Williams Field senior Alyssa Colbert (Photo: David Allison)
Alike the Division 2 boys, a lot of the top Division 2 girls in 2020 have graduated, leaving the returners with a lot of opportunities to compete for a state championship in 2021.
Sophomore Sabatiney Onyepunu from Agua Fria is the lone returning top-ranked Division 2 girls runner. Onyepunu raced the fastest 100m in 2020, winning the Buckeye Invite, running a 12.28. Onyepunu looks to be in position to qualify for her first AIA State Championship meet in 2021. Onyepunu is also the top returner in the 200m dash.
THE STATE OF ARIZONA: Throws | Sprints | Hurdles | Javelin | Distance
Senior Alyssa Colbert from Williams Field sits just behind Onyepunu in the 100m, having run a 12.36. Colbert finished 3rd in the event at the 2018 AIA State Championships and will be in the hunt for her first state title as well.
Senior Lauren Jorgensen from Catalina Foothills and sophomore Mia Hall from Flagstaff enter the 2021 season as the top two distance girls in Division 2. Jorgensen, a Northern Arizona University commit, did not participate in the fall cross country season but is the fastest returner in the 1600m and 3200m events.
Hall enters the 2021 track season following a 2020 AIA Cross Country State Championship victory in the fall, which included two sub-18-minute performances. Jorgensen owns the better personal bests on the track, but the two have faced each other three times on the cross country course and Hall has won all three times. The duel between the two will be a great storyline to watch throughout the season.
Senior Gracie Norburg from Campo Verde enters the season an overwhelming favorite in the discus, having thrown nearly 9 feet further than the next best returner. Norburg finished 4th at the AIA State Championships in 2019 and will look to win her first state title this spring.
The battle for a state championship in the long jump may be the best Division 2 competition all year. Juniors Joy Moorer from North Canyon and Samantha Peebles from Catalina Foothills are the top two returners from last year and would have likely competed for a state championship in 2020 if given the opportunity.
Moorer won her lone competition in the event last season, winning the Husky Invite, and Peebles finished 2nd at the Desert Tune-Up. The two met at the 2019 State Championship meet as well. Moorer edged out Peebles finishing 3rd, whereas Peebles finished 7th.