The girls championship race should be an absolute classic (Colin Boyle photo)
3A-
The qualifying teams: #1 Naperville North, #2 Minooka, #3 Yorkville, #4 Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West), #5 Downers Grove South, #6 Geneva, #7 Wheaton-Warrenville South, #8 Lagrange (Lyons Township), #9 Fox Lake (Grant), #11 Lockport, #12 Arlington Heights (Hersey), #13 Palatine, #14 Park Ridge (Maine South), #15 Aurora (Metea Valley), #16 Winnetka (New Trier), #17 Hinsdale Central, #18 Naperville (Neuqua Valley), #19 Batavia, #23 Elmhurst (York), #24 Edwardsville, #25 Lincolnshire (Stevenson); Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East), O'Fallon, Plainfield North, Schaumburg
Many pundits say rankings don't matter but 20 of the 25 teams that advanced to state were ranked in the Saucony Flo 50. It was just as impressive to see the top nine and 18 out of 19 squads hitting the jackpot.
Heavy Hitting team previews-
Head Coach: Dan Iverson
2015 state meet finish: State Runner Up
Pre-season rank: #3
Final regular season rank: #1
Probable starting lineup (sectional performances below):
| Sarah Schmitt (Jr.) | 1 | 17:36 |
| Alex Morris (So.) | 6 | 17:59 |
| Hannah Ricci (Jr.) | 10 | 18:10 |
| Claire Hamilton (Sr.) | 11 | 18:11 |
| Gabby Champion (Sr.) | 22 | 18:39 |
| Kayla Glowacki (Sr.) | 30 | 18:49 |
| Claire Hill (So.) | 41 | 19:06 |
-The Huskies do not have a sure shot superstar like Judy Pendergast anymore. The former Huskie and all-time Detweiller Park as well as the all-time best cross country runner has moved on. She is off and running for the Crimson of Harvard University. The current collection commandeered Dan Iverson and led by Sarah Schmitt has the makings of a great team beyond this weekend. Schmitt is a strong front runner who has won her last two races and finished in the top six in all of them. There is a plus in pursuit of individual glory even when the main goal is to win a state team championship. Since that's the focus Schmitt's #1 stick is backed by a solid pack of HUSKIES. At the tremendous Roy Griak Invitational the scoring split ran 1:16- good enough to finish third and beat several nationally ranked teams. That performance was preceded by a one point victory over Yorkville and then #1 Minooka by even a substantial margin. No losses to instate schools is certainly a character builder but the upsetting loss at state is a stronger attention grabber. The Huskies will have all of their bases covered on Saturday.
As usual coach Iverson remained cautiously optimistic on his team: "As always, I expect we will run well on Saturday. Whether we can beat an excellent Minooka or Yorkville team (as well as so many others) remains to be seen, but I am certainly optimistic that we will be well-represented! I have very much enjoyed watching this team grow and develop this year, so if we can simply take another step in that development on Saturday, I think we will be OK with wherever that places us."
Head Coach: Kevin Gummerson
2015 state meet finish: State Champion
Pre-season rank: #1
Final regular season rank: #2
Probable starting lineup:
| Mackenzie Callahan (Sr.) | 1 | 17:55 |
| Ashley Tutt (Sr.) | 2 | 18:27 |
| Emily Shelton (Jr.) | 3 | 18:37 |
| Vivian Van Eck (So.) | 4 | 18:39 |
| Sarah Weed (Jr.) | 14 | 19:51 |
| Katelyn Gall (So.) | 38 | 20:49 |
| Julia Dames (Fr.) | 42 | 20:56 |
-At the Naperville Twilight meet during the first of October, a question was posed to coach Gummerson about his fourth and fifth runners. "Vivian Van Eck is coming along well," he said of his #4 girl who often finished well over a minute behind the vaulted trio of Mackenzie Callahan, Ashley Tutt, and Emily Shelton. "This is same time we started to run real well last year." Indeed at the Twilight Invite the Indians finished just four points in back of Naperville North (78-74) but in front of then #1 Glenbard West and Yorkville, "The triplets" could finish in the top 6 and certainly the top 10 if things go according to form. If that happens and Van Eck along with scoring anchor Sarah Weed, the state field will be in big trouble.
Head Coach: Chris Muth
2015 state meet finish: 2A State Champion
Pre-season rank: #7
Final regular season rank: #3
Probable starting lineup:
| Nicole Greyer (So.) | 5 | 18:43 |
| Alyssa Edwards (Jr.) | 6 | 18:52 |
| Maddie Dearborn (Sr.) | 7 | 18:53 |
| Alexis Grandys (Sr.) | 8 | 19:11 |
| Olivia Borowiak (So.) | 10 | 19:29 |
| Julia Megazzini (Sr.) | 18 | 20:02 |
| Victoria Crawford (So.) | 60 | 21:41 |
The five-time 2A champion Lady Foxes are in a brand new league. But they will be ready for battle according to coach Muth. "We are ready to go," said Muth ahead of the state championship. His team had a tough time against Minooka who stacked four girls in front of Nicole Greyer. "SIU-E is a tough course that neither the athletes or coaches had any experience with," added Muth. SIU-E was a rugged 5k layout and the meet was conducted under intense weather conditions that topped 80 degrees. Fortunately, Yorkville will not have to deal with anything of the sort in Peoria on Saturday.
