The IHSA girls track and field state meet is this weekend on the campus of Eastern Illinois in Charleston. Class 1A preliminaries are scheduled for Thursday, Class 2A and Class 3A prelims Friday, with the finals in all three classes set for Saturday.

[ Suburban Life-area state track and field qualifiers ]

Here are five storylines to watch for Suburban Life-area athletes this weekend:

Can Karlin Janowski make it a distance double?

York sophomore Karlin Janowski won the Class 3A state cross country championship last fall in a school record time, helping lead the Dukes to third place as a team at that meet.

She could be poised for a big finish to a fabulous school year athletically.

Janowski ran Class 3A’s third-fastest 3,200 time of 10:32.99 at sectionals last week, and the seventh-best 1,600 time of 5:01.05. Her 10:27.25 3,200 run in April at the Oregon Relays is the fourth-best time in the state. Barrington defending champ Mia Sirois has run the fastest 3,200 time.

Janowski leads a strong group of York athletes – there were 14 state-qualifying performances last week as the Dukes won the sectional title.

Can Karen Boakye soar to the top?

Downers Grove South’s Karen Boakye, fourth in the Class 3A triple jump in 2025 and sixth the year before, should be one of the top contenders in the event this weekend in Charleston.

Boakye recorded Class 3A’s top triple jump mark of 12.31 meters at sectionals last weekend, and also qualified for Charleston in the long jump. That triple jump is actually the best mark in the state all outdoor season.

Downers Grove South has one state championship in field events in program history – coincidentally, in the triple jump. Tori Franklin, who later set the U.S. triple jump record and competed in the 2021 Olympics, won the Class 3A triple jump title in 2010.

Can Kennedy Ruff hurdle to the top?

Hinsdale South’s Kennedy Ruff placed seventh in the Class 3A 300-meter hurdles in 2024, and made the leap to second place last season.

The four-year soccer starter has also led the Hornets to three consecutive regional titles. But soccer will have to take a backseat to track this week.

Ruff, an Arizona track commit, is back in Charleston where she is a qualifier in the 100 hurdles (ninth-best sectional time of 14.83 seconds) and 300 hurdles (fifth-best sectional time of 44.36).

Going the distance

The DuPage County area, as usual, will have strong distance contenders in Charleston this weekend.

Janowski could be in the mix in both the 3,200 and 1,600 races.

Downers Grove North sophomore Macy Ermitage, third in the Class 3A 3,200 last year as a freshman and third at Class 3A state cross country last fall, ran the ninth-best 3,200 sectional time of 10:53.99.

Glenbard West senior Alexa Novak posted the fourth-best 1,600 sectional time of 4:57.49 after taking 10th at state last year. Glenbard West’s 4x800 relay ran the fastest sectional time of 9:12.83. Benet senior Keira Jenke and Hinsdale Central senior Lily Hodneland both had top-10 sectional times in the 800.

Montini, St. Francis athletes with high hopes in Class 2A

Montini senior Sydney Gertsen, like Janowski in Class 3A, has the potential for a distance double this weekend.

The Saint Louis commit won the Class 2A state cross country championship last fall after taking fourth in the Class 2A 3,200 as a junior.

Gertsen posted the third-fastest 3,200 (10:53.85) and 1,600 (5:07.33) in the state in Class 2A sectionals last week. She has the second-fastest 3,200 in Class 2A this spring, a 10:19.83, run at Distance Night at Palatine and the second-best 1,600 (4:49.94) at the GCAC Meet. Sandwich senior and Duke commit Sunny Weber is the defending champion in both events.

Team-wise, St. Francis is coming off a second-place finish at the Class 2A state cross country meet – and is poised for more hardware after winning a sectional title last week.

The Spartans have eight individual entries in Charleston and two relays.

Leading the way is Margaret Andrzejewski, who ran the fastest 800 sectional time of 2:14.49 and the 10th-best 1,600, and Erin Hinsdale, who ran the fourth-best 1,600 (5:11.67) and eighth-best 800 (2:18.12). Elena Mamminga ran the seventh-best 3,200 (11:20.10).