With the first full week of practices under their belt, the 2023 Girls’ track season has officially kicked off. The first half of their season lasts from the end of January until the beginning of Spring break and is primarily indoors.

 While surrounding schools such as Stevenson and Lakes have indoor track facilities to practice on, the track team here has to get creative in order to get their reps in. Ideally, the team would use the outdoor track for their practices, but unpredictable Chicago weather messes with these plans.

Due to not having an indoor facility to practice on combined with the unpredictable weather, LFHS misses out on about a month of competitions for the indoor season. The team uses this to its advantage, however, treating the shortened indoor season as a means of preparation for qualifying for the state meet in May. In these winter months, the coaches put less of an emphasis on qualifying for smaller, indoor meets, trying to shift the focus of these months to fundamentals and training.

“It’s a small price to pay for a bigger reward,” said junior and 2022 state qualifier Sophia Lane. “The training we do is very effective in order to reach our end goal and also helps prevent us from getting injured or burnt-out.”

While the sprinters and jumpers are currently perfecting their form indoors, the distance crew bundles up and braves the cold to get their winter miles in, a crucial step for their outdoor season preparation.

The team is filled with many new members this year, a “great group” of “hardworking” people according to junior Katia Fencl.

Many returning members of the team have a collective goal in mind while enduring this intense training: qualifying for the state meet in May. Coming off a very successful 2022 season where the 4×800 relay team qualified for state, the team has high hopes for the new group.

“We have great motivated runners that are willing to put in the time and work to become faster,” said Lane. “I show up to practice and everyone is ready to put in the work, run the drills, and practice their starts.”

This year’s team is full of young talent and experienced runners. Last year’s state qualifier relay team consisted of all underclassmen: Sophia Lane (2024), Izzy Marsico (2024), Lucy Schlachtenhaufen (2024), Paige Gibbons (2024), Olivia Marico (2024), and Emily Witte (2025). With five of these members returning as upperclassmen this year, the team has a backbone of experienced leaders.

Beyond the intense physical training, the team’s success stems from the undeniable support the girls have for each other.

“What’s really fun about the track is that even though we run individual races, during practice or relay races we can still support and push each other,” said junior and 2022 state qualifier Lucy Schlachtenhaufen.

Even though the team has their hopes set on state come May, there are many smaller, individual goals along the way that will help the team progress. Succeeding in smaller meets, such as the Palantine invitational and the Conference meet, will help to build the team’s confidence throughout their season.

“We all set our individual goals, but we work hard to encourage and push each other to do better and reach those goals,” said Fencl.

Competing against familiar foes Lake Zurich and Libertyville will be the biggest test for the Scouts on their road to state. Competing against two of the best teams in Illinois in conference meets provides motivation for the Scouts as they try to climb up in the conference rankings.

Junior and 2022 State Qualifier Izzy Marsico is confident that the scouts can win the North Suburban Conference as long as they stay “focused” and “avoid letting  nerves get to the team.”

Other team members share this same confidence.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the team will win conference,” said Lane. “We have an amazing group of people in track and field. This year we have a lot of juniors that have built a passion for this sport and I think it’s gonna show.”

Beyond the runners, the group has a talented field event crew. Pole vaulters Ava Bleck and Elise Raffiani are making it their goal to qualify for state after falling just behind last season, finishing 3rd and 4th in the sectional, respectively, with only the top two places qualifying for state. 

According to Rafianni, the girls thought they had “no chance” of coming even close to qualifying. This motivated them, even more, to do everything they could in preparation for the 2023 season. Over the summer, the girls worked with a coach from Lake Zurich who has helped many girls seal spots at the state meet. They worked on their techniques for over a month, and, according to Rafianni, “you can definitely see that those five weeks over the summer helped us.” 

The 2023 girls’ track team is loaded with talent and experience, and their season will undoubtedly be filled with success as they progress on their road to state. 

As Lane puts it, “Going to state is just an amazing accomplishment, and racing there is a feeling like no other. Our goal is to get as many people there as we can so that more people can experience that feeling.”

The team looks ahead to their first indoor meet next Thursday the 23rd to open out the season.