Kara Glenn still remembers how her freshman track season ended.

The St. Charles North sophomore remembered sitting in the bleachers at O’Brien Field, watching the fast heat of the Class 3A 3,200-meter run and seeing her name being the first one off the All-State list by the end.

“I was just watching it, counting off and seeing if I was going to make the podium and then I saw that I finished in 10th,” Glenn said. “That really sucked, and I did not like that feeling. This year, I wanted to go and leave everything out there.”

Add on her cross country season being brought to an abrupt end due to a stress fracture in her right foot, and Glenn came into her sophomore track season with a goal of showing that she deserved to be at the state meet.

She did more than that. By the end of the season, she proved that she was one of the best in the state.

Glenn finished the season with individual state titles in both the 800 and 1,600, the first individual track and field state championships in school history, and added a third by anchoring the 4x800 to a state-meet record. She also added a second-place finish in the 3,200 for four All-State medals.

Glenn has been named the 2026 Kane County Chronicle girls track and field Athlete of the Year.

“The season got off to a rocky start, but once I took time to slow down and figure everything out, it got a lot better,” Glenn said. “I figured out what worked best for me and doing that just allowed me to do so well.”

Glenn’s rocky start not only attributed to her injury from cross country, but also to a hip injury she got after hitting it with a baton early on. As a result, coach Tony Enright made the decision to hold her to just one or two races for a majority of the year.

“We took it really easy with her with biking and swimming,” Enright said. “So in a few of those big meets like the Palatine Distance Night, she wasn’t in peak condition, she was still getting back into it.”

Even with her limit, Glenn showed off her potential in events from the 400 all the way up to the 3,200. She finished the season with top-10 times in the state across all four events in that array, including the top times in the 800 (2:05.66 at the state meet) and the 1,600 (4:36.77 at HOKA Festival of Miles in St. Louis).

“Her range is just absolutely extraordinary, and she still did it while being limited,” Enright said. “Even later in the season, when we were trying to win a team title at the county or conference meet, she would run in different events at each meet to allow more opportunities for her teammates. Not only is she a great athlete, she showed that she had a team-first mentality and was a great leader as a sophomore.”

Glenn said that the goal was for her to always compete in four events at the state meet, a feat that she had never attempted heading into the state series. However, running in the 4x800 was not a part of the plan initially.

“I just remember sitting outside our pool lobby with Enright and we were talking about other athletes that have done it and throwing things onto the table,” Glenn said. “We thought that the 4x800 was out of the picture, but as the season went on I got more confident with running in it.”

It ended up playing in her favor, as she anchored the North Stars to a state-meet record of 8:54.50 just minutes after running a 10:11.59 in the 3,200. In total, she was responsible for 38 of the North Stars’ 39 points at the state meet, bringing them to a fourth-place finish as a team.

“A lot of it was in my head, and I was feeling it towards the end, especially in the mile,” Glenn said. “But I was glad to get through it and it led to a better performance for our team. And I think it can also be fully recreated or improved on next season.”

With two high school track seasons remaining, Glenn has her sights focused on securing the state records in both the 800 and 1,600, while also helping push St. Charles North to its first-ever team trophy.

And if one thing’s for certain, her coach knows that she can get it done.

“She’s extremely organized and well worth all of the credit that she’s getting, and she’s just going to continue to keep growing,” Enright said. “She sets a goal for all of her endeavors, even at practice. Everything is a competition, but it’s not draining. She’s very passionate about it and she always has a smile on her face while doing it.”