Girls track: Plenty of youth at the starting line for Bloomington area squads

Good numbers but a lot of untested talent at the varsity level fill out the rosters for Bloomington North and South this year. Edgewood is loaded with veterans and Eastern Greene has a new coach. Here's a look at the upcoming girls' track season:

Bloomington South girls' track

Head coach Jill Rensink has over 50 out this year but just five are seniors. A strong junior class and some promising freshman will still make the Panthers a strong squad this season. "We've got a lot of freshmen and sophomores and first time track athletes but we still hope to put some good stuff together," Rensink said.

Sprints — Here's one area were the freshman can make an immediate impact, led by soccer standout Helena Cutshall and basketball standout Violet Hall, who were strong contenders at last year's junior high county meet. Juniors Eden Bailey (back after sitting out last year) and MacKenzie Freeman, moved back to sprints, will also factor in. Rensink is already seeing times faster than any of her 100 or 200 runners posted last year. Mid/distance — Senior Lily Myers (Indiana University) is the linchpin here, having broken the school records in the 3,200 (10:44.42 indoors) and the 1,600 (4:56.51 outdoors) in the past week. The Panthers have the makings of a strong 3,200 relay with Myers, freshmen Ellie Barada and the Martolglio twins (Aurelia and Jasmine) and junior Millie Williams clocking sub 2:30 800s Barada, Williams and May can also run well in the 400. The Martoglios, juniors Kate Barada and Clara Graham and freshman Julianne Hoover are also in the picture in the 1,600 and 3,200. "We have an array of people to choose from so we'll see where the best bang for our buck is," Rensink said. Hurdles — A new crew steps in with lots of potential. Sophomore Lydia Mervis and junior Lucy Tait joined by junior high county hurdles champ freshman Adriene Shaevitz and a pair of soccer standouts junior Annalise Coyne and freshman Izzy Sweet, who broke 18.30 on opening night.

Jumps/vault — Hall, Sweet and freshman Alaina Meki will give the Panthers a boost in high jump with juniors Teagan West and Elaina LaFollette returning from last year. In long jump, South has three potential 16-foot jumpers rostered with Cutshall and Shaevitz on board with senior Carlie Pedersen returning. In pole vault, there are four, led by junior Claire Lutz reached 9-feet last year. Also back are junior Audrey Freeman-Day (coming off an ankle injury) and senior Kiara Erickson, who start the season at 8-0. Throws — It's a group of seven with four in the shot, led by sophomore Anna Barnes (who had a stunning 40-foot PR of 104 on Tuesday) and freshman Molli Lucas both over 33 feet in the shot with senior Hailey Hiller (a commit to DII West Texas A&M) joining them.

Bloomington North girls' track

The Cougars have some terrific top-end athletes, some of the state's best, but also plenty of spots that will need to be filled by newcomers and youngsters. "We return some important people but team-wise it's different than it has been," coach Justin Helmer said. "We just don't have the depth that we've had." Sprints/hurdles — Junior Dede Eberle has made her commitment to track fulltime pay off, finishing third in the 60 hurdles indoors and figures to have a strong outdoor season in the 100s and 300s. Senior Cora Deemer is back in the 400 and 1,600 relay as is junior Chloe Hendrix-Petry (100-200, 400 relay) and Kiera Feagins, who was out all winter with an ankle injury and can run anything up to an 800. Added in the mix is Sara Elliott, an exchange student from Australia, who went 13.12 on opening night and sophomore Daisy Rogers. Hurdles crew is thin at the moment with sophomore Onika Rutledge among those giving them a try. Mid/Distance — Junior Nola Somers Glenn, fifth in the 800 last year at state comes back to lead this crew. Injuries have slowed senior Rachel Allison and may end up ending her season early. Sophomore Ellie Patrick (knee) is working back from a cross country injury. Also back is sophomore Lilah Reed while freshmen Katie Kent, who didn't run cross country, and Hayden McGuire could help as could junior Miren Landa (exchange student from Spain).

Jumps/vaulters — Eberle comes in having hit over 18-feet in long jump inside. Rogers will also long jump. High jump features a pair of basketball players in junior Mia Robbennolt and sophomore Kenli Sullivan (5-0). Senior Janel Solie is the top returning vaulter with several members of the gymnastics team, led by senior Hope Taylor, giving it a go. Throws — Double state champ junior Hadley Lucas returns and broke her school record in the shot put in the opener with a 50-0. Her discus mark (163-8) will also certainly be in jeopardy this season as well. It's a small group behind her, however, led by junior Cara Sanders and sophomore Ava Moore.

