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2023 IHSA girls track and field finals recap: Who won gold at state?

wes huett, journal star
·6 min read
Four athletes from around Peoria won state championships at the 2023 Illinois High School Association girls track and field state finals. At left is Cambria Geyer of Tremont. Top to bottom at right are Dunlap's Chelsea Wetzel, Elmwood/Brimfield's Mya Strahm and Henry/Midland's Laney Lester.
Four athletes from around Peoria won state championships at the 2023 Illinois High School Association girls track and field state finals. At left is Cambria Geyer of Tremont. Top to bottom at right are Dunlap's Chelsea Wetzel, Elmwood/Brimfield's Mya Strahm and Henry/Midland's Laney Lester.

Championship day is in the books for Illinois girls track and field athletes.

Athletes from across the state competed Saturday in the 50th Illinois High School Association girls track and field state finals at O'Brien Stadium at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston — the only city to ever host this event.

In all, four athletes from the Peoria area won state championships: Cambria Geyer of Tremont, Chelsea Wetzel of Dunlap, Mya Strahm of Elmwood/Brimfield and Laney Lester of Henry/Midland.

Below are the updates from the day and how athletes from around Peoria finished on the blue track.

FROM STATE: 'This year is amazing': How two friends from two schools ended up IHSA pole vault champions

Other IHSA track and field stories

Three of Richwoods' four runners in the 4x100-meter relay team that finished third statewide in Class 2A on Saturday at the Illinois High School Association girls track and field state finals in Charleston.
Three of Richwoods' four runners in the 4x100-meter relay team that finished third statewide in Class 2A on Saturday at the Illinois High School Association girls track and field state finals in Charleston.

4:51 p.m. — Richwoods shines and team state champs are crowned

Winnebago (1A), Kankakee (2A) and Huntley (3A) are your team state champions from Charleston. The top-10 Peoria-area team finishers were: Henry/Midland (fifth in 1A), Eureka (sixth in 1A), Dunlap (seventh in 2A) and Richwoods (eighth in 2A).

The Knights ended the day with five medals, two individual ones for Lena Jackson (fifth in the 100 and 200), plus a third place in the 4x100, a fifth in the 4x200 and a fifth in the 4x400.

4:07 p.m. — Peoria-area runners pack the Class 1A 200 finals

Peoria-area athletes made up three of the top five runners in the Class 1A 200-meter dash finals.

Stark County's Lindley Johnston ran 25.07 seconds to take second place and lead area competitors, just behind champion Lia Patterson of Tuscola (24.96). Danielle Bumber of Henry/Midland (25.35) was third and Cambria Geyer of Tremont (25.67) was fifth — each capping their day with three medals each.

3:35 p.m. — Tremont hurdler comes up short in hurdles defense

Cambria Geyer of Tremont could not defend her title in the 300-meter hurdles, taking fifth in 46.82 seconds.

Earlier in the day, Geyer won the 100 hurdles. She is among the title contenders in the 200 dash, which is still upcoming.

3:15 p.m. — Henry/Midland nearly snags another title

Daniella Bumber finished second in the Class 1A 400-meter run, finishing in 57.63 — just behind champion Ahry Comer of Golconda Pope County (56.85).

Bumber earlier was sixth in the 100 dash, and her 400 silver was the fourth medal for Henry/Midland. Teammate Laney Lester won the Class 1A discus title and took second in the shot put.

2:07 p.m. — Update on the team races

Through about 10 events, Winnebago (1A), Geneseo (2A) and Chicago Kenwood (3A) lead the team races.

Eureka sits in third place in 1A, while Henry/Midland is fifth place. Dunlap is in fourth place in 2A.

Henry/Midland senior Laney Lester is the Class 1A discus state champion with her victory at the Illinois High School Association girls track and field state finals in Charleston.
Henry/Midland senior Laney Lester is the Class 1A discus state champion with her victory at the Illinois High School Association girls track and field state finals in Charleston.

1:29 p.m. — Henry/Midland senior wins gold

Henry/Midland senior Laney Lester stepped into the winner's circle in the Class 1A discus, taking the title with a throw of 130 feet, 1 inch. Lester adds this to her second-place finish earlier in the day in the shot put.

The co-op has won state titles in consecutive seasons after the graduated Nakeita Kessling won the Class 1A 400-meter dash last season.

1:08 p.m. — Tremont hurdler does it again

Tremont senior Cambria Geyer won the Class 1A 100-meter hurdles championship with a 14.23-second dash.