Head Coach: Paul Hass
2015 state meet finish: 6th
Pre-season rank: #6
Final regular season rank: #4
Probable starting lineup:
| Katelynne Hart (Fr.) | 1 | 16:55 |
| Lindsey Payne (Jr.) | 2 | 17:14 |
| Chloe Connolly (So.) | 17 | 18:42 |
| Janie Nabholz (Sr.) | 21 | 18:56 |
| Nicole Kaiser (So.) | 31 | 19:13 |
| Emma Hall (Fr.) | 45 | 19:27 |
| Claire Kenwood (Jr.) | 88 | 20:32 |
The Hilltoppers may have the top two girls in the state and very could go 1-2 Katelynne Hart and Lindsey Payne on Saturday. However, there are several issues that must be addressed. How will they replace #3 runner Katie Hohe who is out with mononucleosis? It could get scary and to think that the top tier teams could unload their top scorers in between #2 and #3. #5 runner at sectionals Nicole Kaiser was two minutes behind Payne. Hopefully, someone will step up and keep the ship from sinking.
Head Coach: Doug Plunkett
2015 state meet finish: 20th
Pre season rank: #22
Final regular season rank: #5
Probable starting lineup:
| Brenna Cohoon (Fr.) | 5 | 17:52 |
| Erin Reidy (Fr.) | 10 | 18:08 |
| Melissa Weidner (So.) | 12 | 18:12 |
| Becky Versaskas (So.) | 18 | 18:18 |
| Katie Stapleton (Sr.) | 24 | 18:34 |
| Kennedy Warden (Fr.) | 30 | 19:00 |
| Olivia Duax (So.) | 48 | 19:29 |
For many cross country fans it has been a complete surprise to see Downers Grove South in such a high light. The Mustangs placed 20th in state a year and with that three starters graduated including middle-distance star Michaela Hackbarth. Coach Plunkett has done a wonderful job this season. The Mustangs led mostly by Katie Stapleton and Becky Versaskas in going undefeated in invitationals, conference, and state series thus far. The scoring splits have been under 1:00 and the pack have stepped up and picked one another up. Stapleton and Versaskas had off days at sectionals and they are lucky to have a supportive team with two freshmen scooping them up. The best finish in Mustang state history is fifth both in 1985 and 1989. DGS has held down the #5 spot for the majority of the season.
Head Coach: Bob Thomson
2015 state meet finish: 9th place
Pre season rank: #11
Final regular season rank: #6
Probable starting lineup:
| Emma Ehrhardt (Sr.) | 3 | 17:51 |
| Sophia McDonnell (So.) | 12 | 18:23 |
| Andrine Larsen (Fr.) | 20 | 18:35 |
| Taryn Christy (Jr.) | 31 | 18:52 |
| Ebony Trout (Jr.) | 39 | 19:05 |
| Emily Belanger (So.) | 50 | 19:25 |
| Mary Grace Neville (Sr.) | 59 | 19:41 |
Once upon a time Geneva was the premier team in Illinois with state championship titles in 2007 and 2008. The current group of Vikings may be as talented as those coach Thomson's squads, but some additional work is going to be needed to snag another trophy. The first item will be a front runner low stick preferably in all-state scoring form. The second will be a tight pack racing up front. At the West Aurora Sectional, Emma Ehrhardt did just that. She finished third overall and the trickle down effect saw 42 seconds between 2-5 scorers. The Vikings finished just behind Neuqua Valley and the incentive will be to take things a step further and fight for a top five spot in Peoria.
Other teams to watch:
Wheaton-Warrenville South- The Tigers stayed under the radar most of the season, but when you look at it what they have done it's easy to see why they finished a close second place to Glenbard West at the Niles West Sectional. The team has a strong top three with Sara Atkins (Sr.), Allison McGrath (Sr.), and Laurel Moneysmith (So.). They are a formidable trio who will need the #4 and #5 girls to step up more. Coach Rob Harvey is a mastermind who will get his girls to step up one last time.
Neuqua Valley- The boys success may be finally rubbing off on the girls as well as coach Tim McCoskey's great coaching. Caitlin Horn (Sr.) is the team's number one runner and all-state candidate. At sectionals, six of the top seven girls broke 19 minutes.
Lyons Township- New coach Alex Lyons was an all-state former for his alma mater. He has taken the ship from former coach Stetson Steele and guided it well. The team's best seasonal performances were second place at the WSC Silver championship and runner up at the Marist Sectional. The sophomore tandem Sarah Barcelona and Emily Henkel finished 1-2 in that meet.
Lockport- The Porters tied Lyons with 101 points but placed third at the Marist Sectional on a tie breaker. Senior Morgan Bollinger is running well again.
Grant- This team is back in Peoria again. The road to success Grant has been tough running on challenging courses and stepping up at the right time. Once again the Bulldogs beat several outstanding MSL teams in earning their state tickets. Sophomore Danielle Osmon led the way in 7th place.
Palatine- The Lady Pirates are looking very dangerous right now. Complacency and excuses never fly in coach Joe Park's camp. After losing a ton of talent over the past several years including all-time best miler/state champion Kelly O'Brien, it would be easy to be down on themselves. Nope. The Pirates placed well in all of their meets including second in the MSL, taking control and winning the Grant Regional and Waukegan Sectional. The push for a top five spot is a real possibility. The emergence of Danya Lloyd (Sr.) is a big reason why Palatine is a dangerous team.