The 2026 girls high school track and field season was another exciting one, and it was capped off with another drama-filled state meet.
The Rockford-area contingent earned seven state championships, including three from the same Lena-Winslow relay team, and two from NIC-10 jumpers.
“This is what I’ve been waiting for,” said Auburn’s Jaeda Benford, who took fifth at state two years, second last year, but won the high jump state title this year. “It’s the best feeling. I still can’t believe I won.”
So as we hit the offseason, here is our Girls Track and Field All Area Team, leading off with our track and our field MVP:
Jaeda Benford, Auburn high jumper (Field MVP)
Benford was the only one to clear the bar set at 5-foot-7, winning her first state title, and becoming our Field Events MVP. She had been finishing behind Hononegah’s Jordan Dimke and Guilford’s Zariah Burnett much of the past three seasons, but not this time.
Lena-Winslow’s relay teams (Track MVP)
Lena-Winslow’s relay team of Mia Diffenderfer, Adelynn Anderson, Harper Hastings and Sienna Hastings won three gold medals in the relay events at state, helping the Panthers finish third as a team. The foursome won the 4×100, the 4×200- and the 4×400-meter relay races, the last two going away.
Caroline Barker, Boylan hurdler, jumper
Barker was a four-time NIC-10 champion and a four-time state qualifier this year, eventually finishing third in the 300 hurdles, and ninth in the triple jump.
Abagail Baumann, Lutheran runner
Baumann, who won three individual events at the Big Northern Conference meet, took third in the 2A 1,600 run, after placing third in the 3,200 run earlier in the day. She placed sixth in the 3,200 run twice at state, and seventh in the 1,600 run twice as well.
Lorelai Dannhorn, Oregon jumper
This Oregon Hawks jumper saved her best for last, placing fifth in the triple jump with her personal-best distance.
Jordan Dimke, Hononegah high jumper, sprinter
Dimke has been a four-year standout, and last year’s high jump state champ finished in second behind Benford this postseason. She has been an all-around weapon for Hononegah throughout her career.
Ida Fager, Winnebago jumper
Fager placed fifth in the long jump, earning the best jump of her career late in the meet to move on up.
Jillian Hammer, Oregon hurdler
Hammer dropped the hammer on her opponents in the 300 hurdles, and she also took third in the 100 hurdles race early on in the day.
Brooklynn Kaiser, Lena-Winslow high jumper
This sophomore took home the state title in the 1A high jump with a make at 5-5.
Ta’Leiah McElroy, Freeport sprinter
Ta’Leiah took fourth in the 100 dash at 2A, and she joined her twin sister, Kanijah Fletcher and Angela Barr-Meighan to take third in 4×200.
Ta’Niah McElroy, Freeport sprinter
Ta’Niah ― who beat her sister, and all others, to win the NIC-10 titles in the 100 and 200 dashes ― missed out in qualifying for the 100 finals by two spots at state, but she joined the Pretzels’ 800-relay team that took bronze.
Bree Schneiderman, Forreston sprinter
Schneiderman got fifth in the 400 run, fifth in the 200 dash, and she also took seventh in the 100 dash, and she’s just a junior.
Allison Stibal, Guilford jumper
Stibal flew 18-feet-9 1/4 inches to win the 3A long jump state title at the May 23 girls state track meet, finishing off with her best.
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: Lena-Winslow’s state champion relay teams lead off our All Area Team
Reporting by Jay Taft, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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By Jay Taft, Rockford Register Star | USA TODAY Network