It is the second hurdles state title for Geyer, who won the 300-meter race last year as a junior on her way to being named Journal Star girls track and field athlete of the year. That 300 win was one of three top-four finishes last season at state.

Geyer is also in the finals today in the 300 hurdles and the 200 dash.

Dunlap junior Chelsea Wetzel is the Class 2A pole vault state champion at the Illinois High School Association girls track and field state finals in Charleston.
Dunlap junior Chelsea Wetzel is the Class 2A pole vault state champion at the Illinois High School Association girls track and field state finals in Charleston.

12:07 p.m. — Peoria's best vaulter also best in the state

Dunlap junior Chelsea Wetzel has solidified her standing as the all-time Peoria-area record holder.

She won the Class 2A pole vault state championship by clearing 12 feet, 2.5 inches. Wetzel set the all-time Peoria mark with a vault of 13-1.5 last week at the Galesburg Sectional.

You can read more about Wetzel and her records here.

Elmwood/Brimfield sophomore Mya Strahm is the Class 1A state champion in the pole vault.
Elmwood/Brimfield sophomore Mya Strahm is the Class 1A state champion in the pole vault.

11:50 a.m. — Peoria area gets its first champion

Elmwood/Brimfield sophomore Mya Strahm is the Peoria area's first state champion of the day, winning the Class 1A pole vault by clearing 12 feet.

It is the program's first girls track and field state title since Susan Paige won the 3200 run in 1995.

11:25 a.m. — Top of the morning

Dunlap junior Teagan Sullivan brought home a silver medal in the Class 2A long jump, leaping 18 feet, 2.25 inches to earn second place behind champion Annie Wirth of Geneseo (18-7.25).

"I like jumping in the morning," Sullivan said. "It's not as hot yet."

Henry/Midland's Laney Lester also earned a silver in the Class 1A shot put. Her 39-3.75 throw came in behind only Amanda Gustafson of Winnebago (39-6.5). Lester is still competing in the discus.

Morton (2A 4x800) and Eureka (1A 4x800) each finished third in their respective relay races.

The state championship trophies are on display Saturday at the Illinois High School Association girls track and field state finals at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.
The state championship trophies are on display Saturday at the Illinois High School Association girls track and field state finals at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

Who's in line to win an IHSA championship?

Nine athletes from the Peoria area finished with the top performances during the preliminary competition Thursday and Friday in Charleston.

Here are the top-seeded qualifiers in Class 1A: Lindley Johnston (200 meters, Stark County), Daniella Bumber (400 meters, Henry), Kennady Anderson (800 meters, Annawan/Wethersfield), Cambria Geyer (100 hurdles, Tremont), Laney Lester (shot put and discus, Henry), Aubrey Phillips (high jump, El Paso-Gridley), Mya Strahm (pole vault, Elmwood/Brimfield) and Laurel Munson (long jump, Eureka).

In Class 2A, Chelsea Wetzel (pole vault, Dunlap) is the area's lone top-seeded athlete heading into the Saturday finals. Lena Jackson (100 meters, Richwoods), the Richwoods 4x100-meter relay and the Morton 4x800-meter relay teams are ranked in the top three.

IHSA girls track and field state finals time schedule

All events at O'Brien Stadium, Charleston. Wheelchair finals are first in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 races, followed by Class 1A, 2A and 3A. Class 1A competes first in other events, followed by 2A and 3A.

  • 12:30 p.m. — Discus

  • 10 a.m. — Long jump, triple jump, shot put, pole vault, high jump

  • 10 a.m. — 3200-meter run (Section 1)

  • 11 a.m. — 4x800-meter relay

  • 11:40 a.m. — 4x100-meter relay

  • 12:10 p.m. — 3200-meter run (Section 2)

  • 1:10 p.m. — 110-meter intermediate hurdles

  • 1:35 p.m. — 100-meter dash

  • 1:55 p.m. — 800-meter run

  • 2:25 p.m. — 4x200-meter relay

  • 2:55 p.m. — 400-meter dash

  • 3:15 p.m. — 300-meter low hurdles

  • 3:35 p.m. — 1600-meter run

  • 4:05 p.m. — 200-meter dash

  • 4:20 p.m. — 4x400-meter relay

  • 5 p.m. — team awards

Wes Huett is Journal Star sports and news editor. Email him at whuett@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @WesHuett. Adam Duvall contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA girls track and field: Updates, recap from state finals at EIU