Five Storylines to Follow at the NCC Cardinal Girls Indoor Classic

By Michael Newman

The 9th edition of the NCC Cardinals Girls Indoor Classic falls on the 29 day of February otherwise known as “Leap Day”. There will be plenty of leaping and running and other track activities at North Central College’s Al B. Carius Track inside the Res-Rec Center.

This meet brings together some of the top Girls teams in the Chicagoland Suburban area. We could see some top 10 state marks occur on Thursday evening.

Here is a look at five storylines to keep an eye on. Field events start at 4:45 PM with track events beginning at 5:15 PM.

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Some of the top athletes in the Hurdles face-off

The best running event in this meet could be the 55 Meter Hurdles with four top 10 hurdlers ready to face off. The top time in the state in the event is 8.67 run by Brooke Greaves from Addison Trail. Brooke Sawatzky of Naperville Central ran 8.70 (IL #2) last week at Wheaton-Warrenville South and has the fastest time entering this meet. Lauren Broome of Oswego (IL #3) ran 8.77 last week in her win at Batavia and could be the one runner to push Sawatzky. Kyra Hayden of Lincoln-Way East has a 9.02 (IL #8) at this distance, 9.07 at 60-meters (IL #4). Kyla Moxley of Shepard ran 9.20 (IL #5) last week behind Hayden at Olivet Nazarene. Either of those two athletes could come away with the win.

Brooke Sawatzky could emerge with three meet wins

Brooke Sawatzky is not an event specialist but an athlete that could score in four events this May in Charleston. The future University of Missouri athlete is entered in four events in this meet. She could win three of them. We already discussed what she might do in the Hurdles. She will compete in both horizontal events. Sawatzky has a best of 17-7 jumped at this facility in the team’s intra-squad meet at the end of January. Her chief competition comes from Kyla Moxley who jumped 18-4.5 (IL #4) in her first meet of the year in mid-February. Ava Henry of Lincoln-Way East jumped 17-5 last Saturday at Olivet Nazarene and could be in contention for the win.

Sawatzky’s best mark in the Triple Jump of 37-3.25 (IL #4) is the best performance heading into this meet. She finished eighth in this event at last year’s state meet. Moxley has only jumped 35-8.25 this year but was all-state in this event in 2023 finishing seventh. Kennedi Reed of Naperville Central and Keelin Fogarty of Wheaton-Warrenville South will challenge for top spots Thursday night. Sawatzky is seeded fourth in the 200 Meter Dash. Kyla Harris Of Metea Valley is the top seed in the 200 along with the 400 Meter Dash.

Top 4x8 time in state likely to happen at Res-Rec

The top three times in the state in the 4x800m Relay occurred last week with Maine South running 9:57.66 last week at Plainfield North. There will be a new #1 time in the state in this relay on this track whether it first comes at this meet or next Monday at the Mustang Relays. It is likely it will happen Thursday night. Glenbard West enters this meet with the top seed time but has not run on a 200-meter track yet this indoor season. The Hilltoppers are led by Maia Kaslewicz and Mackenzie Gilbert who was all-state last year in the 800 as a freshman. Naperville North will have their top 800 runner Emma Berres leading their quartet that could be in the hunt for the win. Hinsdale Central you can always expect to be in the front in this event. Thursday night the Red Devilettes may have a different lineup led by Kennedy Boyd but expect this team near the front. Wheaton-Warrenville South has not put together a quartet for this relay this season. That happens in this meet led by Jenna Bachara and Nicole Poglitsch. The Tigers could leave the Res-Rec Center with the win. Keep an eye on Yorkville who could be the team to supply in this meet.

A look at the three individual distance events

The three distance races in this meet are great early season tests for runners for possibly the first time. There have been a number of twists and turns with some of the entries. The top three Naperville North runners, Julie Piot along with Rianna and Shania Tandon, were not entered for this meet.

The 1600 Meter Run could be the top distance race in this meet. Liv Phillips of Naperville Central ran 5:00.69 in her team’s intra squad meet at the end of January. She has shown her fitness level during early in the IHSA season having run 10:40 for 3200-meters at York on February 16 and last week running a 2:21 split in the 4x8 and 2:23 in the 800. A sub-five race is within her reach on Thursday. Holly Johnson of Downers Grove South has run 5:16 this year and is ready for another fast race. Nicole Poglitsch of Wheaton-Warrenville South ran 5:20 on her home track to start the year. We should see her time drop considerably in this race. Sophia Keeler of Yorkville, Emma Berres of Naperville North, and Kennedy Boyd of Hinsdale Central are some of the runners you should see in the front pack.

Marley Adelman of St. Charles East ran the top seed time of 2:19.21 in the 800 Meter Run less than two weeks ago at Hononegah. Lola Satre-Morales of Naperville Central is ready for a fast pace. Lily Hodneland of Hinsdale Central has an early season 2:22.09 which should improve in this race. Mackenzie Gilbert will be doubling back from the 4x8 and could win this race.

Four runners are seeded with times of 12-minutes or faster in the 3200 Meter  Run. Julianne Melby of Lyons Township has the top seed time of 11:45 with Ava Hendren of Naperville Central, Camden Griffin of Hinsdale Central, and Kamea Baker of Metea Valley close behind.

Up, Up, and Away

The Pole Vault in this meet has a tradition of making high heights and earning personal bests. Jaiden Knoop of Lincoln-Way East has a seasonal best of 11-9 and will be in contention to win. The senior was all-state last year and finished second in this meet. Kendell Cullen of Glenbard West has showed dramatic improvement having cleared 11-5 in a small meet to start the season. She did not clear over 10-feet last spring. Emme Smith of Wheaton North and Leigh Ferrell of Lyons Township have the talent to surprise for the win.