GIRLS SPRINT/HURDLE PREVIEW
To start 2025, we’re previewing all 16 events heading into the track & field season. Performances listed reflect an athlete’s best mark on TFFRS from last season. We also have accompanying podcasts that can be heard on Apple or Spotify.
100 (2 returning medalists)
Kennedi Bradley - 11 - Chesterton - 5th place - 11.96
Nadia Ford - 10 - FW Carroll - 6th place - 12.00
Of note:
Kya Crooke - 12 - Heritage Christian - 11.46 (wind aided)
Ahniyah Bennett - 11 - Connersville - 11.99
Izzy Neal - 12 - Brownsburg - 12.03
Iana Tecson - 11 - Evansville North - 12.08
Tiara Gray - 12 - Portage - 12.10
Emily Norris - 12 - Carmel - 11th in prelims at state
Outlook: Due to the scant amount of returning medalists, this is an event potentially very open going into 2025. Chesterton junior Kennedi Bradley is the top returner and has the best returning legal time from last year. Carroll sophomore Nadia Ford finished just behind Bradley at state, and her team’s title hopes revolve around her performances. Connersville junior Ahniyah Bennett was fifth as a freshman in 2023 but did not advance to state last spring at this distance. Heritage superstar Kya Crooke is in a similar position: she medaled two years ago in this event but did not compete at state last year. The Evansville North duo of Iana Tecson and De’Janay Lane could jumpstart their team’s title contention with a great spring in both short sprints. Carmel senior Emily Norris has just missed the medal stand the past two years and could really help her team’s title hopes this year.
200 (5 returning medalists)
De’Janay Lane - 11 - Evansville North - state champion - 24.58
Ahniyah Bennett - 11 - Connersville - 2nd at state (‘23 state champ) - 24.53
Nadia Ford - 10 - FW Carroll - 6th at state - 24.70
Izzy Neal - 12 - Brownsburg - 7th at state - 25.15
Emily Norris - 12 - Carmel - 8th at state - 25.07
Of note:
Tiara Gray - 12 - Portage - 24.60
Iana Tecson - 11 - Evansville North - 24.65
Aniyah McKenzie - 11 - Lawrence Central - 24.91
Abby Journay - 11 - New Palestine - 24.99
Outlook: This event is much deeper than the 100, and we have the rare opportunity to see two state champions compete in the event they won this season. Lane won in 2024 with Bennett taking the crown the year before, though Bennett has the top returning mark from last season. Portage senior Tiara Gray has the third best mark among returners, not far behind Lane and Bennett with Tecson of Evansville North also very close. The 200 could be a big showdown of athletes looking to score team points as the meet winds down. Evansville North has two potential finalists, Ford provides hope for Carroll and Norris has been a constant among the state’s best for Carmel. Both Norris and Brownsburg senior Izzy Neal scored in the half-lap distance at state the past two years along with Bennett.
400 (4 returning medalists)
Omema Anyanwu - 12 - Zionsville - state champion - 55.67
Kristina Petkova - 11 - Goshen - 5th at state - 56.40
Gabriela Grande Rosas - 11 - Carmel - 6th at state - 56.88
Kylie Bird - 12 - Portage - 9th at state - 57.42
Of note:
Anissa Lammie - 10 - HSE - 55.34
Ava Grace Winters - 11 - Lawrence North - 56.42
Adeline Shultz - 10 - Floyd Central - 56.56
Ciara Kepner - 12 - HSE - 56.91
Outlook: Zionsville senior Omema Anyanwu is one of just four returning individual winners among 13 open races going into 2025. She passed several in a tight field to win this event after entering last spring as the top returner when she was fourth as a sophomore in 2023. Hamilton Southeastern sophomore Anissa Lammie returns with the best time and was pretty dominant through most of the outdoor season but missed the podium at state. Her school could be in the title mix again, which is also the case for Carmel junior Gabriela Grande Rosas who was sixth at state. Avon senior Nevaeh Wren climbed the podium in this event in 2023 but missed it last spring. The aforementioned Lane and Bennett, both state champions over 200 meters, could become contenders in this by moving up in distance.
100 hurdles (4 returning medalists)
Isabella Sotelo - 10 - Eastern Hancock - 3rd at state - 14.72
Aubrey Runyon - 12 - Franklin - 5th at state - 14.52
Reese McKinney - 11 - Chatard - 8th at state - 14.58
Sophia N’Gbesso - 11 - Brownsburg - 9th at state - 14.94
Of note:
Adriana Swanson - 11 - SB Washington - 14.77
Alexa Yeomans - 12 - South Ripley - 14.86
Antre’Onna Osby - 11 - Lawrence Central - 14.97
Jai Brown - 10 - Pike - 11th in prelims at state
Outlook: Eastern Hancock sophomore Isabella Sotelo is the top returner by state meet place in an event that typically takes time to master. Franklin senior Aubrey Runyon has the best performance among those still in high school and the most experience as the only two-time medalist in this event. Those are probably the top two contenders. South Bend Washington junior Adriana Swanson finished sixth in 2023 and missed the final as a sophomore by just one place in the prelims. Though she’s never competed in this event in her first three years of high school, this could be a potential (albeit unlikely) landing spot for Crooke in trying to maximize points for Heritage Christian’s title chances.
300 hurdles (4 returning medalists)
Aubrey Runyon - 12 - Franklin - 5th at state - 44.38
Isabella Sotelo - 10 - Eastern Hancock - 6th at state - 44.41
Kate Kubacki - 12 - Cathedral - 7th at state - 44.41
Kenzie Crooke - 10 - Heritage Christian - 8th at state - 45.01
Of note:
Kya Crooke - 12 - Heritage Christian - 2nd at state in ‘23 - did not race in ‘24
Adelle Schlotterback - 12 - FW Carroll - 44.38
Alyssa Davis - 12 - FW Carroll - 44.84
Sophia N’Gbesso - 11 - Brownsburg - 45.23
Outlook: Runyon and Sotelo flip here as the top two returners from state. Cathedral senior Kate Kubacki is a contender as well after finishing in the medals the last two years, fourth as a sophomore and seventh as a junior. If Heritage Christian is going to win an unlikely team championship, it could hinge on this event. Sophomore Kenzie Crooke was eighth as a freshman, and though she doesn’t have a top time, she displayed a knack for performing well when it matters most. Older sister Kya did not compete in this event at all last year but was second at the state finals in 2023 and holds the 13th best mark in state history, well over a second faster than anyone else entering this spring. Double digit points paired with dominance in the field events could vault HC to the title.
4x1
Outlook: Carroll has three back from last year’s winning team as does Lawrence North who finished a very close second. Evansville North, a team with real championship potential, has three back from a fifth-place team that includes two stars. No podium team returns all four, although Franklin was 12th with no seniors.
4x4
Outlook: Carmel returns all four from a relay that won for the second year in a row. North Central was very close in second and brings back three of four. Hamilton Southeastern was among the pre-race favorites and, despite a late-meet substitution still nearly pulled off the win. Munster and Evansville North both made the medal stand and, like Carmel, return all four team members. Evansville North moving from eighth last year into the top four this season could be big for team points.
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