ROCKFORD ― Some of the usual stars, and some new ones, came out to shine during Wednesday’s NIC-10 Girls Track and Field Championships, which kicked off the spring postseason.
Now the rest of the sports will begin to follow as the 2025-2026 school year winds down.
But sparked by triple-victories from Hononegah senior Kylie Simpson, Freeport’s Ta’Niah McElroy and Boylan’s Caroline Barker, it was the girls track and field teams of the NIC-10 that started the wind-down.
“We want to be on right now,” said Simpson after winning her third straight NIC-10 championship in the 800-meter run. “I feel like I am.”
Clearly. She was far from done after the 800, as she tore through the competition and won her first NIC-10 400-dash title, as well as her first 1,600-run crown as well.
“It feels pretty good; but it’s just a start,” said Simpson. “This really makes me feel good going into sectionals.”
Boylan’s Barker nearly won four events, Ta’Naia McElroy climbed out of her twin sister’s shadow, for one day anyway, and Simpson’s Hononegah teammate Jordan Dimke won the highly contested high jump competition, one of more anticipated matchups of the meet. Zariah Burnett did not compete in that event, but she helped Guilford win the 4X100 relay, and she earned a second in the long jump.
On the other hand, it was Dimke’s third conference title in the high jump, clearing the bar set at 5-foot-5. Auburn’s Jaeda Beneford was not far behind with her make at 5-3.
First-time winners shine
And then there’s freshman Lilly Binger, the Belvidere North star in the making who ran away with the 3,200-run win. It could be the first of many.
“This is such a great feeling to win a conference title as a freshman,” Binger said. “I want more.”
And senior Ta’Niah McElroy of Freeport, who has finished behind her twin sister Ta’Leiah McElroy much of their careers, tore through all the competition to win the 100-dash title.
“This was crazy, but it felt so good,” Ta’Niah said after her first sprinting victory. “Now I need to keep going with this. I know I can do it now.”
That was Ta’Niah’s first conference title in any individual event. Her sister has four, even though she was shut out this year. Ta’Niah later won the 200 dash as well.
Jefferson’s Makayla Taylor pulled her flowing hair across the finish line for her first NIC-10 title in the 100 hurdles, but Barker got her back and won the 300 hurdles, holding off Dimke late. Barker also kickstarted the meet by winning the triple jump, and she was also key in the Titans’ win in the meet-ending 4X400 relay race. Boylan also won the 4X800 relay by a little over a second.
Earlier in the night, the McElroy sisters helped Freeport claim the title in the 4X200 relay while a Zariah Burnett-led Guilford quad won the 4X100 relay. Boylan’s Sara Dorsey won the shot put and the discus titles; Guilford’s Allison Stibal won the long jump, holding off Burnett; and Guilford’s Annabella Fumo earned the title in the pole vault.
Guilford showed its depth by edging Boylan by three points to win the team championship, despite not winning any of the individual runing events, and just one relay and two field events.
Postseason is here
The Big Northern Conference Girls Track and Field Championships were Thursday at Winnebago. Lutheran’s Abagail Baumann did not participate due to illness, but she’s expected back for next week’s sectionals. Lutheran’s Jordyn Ballard and Oregon’s Jillian Hammer won three events each at the meet.
Sectionals kick in on May 13 when the Rockford-area 1A girls teams take part in the Winnebago Sectional; the 2A teams go after state berths in the Johnsburg Sectional; and the local 3A teams battle at the Belvidere North Sectional.
The top two finishers in each event, as well as those that eclipse the state standard times and distances, advance to state. The girls state track and field meet will be held from May 21-23 in Charleston and will be the first state tournament of the spring postseason.
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and sign up for the Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Kylie Simpson’s triple-win for Hononegah kickstarts spring postseason
Reporting by Jay Taft, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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