First Team

Bishop McNamara 4x100, 4x200, 4x800 relays

The 4x100 and 4x200 relays, both comprised of juniors Trinitee Thompson and Jaide Burse, sophomore Jersey Slone and freshman Dylan Pallissard, won the Chicagoland Christian Conference and Class 1A Salt Fork Sectional titles. The 4x200 finished eighth at state with a school-record 1:45.96. The 4x800 team of junior Ana Franceschini, sophomore Anna Dunn and freshmen Elly Langelett and Chloe Molthan also qualified for state.

Nevaeh Brown, Bradley-Bourbonnais, jr.

Injuries sidelined Brown for much of the season, including the IHSA postseason, but when healthy, she was dominant. When she swept the 100 and 200 meters at Lincoln-Way Central, her 200 time of 24.89 seconds broke a school record from 1982, and her 100 time of 12.01 was the area’s fastest.

Marina Figge, Coal City, fr.

As a freshman, Figge broke the Coalers’ long jump record twice, first with a jump of 5.32 meters at the Black Diamond Classic and then with a jump of 5.67 meters at the 2A State Finals, good for seventh.

Kelly O’Connor, Herscher, sr.

The Herscher Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year was the runner-up in the 800 and 1,600 meters at the ICE Conference championships and 2A Mendota Sectional. A three-time state qualifier in the 800 (2:18.82) and two-time qualifier in the 1,600 (5:21.84), O’Connor holds school records in both events.

Amiyah Anderson, Kankakee, jr.

Anderson was a key piece for the 4x200 relay that took fifth in the 3A State Finals (1:39.11). And her 59.64 in the 400 meters that got her third-place at April’s Kankakee Kays Invitational was the second-best time for an area athlete this spring.

Essence Bell, Kankakee, jr.

The latest standout from Kankakee, Bell blazed her way to a seventh-place finish at the 3A State Finals in the 200 meters. She helped the Kays to ninth-place in the 4x100 and fifth-place in the 4x200, with her 200 time of 24.47 the area’s best. Bell also swept the 100 and 200 meters in the Southland, where the Kays won the 4x100 and 4x200 titles.

Trinity Noble, Kankakee, sr.

Noble had plenty of state success in her career with six medals in the relays, including a pair this year, where the Kays took ninth in the 4x100 and fifth in the 4x200 at the 3A State Finals. She also made the finals in the 100 meters and won gold as an individual or in the relays five times this spring.

Kankakee relays (4x100, 4x200)

Both relay teams reached state for the seventh straight year. The 4x100 team of Jemya Williams, Essence Bell, Jasiah Hawkins and Trinity Noble finished ninth (47.49). The 4x200 team of Williams, Amiyah Anderson, Noble and Bell was fifth (1:39.11) in Class 3A. Both teams won Southland Athletic Conference titles and were second at the Bloom Sectional.

Klarke Goranson, Manteno, soph.

After starting her sophomore year by taking 12th in Class 1A at the state cross country meet, Goranson turned it up a notch in the 2A State Finals, where she earned a pair of medals for the second straight year. She took fifth in the 800 meters (2:14.30) and 1,600 meters (5:07.85). She took home 14 first-place finishes across five events, including gold in the 800 and 1,600 at the ICE championships and Hillcrest Sectional.

Sophia Most, Manteno, soph.

The fourth-place finisher in the 2A state discus (39.34 meters), Most earned her second state medal in as many years. Most was the Hillcrest Sectional and ICE champion in the discus, and between the discus and shot put earned 10 first-place finishes.

Olivia McElroy, Manteno, fr.

McElroy spent her freshman season atop the local high jump scene, winning all five of her regular-season events, the ICE title and the 2A Hillcrest Sectional title. She jumped 1.55 meters at state, where she finished fifth. Her 1.69 meters at Manteno’s senior night meet is the best of her young career.

Addison Lucht, Milford/Cissna Park, sr.

The 2026 Daily Journal Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year graduates as perhaps the most decorated prep athlete in Daily Journal area history, earning All-State honors in four sports all four years. That includes a two-event all-state senior year at the 1A State Finals, where she won the triple jump with a personal best 11.16 meters, was third in the shot put with a personal best 12.51 meters and sixth in the long jump with a season best 5.31 meters.

Alyssa Wollenzein, Reed-Custer, jr.

Now a three-time state finalist in the 100 hurdles, Wollenzein earned her first career state medal when she was sixth at the 1A State Finals (15.45). She also made state in the high jump, finishing 11th (1.55).

McKenna Van Tilburg, Wilmington, soph.

Van Tilburg won the 100, 200, 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles every time she ran them in the regular season and won all four at the ICE championships and 1A Seneca Sectional. She won her first state title in the 100 hurdles (14.60) and medaled in all events – fourth in the 100 meters (12.44), seventh in the 200 (25.67) and fifth in the 300 hurdles (45.14).

Second Team

Rachel Imig, Beecher, sr.

Beecher 4x800 relay

Dylan Pallissard, Bishop McNamara, fr.

Chloe Cotter, Clifton Central, fr.

Eriannah Martinez, Clifton Central, sr.

Lia Prairie, Clifton Central, jr.

Ella Wills, Coal City, jr.

Fabienne Houberg, Herscher, sr.

Phylicity Leonard, Iroquois West, soph.

Pyper Krieger, Kankakee, fr.

Je’Mya Williams, Kankakee, soph.

Lyla Nevel, Manteno, soph.

Celeste Richards, Peotone, sr.

Isabella Dixon, Reed-Custer, fr.

Honorable mention

Jersey Slone, Bishop McNamara; Kelsi Bade, Bradley-Bourbonnais; Niyah Crockett, Bradley-Bourbonnais; Kylie Nordmeyer, Clifton Central; Clifton Central 4x400 relay; Audrey Griffin, Iroquois West; Peyton Howe, Iroquois West; Emma Malehebar, Milford/Cissna Park; Hannah Stone, Milford/Cissna Park; Ma’ryah Crite, Momence; Natalia Williams, Momence; Katie Lantka, Reed-Custer; Jayla Smith, St. Anne/Donovan; Adalyn Bury, Watseka; Vanysah Hickman, Watseka; Leigha Covarrubias, Watseka