ILXCTF Cross Country Season Previews

Photo: Grace McLaughlin finished 4th in last year's 2A Girls state meet and is the top returning runner (Laura Duffy Photo)

 

By Michael Newman

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Rockford Boylan’s Grace McLaughlin was in the shadows of teammate Delaney Appino last fall. It will be everyone else in 2A that will be chasing McLaughlin’s shadow this season.

Her track season was monstrous and a sign of things to come for her 2A competition this fall. The senior was state champion in the distance races as well as her accomplishments at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in June.

Here is a look at some of the top 2A Girls runners in Illinois for this 2017 cross-country season.

 

Top 10

 

1 Grace McLaughlin – SR – Rockford Boylan Catholic

2016 2A Finish – 3^rd

Notes – The runner to beat in 2A Girls this fall. McLaughlin had a good cross-country season. She had an even better track season. She did not win one race last fall finishing third in most of the races and finishing second behind teammate Delaney Appino at the Sterling Regional.

McLaughlin was almost perfect during the track season. Her “break-through” was on successful weekends when she first ran 10:46.84 at Lake Park and then 10:38.12 the next week at Woodstock. She ended her IHSA Season winning the 3200 Meter Run and the 1600 Meter Run at the state meet. She ran personal bests of 10:31.558 for 3200-meters and 5:00.69 for 1600-meters. She ended her year at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals where she earned two All-American honors. She started by finishing fourth in the 5000 Meter Run with a 17:09.08 time. She came back the next day to finish sixth in the 2 Mile Run. She may fly under the radar nationally. McLaughlin will be one of the top runners in the state as well as the nation. She should be racing through December this year.

Coach Linda Schmitt said:

Grace has been growing in confidence and in her training practices over the past couple years. She has been able to train with more consistency as she matures physically. She has always been a hard worker regarding putting in the miles, but she has focused more on developing strength and speed to improve her overall performance. Her success in cross country last fall helped her race with more confidence and improved her mental approach to racing.

 

2 Madison Diercks – SO – Belvidere North

2016 2A Finish – 4^th

Notes – It will be interesting to see what Diercks does with a full summer of training this fall. She did not have that entering Belvidere North. The all-state runner did some remarkable things as a freshman. Her time of 17:19 at state put her among the top 30 in state history. That’s not bad for a 2A runner. Diercks during the track season was a part of Belvidere North’s team that won the 3A state title in the 3200 Meter Relay. She ran 5:01.22 for a personal best at 1600-meters at the Antioch Sectional. She missed qualifying for the state final in the event by one place. She also cleared 5-1 in the High Jump and 34-6.25 in the Triple Jump. That’s how talented that this student/athlete is.

Coach Ken Husser said:

Last season was Madison’s first year of running Cross Country and I am looking forward to see the progress she has made after a summer of training.  She is a very gifted athlete, with great potential.  She had an excellent track season running on the championship 4 x 8 team and just came up short in advancing to the finals in the mile running a 5:01 which was thirty seconds faster than her time as an 8th grader.  If Madison stays healthy there is no reason she cannot be one of the top runners in 2A and finish the year under 17 minutes.

 

3 Jenna Schwartz – JR – Waterloo

2016 2A Finish – 6^th

Notes – It happens that sometimes runners from schools in the southern part of the state get forgotten or overlooked. It did not happen last fall for Waterloo’s talented sophomore. Schwartz finished third in both Peoria races that she competed in. The 17:43 that she ran at the Peoria Invitational was indication of what good things were ahead. She went on to win the Mississippi Valley Conference Meet, the Triad Regional, and the Decatur Macarthur Sectional. She ran 17:22 at state. She finished 24^th her freshman season in 2015.

Schwartz’s focus was on the 3200 Meter Run in track. She had a personal best of 10:57.01 in that event. She qualified for state at that distance finishing seventh in the state finals.

 

4 Gianna Sagona – SO – Belvidere North

2016 2A State Finish – 11^th

Notes – Sagona was the second fastest of a strong Belvidere North freshman class that helped the school win their first Girls’ state championship. Sagona ended up as the third runner on the team at state. Her lowest finish of the season was 11^th place twice. That is a testament of how good this sophomore is as well as the team. She concentrated on the 3200 Meter Run during the season. She achieved a personal best of 11:27.64 at the NIC-10 Conference Championships.

Coach Ken Husser said:

Gianna spent most of last year as the team's number two runner and finished 11th at last year's state meet.  She is one of the team's hardest workers and has had a great summer not missing a workout.  It is so much fun watching her compete, every race she gives it everything she has and I am hoping for an even better season than last year. Gianna and Madison will be a solid 1-2 punch for us.

