout athlete in the field is Klara Volkova of Lake Park, who will look to take two easy wins in the shot and disc. Her PRs of 42’ 0” and 149’ 10” are galaxies ahead of the competition, she should be more than good for a win in both events.

Southwest Suburban Conference

The SWSC features one of the best track teams we have ever seen, Homewood Flossmoor will aim to be dominant here. In the sprints, there’s a chance that HF goes for the total sweep. They have the best 4x1, 4x2, and 4x4 marks in the field and their second string sprinters will be more than capable of upholding the relays. In the individual events, a combination of Mariyah Robinson, Aniya Mullins and London Willingham are expected to finish 1-2 in the 100 and 200. On top of that, Diaymond Childress and Kaiya Collier are likely going to finish 1-2 in the 100mH. The main roadblock to a perfect score is Alaina Steele of Lincoln Way East. Steele is one of the top 400 runners in the state, and this will be her outdoor debut in that event. She was third last year at the 3A state meet with a blistering time of 54.86. If she is capable of a 56 or faster, she should be on her way to a conference title. In the distance events, Mia Forystek is the big name to watch. Forystek ran a gigantic 2:10 at DNIP, which currently sits at IL #2. She will be running the 800, where she is the huge favorite. In the field events, it’s more HF dominance, with Jaloni Wiley and London Denton leading the way in the shot put. Wiley has been the best shot putter in the state for the majority of the season, and Denton has been just behind the whole way. In the pole vault, expect Kylie Koehler to take an easy win. Koehler is the proud owner of the IL #3 position in the pole vault with a mark of 12’ 3”. She will likely get an easy win here, she is seeded well ahead of the field. 

Fox River Valley Conference

The FVC has standout athletes across all events in both running and field, with many 2A and 3A athletes coming together to compete. In the 800, Anneke Dam of Prairie Ridge is the favorite as she ran at state last year as a freshman while also having one of the top times in the state this year of 2:14. Hopefully she can lead the other girls to a quick race. In the 1600 and 3200, the favorite looks like freshman Lennox Szymonik of Jacobs. She had a great cross country season and is looking like one of the top competitors in 3A this year for long distance. In the 400, Alyssa Garcia of Hampshire is the big favorite with her fantastic time of 57.27. Garcia has experience with running at the top level, so hopefully she can show out on Thursday. In the field events, Carly Uehlein of Jacobs is the big favorite in the shot and discus and is ranked very high in the state for both. Hopefully we can see some huge marks out of her on Thursday. In the high jump, the favorite is Ryleigh Mazzacano of Crystal Lake Central. She got 5th last year at 3A state in the high jump and had a strong indoor season. She is looking like she can put up a high mark on Thursday. Lastly, in the triple jump is LaRaiya Cunningham-Duncan of Burlington Central. She got 6th last year at the 3A state meet in triple jump and already has the #6 mark in the state this season, so she is more than capable of jumping something big on Thursday. The FVC meet is looking to be a competitive meet between some of the top girls in 3A and 2A.