Meet SBLive's national high school girls track and field athletes of the year in 2021-22

We've officially shifted from the 2021-22 high school sports season to the 2022-23 preseason, so it's time to look back on the stars of the past fall, winter and spring seasons before we start looking ahead to who's next.

We started by highlighting some of the players of the year in volleyball, and next came the top football players, boys soccer players and girls soccer players in the nation.

Two weeks ago we featured the top girls basketball players and boys basketball players in the country, and we shifted last week to the softball stars and the baseball stars.

Vote now: Who was the national high school boys basketball player of the year in 2021-22?

Vote now: Who was the national high school softball player of the year in 2021-22?

Vote now: Who was the national high school baseball player of the year in 2021-22?

This week we'll wrap it up by featuring the top stars nationally in boys and girls track and field.

Here are 20 high school girls track and field athletes who had a season worthy of national recognition.

California: Sadie Engelhardt, distance, Ventura, fr.

Just a freshman, Engelhardt broke the state record in the 1,500 with a time of 4:11.79 at the Portland Track Festival, tops in the nation in 2022. She won the mile at the Arcadia Invitational in 4:35.16, which set a U-16 world record and ranked as the No. 4 time in U.S. girls high school history.

Florida: Alyssa Jones, jumps/sprints, Miami Southridge, sr.

The three-time Florida Gatorade Player of the Year won four individual state titles at the Class 3A state meet as a senior, headlined by a state-record leap of 20 feet, 11.75 inches in the long jump and a personal-best 23.49 in the 200. Jones won a national title in the long jump and a silver medal in the high jump at the New Balance Nationals in June and will compete for Stanford next season.

Georgia: Kaniya Johnson, sprints, Lowndes, sr.

Johnson won the 100- and 200-meter dash at the Class 7A state meet to give her seven combined state titles in Georgia and South Carolina in her high school career. She'll carry her speed to Florida State next season.

Indiana: Addy Wiley, distance, Huntington North, sr.

Wiley shaved seven seconds off the national record in the 1,600 meters with a 4:26.16 during her senior season, also winning the 800 at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in June with a time of 2:04.64. She won state titles in both events as a junior and senior, earning honors as Indiana Gatorade Player of Year in both years.

Maryland: Juliette Whittaker, middle distance, Mount de Sales Academy, sr.

Whittaker became the second high school runner in U.S. history to break the two-minute barrier in the 800 (Mary Cain is the other), running a 1:59.80 at the Trials of Miles Track Night NYC against professionals. She broke Cain's record last month with a 1:59.04 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, during the USATF U20 Championships and will be running for Stanford next season.

Michigan: Kaila Jackson, sprints, Renaissance, sr.

Jackson won the 100-meter dash in 11.64 seconds and took the 200 in 23.51, while running the lead leg on the victorious 4x200 relay and the second leg on the 4x100 relay at the Division I state meet. The Georgia signee took fourth in the 100 and the 200 at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor, earning All-American status in each event.

Missouri: Zaya Akins, sprints, Raytown South, jr.

Akins ran the fastest 200 in the nation in 2022 with a 22.94 in April, and she won the 400 in 52.88 seconds at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor last month. She swept the 100, 200 and 400 at the Great Southwest Classic.

New Jersey: Angelina Perez, distance, Lakeland Regional, sr.

The Florida signee set a state record of 9:53.29 in the 3,200, the third-fastest time in the nation in the event in 2022. She cruised in the 2-mile at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor, winning by more than five seconds. Perez doubled as New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year in track and cross country this year.

New York: Alexandra Kelly, jumps, Rocky Point, sr.

Kelly broke a 12-year-old New York state record in the triple jump, crushing the former mark of 42-4 with a 43-0.25 at the New Balance Nationals in June. It was the best triple jump in the nation in 2022. The Princeton signee also had a PR of 19-10.75 in her secondary event, the long jump, in her senior year.

