Girls track preview

THREE THINGS TO WATCH

Defending the crown: Milwaukee King won the 2016 Division 1 state title without the benefit any seniors. Making it even tougher for the competition will be freshman Amari Brown, who won the 200 meters at the Lake Michigan Invitational on March 17.

Final go-round: Time flies. It is Camille Davre’s senior year. In addition to making another run at her state record in the 800, the Michigan recruit is the three-time defending champion in the 800 and 1,600. If she defends both titles she’ll be just the fifth athlete in WIAA history to win four state titles in different events.

Super sophs: Milwaukee Lutheran’s Ja’Cey Simmons and King’s Makayla Jackson weren’t the only talented freshmen in the area last season. Nicolet’s Destiny Huven won a North Shore title in the high hurdles and West Allis Hale’s Abi Stevens is off to a fast start in the high jump after placing seventh at state in Division 1. Can they and others build on their strong first seasons?

ATHLETES TO WATCH

Cheri’A Adams, sr., Wauwatosa West: A two-time state champion in the 400 relay, Adams has qualified for state in four events the past two seasons. Last year she reached the final in the 100, helped the 800 relay reach the final and took eighth in the triple jump.

Daily Albino, jr., New Berlin West: She cleared 11 feet in the pole vault in a meet Wednesday. That was also her final height at state last season when she was eighth in Division 1.

Brooke Blazei, sr., Martin Luther: The Wisconsin recruit, who took second in the Division 2 high jump last year, won the event as a freshman and sophomore.

Armoni Brown, jr., Waukesha South: A dual threat in the jumps, Brown took third in the long jump in Division 1 last year with a mark of 18-1. She also qualified for the triple jump, where she finished 12th, and helped the Blackshirts take second on the 400 relay.

Camille Davre, sr., Whitefish Bay: The Michigan recruit and 800 record-holder won her sixth individual state title last season. She finished the 800 in 2:11.13. That was almost two seconds slower than her record run of 2015. Her 1,600 time of 4:46.40 last season was 3.2 seconds off the state record.

Makayla Jackson, soph., Milwaukee King: She had a hand in 19 of the Generals’ 44 points at state, taking second in the 100 (12.42), third in the 400 relay and fourth in the long jump (17-93/4). She already has gone 18-21/2 in the long jump this season.

Audrey Janik, sr., Wisconsin Lutheran: The Illinois State recruit broke a state record in the Division 2 800 last year but finished second to Cambridge’s Sydney Currie in the event. Janik, who ran a 2:11.92, finished behind Currie (2:11.80), but with Currie now running at Wisconsin, Janik is the runner to watch. She is also the defending 1,600 champion and the No. 2 returner in the 3,200.

Siarah Jones, sr., Milwaukee King: A threat in both hurdles events, Jones took fourth in the 100 highs in 15:05 and second in the 300 lows in 44.61 last season. She took second to an Illinois runner in the 55 hurdles (8.66) at the Lake Michigan Invitational on March 17 at Carthage College.

Becca Langer, jr., Waukesha West: She’ll have to deal with Davre in the 800, but Langer is a veteran performer who helped the Wolverines win the 3,200 relay state title and took fourth in the 800 in 2:12.79 as a sophomore.

Leah Neustedter, jr., Brookfield Central: The Greater Metro runner-up in the 1,600 and 3,200, Neustedter has qualified twice for state in Division 1 in the 1600, taking fourth last year in 5:00.73 and seventh as a freshman in 5:04.02. She was also 12th in the 3,200 last season in 11:28.23.

Hailey Orlowski, jr., Wisconsin Lutheran: The defending Division 2 champion already has cleared 11 feet this season. She cleared 11-3 to win the title last spring.

Emma Richards, Ozaukee: The defending Division 3 champion in the discus is focusing on the shot put during indoor season. Last year’s state runner-up in that event, she opened the year with a throw of 39 feet 10 inches for a second-place finish at Sheboygan North’s Raider Invite. Last spring at state, more than 12 inches separated her winning throw of 144-9 from the No. 2 finisher.

Lexi Romero, jr., Brookfield Central: The Lancers standout, who is coming off a third-place finish in the all-around at the state gymnastics meet, finished seventh in the 100 at state last year.

Meghan Scott, jr., DSHA: The Division 1 cross country champion is recovering from an injury and won't compete until outdoor season. She finished 11th in Division 1 in the 1,600 last season.

Ja’Cey Simmons, soph., Milwaukee Lutheran: The Division 2 state champion in the 100 with a time of 12.25, Simmons also set the pace statewide for the event. Her personal best for the season was 11.85, which according to wisconsintrack.com was the only sub-12 time in the state last year and two-tenths of a second better than the No. 2 time of the year.

RELATED: Milwaukee Lutheran's Ja'Cey Simmons has high hopes for season

Bianca Stubler, sr., Sussex Hamilton: Stubler posted a 58.83 in the 400 to win the Nelson/Daniels Large School Invitational on March 18. She is chasing her fourth state appearance in the event after a second-place showing in 55.38 last season, a second-place finish in 2015 (56.04) and a sixth-placing finish (57.79) as a freshman.

Eleni Tongas, sr., Brookfield East: The Greater Metro champion is going after her third straight trip to state in the high jump, where she cleared 5-4 to tie for fifth. She is the top returner from the league meet in the 100 high hurdles.

Kiersten Walker, sr., Milwaukee King: A two-time state qualifier in the 400, Walker’s best finish in five events at state was her second-place showing in the 200 last year.

Jazsmin Washington, sr., Oak Creek: The two-time state qualifier took seventh last year in the 100 high hurdles (15.98). She’ll continue to compete in the low hurdles, long jump and sprint relays and could get a few races in the open 200.

EARLY SEASON EVENTS TO WATCH

Leagues in the area that host conference indoor meets will do so beginning this week:

Classic 8: at UW-Parkside, 9 a.m. April 8.

Greater Metro: at West Allis Central, 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Milwaukee City: at South, 10 a.m. Saturday.

North Shore: at Homestead, 4 p.m. April 6.

Wisconsin Little Ten: at Oconomowoc, 4 p.m. April 6

Woodland: at UW-Parkside, 2:45 p.m. April 7

WTFA state indoor: 9:30 a.m. April 8, UW-Whitewater