 

5 Lauren Katz – SR – Vernon Hills

2016 2A State Finish – 14^th

Notes – Katz has been all state as a sophomore in 2015 (8^th) and then her 14^th place finish last year. She should be the top runner again for the Cougars this fall. Katz was part of Vernon Hills team that finished fifth in the 3200 Meter Relay at the IHSA State Meet. She also qualified for the state meet in the 1600 Meter Run. Katz achieved a personal best running 5:15.78 for 1600-meters and a seasonal best of 2:18.92 for 800-meters.

Coach Suzanne Curry said:

Lauren shifted her focus from the 800m to the 1600m during last spring's track season which should have a positive impact on this upcoming cross-country season.  She has the speed, endurance, and leadership to put together some great races to close out her stellar high school career on a high note.

 

6 Franny Verville – SR – Dunlap

2016 2A State Finish – 13^th

Notes – Verville has been one of the top runners in Class 2A for the three years that she has been competing for Dunlap. She’s been all state three times with a 12^th place finish her sophomore year her best placing. She again should be the top runner for the Eagles. Her track season was great earning two more all-state honors. She finished second in the 3200 Meter Run and third in the 1600 Meter Run helping Dunlap capture the 2A state title. She achieved personal bests of 11:08.84 for 3200-meters and 5:06.32 for 1600-meters.

Coach Chris Friedman said:

It’s hard being the young phenom and living up to the hype. When Fran was a freshman, everyone expected huge accomplishments from her and she did have an all-state finish (even though she was injured). What is harder is continuing to improve over four years. She has become a wonderful leader, which was quite apparent last fall during our end of the season run. As senior, she clearly knows who she is and what she wants to accomplish. She has top five talent and work ethic beyond reproach, a great combination to coach!

 

7 Olivia Rosenstein – SO – Urbana

2016 2A State Finish – 15^th

Notes – Urbana was the big surprise in 2A last fall. Part of it had to do that they had six good freshmen in their top seven. One of them was Rosenstein who was the top runner in most of their meets. She qualified for the state meet in both the 800 and 1600 Meter Run. Rosenstein ran both in the prelims failing to qualify for the finals. She did achieve personal bests with a 2:21.81 time for 800-meters and 5:14.34 for 1600-meters. Both were achieved at the Mattoon Sectional.

 

8 Rachel Richtman – SO – Maple Park Kaneland

2016 2A State Finish – 18^th

Notes – Richtman had a great freshman season finishing in the top five in every meet she competed in before the Belvidere Sectional. She finished seventh in that race followed by her 18^th place finish in the state meet. Her focus on the track was in the 1600 Meter Run in which she ran in six meets. She ran a personal best of 5:09.86 in the prelims of the state meet. She finished seventh in the finals the next day. She has the talent to finish in the top five at Peoria in November.

Coach Doug Ecker said:

Rachel had a good track season to follow up her XC season. She increased her mileage and training pace this summer which we hope will translate into improvement over last year. She is a very intelligent individual and very competitive with the ability to learn from each race she runs.

 

9 Kayla Schiera – SR – Sandwich

2016 2A State Finish – 9^th

Notes – How mentally tough is Kayla Schiera? She qualified for the state meet in the 800, 1600, and 3200 Meter Run. In a span of close to 30 hours, she ran a season’s best of 2:23.64 in the 800 but did not qualify in the event. She came back to run 5:17.82 to qualify for the 1600 Meter Run. On Saturday, she won the first section of the 3200 Meter Run running a personal best 11:15.18. It was good enough for fourth overall. Her fifth race of the weekend was the 1600 Meter Run where she finished fifth. It was kind of the same last cross-country season. She finished ninth at the Belvidere Sectional. The following week at Detweiller Park, she finished ninth overall in the 2A race. She could finish in the top five this fall. That would not surprise me at all.

Coach Chris Johnson said:

Kayla is a tremendous runner and is looking forward to adding many accomplishments to her resume this year.  She has gotten better each year and placed higher each year and this year is no exception to her goals.  We expect her to vie for 1st place in every race during the regular season.  And then come post season, we would like her to vie for 1st in Regionals, top 3 in Sectionals, and of course shoot for top 5 in state. 

 

10 Grace Brietbach – SR – Peoria Notre Dame

2016 2A State Finish – 12^th

Notes – Breitbach did not run a great race at the Metamora Sectional placing 19^th overall. Luckily, Notre Dame qualified for the state meet as a team. She bounced back the next week at state running 17:35 to finish 12^th. Breitbach achieved personal bests of 11:13.5 for 3200-meters and 5:14.12 for 1600-meters. She qualified for the state finals in the 3200 Meter Run placing 16^th in the state finals.