Edgewood girls' track

With a solid core of returning athletes, the Mustangs will be after a third straight WIC title and looking to make plenty of noise at sectional and regional. "It's going to be tough to see exactly where we're at until late in the season," coach Zach Evans said. "We have girls who do softball or will be out for one reason or another. But our goal is definitely to win conference for a third year in a row. It would be cool for our seniors to never lose one. We're solid across the board and there's not an area where we're weak. It'll be hard to rely on 14 girls to fill every spot and relay, but we'll see how they respond." Sprints/hurdles — Senior Ella Hayden will be a big point scorer again this season, starting off especially strong in the 200 while juniors Ashley Abram and Piper Stephens (who also plays softball) are strong in the 100 and junior Emma Edwards is quick in the 400. Hurdles sees Sara Polito, an exchange student from Germany, under 18 and 50 in the 100s and 300s against North. Juniors Addison Goerges (300s) and Harley Robbins (100s) provide depth. School records in the 400 and 1,600 relays are in jeopardy. Mid/Distance — Senior Clara Crane and sister freshman Hannah lead this group. Clara was close to her all-time PR in the 3,200 indoors and Hannah is off to a strong start in her first season with a 5:34 1,600. Depth comes from freshmen Ellie Vagedas, Avery Rayl and Ryleigh Burnett and junior Riley Haskett and should form a strong 3,200 relay.

Jumps/vaulters — Edwards and Goerges were both over 5-feet last year in high jump, which makes them sectional champion contenders. Hayden is a 17-foot long jumper and Abram, the school record holder, reached 9-6 in pole vault indoors, while Robbins hit 8-0. Throws — Junior Shayli Walker and senior Liberty Gardner are the Mustangs' top two back in both the shot put and discus. Walker was a WIC runner-up to then senior teammate Trista Helms in both events. Clarner's best effprts were right behind Walker's.

Lighthouse Christian girls' track

Head coach Josh Henson has a crew of 11, seven of them newcomers, including six freshmen.

Sprints/hurdles — Seniors Madeline Esslinger and Lizzie Billingsley and sophomores Ava Fritz and Claire Beretta lead the group. Esslinger was sixth at sectional in the 200 and is close (27.96) to breaking the school record. She also ran the 400. Billingsley ran the 400, Fritz the 100 and Beretta the 100 hurdles last year. All four were on the 400 relay at sectional. Freshmen Eliana Vuyyuri, Miriam Gilbert, Aleah Winders and Annabelle Miller will compete as well. Distance — Freshman Lily Stevenson will handle the longer events. Jumps — Billingsley set the school record for the long jump last year at 14-11½. Throws — Winders and Miller are slated to give shot and/or discus a try.

Eastern Greene girls' track

New coach Dylan Abell takes over a squad of 13, which graduated several key pieces to a SWIAC runner-up last year, notably Anna Tieman, Indy Workman and Aloria Kines. "We've still got lot of good people and some great athletes and a lot of them are upperclassmen," Abell said.

Sprints/hurdles — Both top hurdlers are back in senior Zoie Ault (100s) and sophomore Clara Hawk, but Hawk, who also plays softball, is more likely to end up in the 200 and 400, with freshman Jaycee Jordan jumping into the hurdles crew. Another softball player, senior Mallory Shelton will run the 100-200 and 400 relay. Mid/Distance — This will be a strong area for the T-Birds, led by sophomore Lilyanna Blais, freshman Esther Crane and seniors Ashley Hudson and Sydney Richardson. Blais recorded a school record 5:36 in the 1,600 at regional last year while Crane went 12:12.21 in the 3,200 indoors this winter for another school record. Blais, Hudson and Richardson will be the core of a good 3,200 relay. Junior Keylee Hudson, out for track for the first time, can run anything from the 100 to the 800. Exchange student Ema Studnikova has 200-400-800 range as well. Jumps/vault — All new group in the high jump and long jump. Keylee Hudson will long jump, freshman Kena Maddox has reached 4-10 in high jump. Ault, Jordan and maybe Maddox will vault. Throws — Another new face here, too, with freshman Libby Stanco, a strong thrower who participates in Highland Games.

Contact Jim Gordillo jgordillo@heraldt.com and follow on Twitter @JimGordillo.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Girls track: Plenty of youth lining up for Bloomington area squads