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Head Coach/coaches: Pete Wintermute, Lisa Cottrell
Last year's finish: IHSA 3A State Champions/ NXN- 5th place
Key returners: Lily Ginsberg (Sr), Veronica Znajda (Jr), Meg Peterson (So), Ireland Wildhart
(Jr), Kaitlin Skelton (Sr), Sophie Fransen (Jr), Bridget Derengowski (Sr)
Newcomers: Amalia Scorza (fr), Ella Samlan (fr), Madelyn Kura (fr), Madeline Marling, Sarah
George (fr), Morgan Will (fr), Grace Barnes (fr), Erin Elliot (fr), Erin Young (fr)
Tony's Take: I've seen a lot of girls cross country over the years and 2022 was arguably the best overall year in Illinois with Prospect defeating York 39-53 for the state title. It felt like two races in one. 1) It was really a dual meet between the titans; 2) Naperville North quietly eased past Minooka for third to make it a fun overall fan experience. It was a bit unfortunate that it was a complete mud bath at the state meet because otherwise, it would been the best-ever five-girls scoring average by Prospect.
The Knights lose Kameron Kalaway and Haley Erickson to graduation but somehow they seem just as good on paper or even better. You see the returners up above and you know what they did this season. In fact, the Lady Knights had their annual 800m time trial and exceeded the 9:01 aggregate from 2022 with an 8:58! If that's an indication of what is to come this cross country season, everyone will be racing for second place in November.
Coach Wintermute's Take: The Knights are excited to embark on the 2023 season and we are
ready to step up and fill the gaps from the graduated seniors (Erickson, Kalaway, Patterson).
After two years of State trophies (2nd in 2021 and 1st in 2022), the Knights are focused on
working together as a team. We have a number of girls that have put in a great summer of
training and we anxiously await to see who will benefit the most in terms of confidence and
fitness.
The majority of the summer has been focused on consistency in training and finding this
team's identity. We are experienced in many ways but also young in others. Our team trip and
summer camp netted positive results and we look forward to growing together.