Coach Dan Gray said:

All-Stater Grace Breitbach has been plagued with a foot and shin issues since January, and is just resuming training. Grace has been itching to get back into it, but she will be brought along with patience. We expect to see her rounding into shape by mid-season. It is always a challenge to keep holding back and holding back to prevent reoccurrence and allow for healing, but Grace is one VERY ready and willing to get the work in to accomplish great things!

 

Runners to Watch

(In Alphabetical Order)

 

Ayah Aldadah – SR – Dunlap

2016 2A State Finish – 25^th

Notes – Part of a strong Dunlap team that will go after a state championship this fall. Aldadah was Dunlap’s third runner at state finishing 25^th. She had a strong track season qualifying for state in both the 1600 and 3200 Meter Run. She achieved a personal best of 10:55.35 in finishing seventh at Distance Night in Palatine last April. Her 5:15.40 personal best at 1600-meters came in her sectional race.

Coach Chris Friedman said:

Ayah is a wonderful person and runner, who works harder at this than most. She also loves the grind, the work, and the running. She also talks a lot, but we love her for it! Her all-state performance last year was a big breakthrough for her confidence. I knew she was capable of it, but only until the runner knows it will it happen. She poised this year to have a bigger breakthrough.

 

Libby Cultra – SR – Urbana

2016 2A State Finish – 51^st

Notes – Cultra is the leader of Urbana’s young team that made the state meet last fall. She was the team’s third runner but should be close to sophomores Olivia Rosenstein and Chian Scott like she was all last season. The senior earned all-state honors last spring when she finished fifth in the 3200 Meter Run. Cultra ran a personal best of 11:00.03 at that distance at Distance Night in Palatine earlier in the season.

 

Sabrina Elder – SR – Belvidere North

2016 2A State Finish – 42^nd

Notes – Elder ran her best race of last season with her state finish. She was all-state as a sophomore in 2015 when she finished 23^rd. She is the heart of this team. Elder was part of Belvidere North’s winning 3200 Meter Relay in May. She also qualified for state in the 400 Meter Dash where she achieved a personal best of 57.74 in her sectional race.

Coach Ken Husser said:

Sabrina is the glue that holds this team together with her work ethic and leadership skills. She had a good Cross-Country season last year finishing with an 18:10 at the state meet and had an excellent track season.  We tweaked her training this year to emphasize her fast twitch qualities, she ran a 57.74 in the 400 during track season and a 2:17:41 as part of the 4 X 8 relay, so the goal is to build on her strengths and see how her summer training plays out this year and hopefully her senior year will be her best.

 

Shanice Garbutt – SR – Danville

2016 2A State Finish – 96^th

Notes – It was not her best finish of the season when Garbutt finished 96^th at state. Her two previous meets resulted in a second-place finish at the Danville Regional and third at the Decatur MacArthur Sectional. She qualified for both the 3200 and 1600 Meter Run at the 3A State Meet. She concentrated on the 3200 in Charleston which gave her all-state honors with a 10:48.15 personal best and a seventh-place finish. Her talent shows that she could be among the top fifteen best in 2A this fall.

Coach Todd Orvis said:

Shanice is looking forward to the upcoming xc season after her breakout track season.  She proved to herself that she could run with some of Illinois' most elite distance runners.  Her summer training is better than it ever has been.  She is at the U of I camp this week, getting a chance to run with some of the best in the state.  She has high goals set for this season and is wanting another shot at the state meet after a less than ideal finish last year.  I wouldn't be surprised to see a top 5 finish from her this November.

 

Rachel Hickey – SR – LaSalle-Peru

2016 2A State Finish – 20^th

Notes – Hickey has adapted quite nicely to the three-mile distance in her high school career. She finished 40^th and 46^th in her first two years racing at the state meet. She made a big jump her junior year earning all-state honors by finishing 20^th with a 17:48 personal best. Hickey was the state champion in the 2A 800 Meter Run. She finished second last May in the state finals at that distance running a 2:13.49 personal best. That track finish could motivate her to bigger things this fall. She started that climb by finishing eight at Detweiller at Dark in July running a 17:54 time that was only six seconds off her personal best on the course. Her big race before the conference meet and the state series could be the Rock River Run on September 23^rd where she will run against some great competition from Belvidere North, Kaneland, and Geneva to name a few. Hickey is highly motivated. It would not surprise me to see her in the top 10 at Detweiller this November.

 

Abby Johnson – JR – Dunlap

2016 2A State Finish – 23^rd

Notes – Dunlap could have up to six runners in the top 25 this November at the state meet. Johnson could be one of them. She was the team’s second runner in last year’s state meet when she finished 23^rd. Top 15 is not out of the realm of possibility. She participates in soccer during the spring not running track.

