THREE THINGS WE KNOW
No. 1: Lincoln-Way East’s talent pool hasn’t run dry. The Griffins graduated Aaliyah Brown, one of the top sprinters in state history, but return a solid core group from last year’s Class 3A state champs. And they’ve added some promising freshmen such as high jumper Ololade Ayoola, who cleared 5 feet, 6 inches to take first at last Saturday’s Lincoln-Way Central Invitational.
No. 2: Brittny Ellis is off to a great start. The Warren junior more than held her own against national competition at the U.S. Area Youth Olympic Selection Trials in Miramar, Fla., two weekends ago. She was second in the 400 meters with the national No. 8 and Illinois No. 1 time of 54.67 seconds, and finished fifth in the 200 (24.52).
No. 3: Downers Grove North has the weekend’s top meet, Thursday’s Bruce Ritter Invitational. West Aurora, led by the versatile Emma Spagnola, and Glenbard West, with its strong distance group, look to be the top teams. Also hosting Thursday invites: Minooka, Naperville North and Hillcrest, among others.
