Breaking Down The Illinois Teams and Divisions for 16-17s GJNC

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This 17s Group in Illinois has plenty of firepower and there will be some teams in the hunt when it comes to their nationals journey this upcoming week.&nbsp; 1st Alliance 17 Gold highlights this group heading into 17 Open as a three seed.&nbsp; This group was the 16 Open runner up finishers in Chicago last season and will be looking for just one more.&nbsp; This class has continued to fill up the trophy case at 1st Alliance that has included a Triple Crown runner up finish this season, champions at the Windy City Qualifier, and runner up at the Lone Star Qualifier.&nbsp; The top two seeds are Houston Skyline 17 Royal and Arizona Storm 17 Thunder.&nbsp; AZ Storm are the defending champions of this age group.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='432009' first='Sky' last='High'] 17 Elite and [program_tooltip program_id='431567' first='Adversity' last=''] 17 Adidas are top ten seeds of their respective divisions.&nbsp; [program_tooltip program_id='432009' first='Sky' last='High'] 17 Elite has been a contender at the open level all season.&nbsp; They were a consistent day two, day three competitor at open qualifiers and had a strong finish at Triple Crown back in February.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='207810' first='Georgia' last='Watson'], the Kentucky commit is back in the lineup and this team will always have a chance with the likes of Illinois commit [player_tooltip player_id='311370' first='Ava' last='Wysocki'] who is a lethal pin attacker.&nbsp; [program_tooltip program_id='431567' first='Adversity' last=''] 17 Adidas is a seven seed in 17 American where this team has plenty of firepower with [player_tooltip player_id='288626' first='Tamia' last='Maddox'] on the outside and [player_tooltip player_id='194575' first='April' last='Rice'], the Elon commit as a setter who can be offensive with a big left handed swing.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>17 Open </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1st Alliance 17 Gold (3)&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>17 National </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1st Alliance 17 Silver (16)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='432009' first='Sky' last='High'] Adidas 17 Elite (7)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>17 Liberty </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='429102' first='Club' last='Fusion'] 17-1 National (12)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>17 Freedom </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1st Alliance 17 Black (5)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1st Alliance 17 Red (11)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>17 American </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='431567' first='Adversity' last=''] 17 Adidas (7)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Michio 17 National (15)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>17 Patriot</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Forza Girls 17 Black (53)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Michio Chicago 17 Premier (29)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='432009' first='Sky' last='High'] Adidas 17 Onyx (39)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There is a lot of potential with this 16s group of Illinois teams who will be starting play in Vegas on Thursday.&nbsp; 1st Alliance has been on a tear since April where 16 Gold won the Salt Lake City Qualifier, Indy Cup, and Prep Dig Gauntlet.&nbsp; They have three commits already in this Class of 2026 who will be heading to the Big Ten with [player_tooltip player_id='323932' first='Carolyn' last='Tarnow'] (Wisconsin), [player_tooltip player_id='323925' first='Nikolija' last='Bulatovic'] (Iowa), and Elle Schara (Purdue).&nbsp; They are the eight seed overall and the second seed in their pool behind Dallas Skyline 15 Royal who were the 15 Open national champions last year.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='432009' first='Sky' last='High'] 16 Adidas will be heading to Vegas just outside of the top ten of 16 American with an 11 seed.&nbsp; I was able to see this team at MEQ and there is a lot of potential for them to have a big week.&nbsp; Hallie Barton has the potential to do some damage out of the middle where she has plenty of athleticism and a fast arms to hit a variety of angles.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='246607' first='Zoe' last='Johnson'] is an electric pin who can terminate on both sides and is a weapon out of the backrow.&nbsp; The defense is paced by Madeline Maddie Mauser who is able to make the tough plays look easy as a libero.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>16 Open </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1st Alliance 16 Gold (8)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>16 National </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1st Alliance 16 Silver (24)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='431567' first='Adversity' last=''] 16 Adidas (46)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>16 Liberty </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1st Alliance 16 Black (17)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>16 Freedom </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1st Alliance 16 Grey (32)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>New Wave 16 Tsunami (28)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>16 American </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='429102' first='Club' last='Fusion'] 16-1 National (33)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Michio Chicago 16 National (27)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='432009' first='Sky' last='High'] Adidas 16 Elite (11)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>16 Patriot</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Michio Chicago 16 Premier (47)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='432009' first='Sky' last='High'] Adidas 16 Black (20)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='432009' first='Sky' last='High'] Adidas 16 Red (9)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->