The second premier meet of the season at Lakes High School this year will be the empowerHER invite. This meet has a star-studded lineup across multiple events, here are some athletes to keep your eye on throughout the meet.
1. Dominique Johnson (Sr., Huntley)
Huntley brings their eye popping field event squad to Lakes this weekend, they are headlined by Johnson. Johnson will compete in just the triple jump this weekend, but she should take home the win with ease. She won last week at the Huntley Invite with a ridiculous jump of 41’ 3.25”. She is currently 5 feet ahead of the second seed, Anna Iwuagwu of Warren Township, so she will be virtually in her own universe this weekend. I would be shocked if she loses this weekend.
2. Katherine Jewell (Sr., Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge)
Jewell had a great start to her indoor season last week at the Huntley Invite, doubling in the 60 and 200. She ran a big PR in the 60 for 7.66, then came back and ran 25.76 in the 200. This weekend, she is running the 60 and 400. She is currently IL #5 in the 60 and she leads the 60m field by almost .3 seconds. Her 400 PR is 1:01.4, she is seeded 2nd behind Hazel Nadal of Rolling Meadows. Jewell is one of few athletes who could leave with a double win, expect big things from her this weekend.
3. Kaylee Meyer (Sr., Schaumburg)
Another heavy hitter for Schaumburg, Meyer should be way above the field. She jumped 5’ 7” to win the CYUP Misfits, this is currently her season best. She has a PR of 5’ 8” and she was 4th at last years 3A State meet. She is currently IL #1 with her 5’ 7” jump at misfits, I would expect her to continue her dominance here at Lakes.
4. St. Ignatius 4x800
The wolfpack has made the decision to rest Annika Swan this weekend, however that’s not going to stop them from running a scorching 4x8. Currently, the roster that is listed in the entries is Greta Schaeffer, Ally Shutler, Lizeth Montes and Elle Schaeffer. The composite time for this quartet is well under 9:40, however that’s all based on PRs. They are currently seeded at 10:00, but I would expect this squad to be well under that mark. I think we will have a new IL #1 from Iggy in the 4x8.
5. Amy Carhee (Sr., Schaumburg)
Carhee is having an insane indoor season, she will look to add a win here at Lakes to her resume. She has run a searing 8.79 in the 60mH already this season, she is currently seeded an astronomic .85 seconds above the rest of the field. She sports a PR in the 100mH of 14.49 and she is currently IL #3 in the 60mH. I would expect her to get the win by an exceptional margin this weekend.
6. Ally Shutler (Fr., St. Ignatius)
One of St. Ignatius’ star freshman, Shutler is one of the big names in distance this weekend. With Annika Swan not racing, Shutler will look to capitalize on this moment and take home a win. She is slated to run the 1600, she is seeded at 5:10. Her PR from middle school is 5:18, and she was a double state champ in the 800 and the 1600. She had an amazing cross country season, placing 9th in the 2A state meet with a 17:13 3 mile. She could approach the sub 5 border at Lakes this weekend.
7. Hazel Nadal (So., Rolling Meadows)
A big time 400 runner, Nadal will challenge for the 400 win. She has a PR in the 400 of 58.4, and she was consistently under a minute last spring. She has a 200 PR of 25.48, and she was a double state qualifier last season in both the 200 and the 400. It will be a showdown in the 400 between Nadal and Katherine Jewell, I’m excited to see who wins.
8. Leijla Maljevic (Jr., Evanston)
After a monster throw on Tuesday, Maljevic enters the weekend with the number 1 seed at Lakes. She threw a gigantic 38’ 5.5” at a quad meet hosted by New Trier. This was almost a 3 foot PR for Maljevic, if she can replicate that this weekend, she will take home the win easily.
9. Stella Davis (Sr., Evanston)
Evanston’s distance stud, Davis will run the 3200 this weekend and will look to take the gold. She opened her season in an off event 800 at the New Trier quad, and she is currently IL #8 with that time. She is a sub 5 miler, with a 4:59.8 PR, and her 3200 PR is a 11:06. She ran a 3 mile PR of 17:20 this cross country season and she is fit and in shape to get the win here at Lakes.
10. Rege Cooper Smith (Sr., North Chicago)
Cooper Smith had a breakout freshman year in the 200, and she will look to continue that into this season. She boasts a 200 PR of 25.00 which is the fastest seed time in the field. She has already gotten off to a good start this season, running 26.74 at a De La Salle meet this past weekend to take the win. She is a part of a very strong group of sprinters from North Chicago, I would expect big things from her this weekend.
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