North Carolina: Akala Garrett, hurdles, Harding University, jr.

Garrett won the 100-meter high hurdles and the 400-meter intermediate hurdles at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. Her season-best times of 13.33 in the 100 hurdles and 40.62 in the 300 hurdles both ranked No. 1 nationally this season.

Ohio: Camden Bentley, hurdles, Gahanna Lincoln, jr.

Bentley ran the fastest 100-meter hurdles time in the nation in 2022 with a 13.25, but it missed the wind-legal threshold by 1.1 mph. She swept the 100- and 300-hurdle events in leading Gahanna Lincoln to the state championships. The former gymnast looks poised for a record-breaking senior campaign.

Oregon: Mia Brahe-Pedersen, sprints, Lake Oswego, soph.

At the U.S. Under-20 Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene last month, Brahe-Pedersen broke the 54-year-old state record in the 100 with an 11.25, became the second Oregon high school girl to run faster than 23 seconds in the 200, and qualified for the U-20 world championships in both events. And she still has two more years of high school.

Pennsylvania: Laila Campbell, sprints, Spring Grove Area, soph.

Another super sophomore sprinter, Campbell swept the 100 and 200 at the Class 3A state meet for the second consecutive year, breaking the state record in the 100 with a time of 11.55. She finished her season last month with a national championship in the 100 (11.56) at New Balance Nationals Outdoor.

Rhode Island: Sophia Gorriaran, sprints/middle distance, Moses Brown, jr.

Gorriaran ran 1:25.22 in the 600 meters at the Penn Relays in May against a field full of pros, crushing the high school record by nearly four seconds. Her top time of 2:00.65 in the 800 ranked No. 3 nationally among high school competitors in 2022 and was tied for fifth in history. She's been named Rhode Island Gatorade Player of the Year in all three of her high school track seasons.

South Dakota: Gracelyn Leiseth, throws, Hamlin, jr.

Leiseth had the top shot-put mark in the nation in 2022 with a throw of 52-6.75 at the Class A state meet, breaking her own South Dakota record. She'll try to three-peat next year as South Dakota Gatorade Player of the Year.

Tennessee: Mensi Stiff, throws, Brentwood Academy, jr.

Stiff won the shot put at the Nike Outdoor Nationals last month with a mark of 51-8.25, falling just short of Leiseth's U.S.-best throw of the season. The Mississippi commit also set a state record at Nike nationals in the discus with a 162-10, eighth in the country this season.

Texas: Natalie Cook, distance, Flower Mound, sr.

The Oklahoma State cross country and track signee won gold in the 1,600 (4 minutes, 40.29 seconds) and 3,200 (9:48.25) at the 2022 Class 6A UIL Track & Field State Championships. Her time in the 3,200 was tops in the nation in 2022 and second all time.

Washington: Amanda Moll, pole vault, Capital, jr.

Moll set the new outdoors girls pole vault mark at 14-9.5 in March, and her twin sister, Hana, is lurking at No. 3 all time with a 14-8. Amanda Moll cleared 14-8 to win the pole vault at the Nike Outdoor Nationals last month, and Hana finished second.

West Virginia: Irene Riggs, distance, Morgantown, jr.

Riggs has won four West Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year awards in just three years of high school — two each in track and field and cross country. Riggs’ 9:50.72 in the 2-mile ranked No. 2 nationally in 2022 (just two-hundredths of a second off the top time) and was also No. 2 in history among high school girls.

Wisconsin: Roisin Willis, middle distance/sprints, Stevens Point Area, sr.

Willis made it four straight Wisconsin Gatorade Player of the Year awards after her senior year, including taking the national award as a junior. Her winning time at state in the 800 (2:00.03) ranked No. 2 nationally among prep competitors in 2022 and No. 3 in U.S. history. She won a national championship in the 400 at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in 52.64, which ranked No. 4 in the country. Willis will be running for Stanford next season.