Coach Chris Friedman said:

Mentally tough and physically strong, she is our steady, consistent runner who has her moments of greatness. She doesn’t run track, playing soccer instead, which translates well for her sometimes because she brings a different athleticism and drive to the team. She has great talent and her all-state finish last year shows that. We will rely on her to be her consistent self again this year.

 

Payton Makowskyi – JR – Vernon Hills

2016 2A State Finish – 33^rd

Notes – Finished 33^rd at state as the Cougars’ fourth runner. She found out the next week that she had mononucleosis. She ran close to teammate Lauren Katz most of last year. She should be with Katz this fall. 

Coach Suzanne Curry said:

After discovering that she had mono at the end of last season, Payton is ready for a healthy cross-country season.  She'll be looking to build on last year's strong, consistent season and will be a tremendous leader for our team.

 

Meagan Moreno – JR – Morton

2016 2A State Finish – 61^st

Notes - Moreno did not have her best race at state finishing 61^st overall. She missed all-state as a freshman by one spot placing 26^th overall. Moreno did achieve a personal best of 17:56 on the Detweiller course at the beginning of October at the Peoria Invitational. Her junior year should be better.

 

Sophia Oury – SR – Hampshire

2016 2A State Finish – 38^th

Notes – Oury should be a runner that could be among the top 25 in November after finishing 38^th last November at state. She achieved a personal best of 12:03.60 for 3200-meters during the track season. Oury did run a season’s best of 5:22.17 in her sectional race at 1600-meters.

Coach Dennis Wozniak said:

Any coach would love to have Sophia Oury on his/her team.  She busts her butt in practice every day. It’s because she’s been doing it for so long that she avoids injury.  She had a quality summer and I expect her to pick up where she left off last year.

 

Olivia Schmitt – SO – Lake Villa Lakes Community

2016 2A Finish – 15^th, Belvidere Sectional

Notes - Her cross-country season came to a screeching halt as she finished 15^th at the Belvidere Sectional failing to qualify for the state meet. She should make it down to Peoria in November this fall with her teammates. She bounced back during the track season as she earned 3A all-state honors when she ran 2:16.63 to finish sixth for the 800 Meter Run.

Coach Keith West said:

Olivia is ready for her second high school cross-country season. She ran 17:46.7 at Detweiller Park on 10/1/16 and a 17:20.04 at the 2.95-mile Warren Invite.  Olivia grew into her own throughout her Freshman season. As the year went on she became more comfortable with the duration and intensity of the training. All of this culminated in an all-state performance in the 800m. Transforming over the last few weeks of the track season; Olivia showed that she will be a force to be reckoned with throughout her high school career. She is the type of person that refuses to lose as evidenced by her devastating kick. This Summer she has turned it up a notch, demonstrating an insatiable desire to improve. I anticipate that she will improve upon her mid 17 PRs and take things to a whole new level.

 

Katelynn Smith – SR – Crystal Lake Central

2016 2A State Finish – 24^th

Notes – Smith was the team’s third runner with her all-state finish last fall. She should be among the state’s best this fall and the top runner for the Tigers. She peaked at the end of the track season running a personal best 5:22.21 for 1600-meters in her sectional race.

Coach Brett Wilhoit said:

I am excited to see Katelynn Smith develop this season as both a top tier runner, and as a leader of our team.  She accomplished her goal last year of earning All-State Status. This year, she's looking to continue to take steps to be a top runner in 2A. She put in a solid summer of running and has kept in touch with her speed.  She never ceases to amaze me, so it will be fun to watch her race this season. 

 

Arielle Summit – SR – Urbana University

2016 2A State Finish – 39^th

Notes – Injuries slowed down Summitt during the fall but still finished 39^th at state. Her success last spring could drive her to a top 10 finish in November. Summitt finished in the top 10 in her two state series races placing 6^th in her regional and 8^th in her sectional. Summitt defended her state title at the 1A State Meet at 800-meters running a 2:13.17 season’s best. She came back to run 5:08.67 to place second in the 1600 Meter Run.

Coach Doug Mynatt said:

Not only will she be our team leader, she will be poised to be one of the state leaders as she comes off her second consecutive state championship in the 800m run during the track and field season.  She’ll also be coming into the season after a summer away from competing in club track and I think she will be much healthier and happier for making that decision.  She recently won the overall female division of the Indy Sprint Tri (a repeat of her win 3 years ago) and, after her disappointing xc state series last year, she has something to prove to the Class 2A field and to herself.  Not that she’ll be unknown to those runners, but since we don’t run against many 2A competitors during the season, Arielle will surprise many of them at Detweiller in November.