Throughout the girls track and field season, Minooka emerged as one of the top teams in the Herald-News area.

Junior distance runner Natalie Nahs was one of the cornerstones of the Indians’ program, and for her efforts throughout the season, she was selected as the Herald-News Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

Nahs finished sixth at the Class 3A state meet in the 800-meter run and was a member of the state-qualifying 4x400 and 4x800 relays.

Her efforts in those events also helped the Indians capture their first Southwest Prairie Conference championship since 2017.

It was a tough decision, especially with state champions in Class 2A in Joliet Catholic’s Symone Holman in the long jump and in Class 1A in Wilmington’s McKenna Van Tilburg in the 100 hurdles, but Nahs’ body of work throughout the season in the state’s largest class pushed her over the top.

“Natalie was a clutch performer this season,” Minooka coach Kevin Gummerson said. “She is an intense competitor who continues to improve. She was great all year, but truly took it up another level when the pressure was the greatest. Winning the conference 800-meter run individually and contributing to two SPC championship relays was a phenomenal way to start the championship phase.

“Then she went to sectionals and won the 800 again, and was a part of two more qualifying relays. This team had a tremendous amount of success this spring, and Natalie was a huge part of that. She has once again raised the standard of excellence here at Minooka.”

Although she qualified for state in three events. she only ran in two at the state meet - the 800-meter run and the 4x400 relay.

“My coaches decided that they wanted me to have my legs good and rested for the 4x400 relay, so I didn’t run in the 4x800 relay,” Nahs said. “They were better rested for the individual 800 as well, and that paid off since I came home with a medal.

“The 800 is probably my favorite event. It’s a combination of endurance and speed. I usually like to use my endurance to keep close to whoever gets out to an early lead, and then use my speed at the end to overtake them.”

While she was growing up, Nahs used that speed on the softball diamond rather than the track. That is, until she got to junior high.

“When I was younger, I played softball a lot,” she said. “But really all I liked about that sport was running the bases. In sixth grade, I was able to go out for track and I just fell in love with it. I run both cross country and track. I like track for the running aspect of it, but I like cross country for the social aspect.

“There are a lot more girls on the track team, but everyone is doing their own event. In cross country, we are running together in meets and practices and we just tend to get closer to each other since we spend a lot more time together as a group.”

Even though the high school season is over, Nahs is not done running. She recently competed in the Magis Miles at St. Ignatius in Chicago, where she set a new personal best in the mile, breaking the 5:00 barrier for the first time. She has also qualified for the New Balance Outdoor Nationals, which will take place this weekend at the University of Pennsylvania. Her Minooka teammates Kennedy Carroll (long jump) and Olivia Brandolino (pole vault) will also compete in the same meet.

“I am excited to go out there,” Nahs said. “I qualified in the 800, which I also did when I was a freshman. We saw some sights and stuff like that the last time, so this time, it is more about going out there with a job to do. I am looking forward to it, and then I am going to take a couple weeks off before I start training for the cross country season.”