The 2A championship highlight was one for the ages! Chatham-Glenwood won the state title, and Becca Heitzing took home the individual crown.
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Last year was a spectacular season for many of the preseason teams. Chatham-Glenwood went coast to coast to win the team title. Chicago St. Ignatius got in the mix by earning its first-ever trophy.
2024 will see some of the same teams as last fighting for their right to supremacy. Check out the same ten teams below and their goals.
It was a strong summer for South, led by Olivia and Victoria Pinta. "All our runners were extremely dedicated and disciplined with their summer work. I'm immensely proud of the effort and consistency I saw. Almost all our girls upped their training from last season and handled it well, so I think they've positioned themselves for a strong season. We'll let racing tell the story of competitive improvement, but I couldn't have asked for better from our girls this summer than what they gave. I'm particularly pleased with both the dedication and leadership that Olivia and Victoria Pinta have shown in the first half of the summer."
Each of the Pintas has finished as a crucial point scorer for the Gators at state throughout their careers and is an essential piece in 2024. Lily Brooks and Laynie Ripley should slide in with the Pintas, and Cece Piemontese will bounce back after suffering an injury each in the track season and eventually produce a crucial 4x800 leg. A large freshman class for South will likely push the varsity group throughout the season, too. Crystal Lake South has proven time and time again that they will be in a position to qualify and then chase after the best teams at the state meet, so consider this top-10 ranking a conservative start for this proven program.
Here is Greenfield on the team's mindset entering the 2024 season: "I've gotten some goal feedback from the girls, and the highest priority for them is to have an encouraging and closely bonded team culture. The second most mentioned goal was to qualify for and compete well at the state meet. This is a lofty goal, and some of it depends on other teams' performance. But provided we can keep it in perspective, I love that this young team is aiming high. Finally, this group says they want to be known for their competitive toughness and sportsmanship. It can be tough to thread the needle on balancing those two things, but it's a noble goal and worth pursuing."
Kate Robertson leads the remainder of that sub-20:00 group, including Josie Kroll, Mia Williams, Ellie Spanhool, and Claire Sack. This team's depth will be bolstered with incoming freshman talent, headed by Aubrey Ott, the 3A Dunlap Valley Sectional champion in 2023. She enters with a 5:31 PB.
The Eagle's thick regular season schedule should put the girls in a position ready to compete with the best teams in November, says Friedman. "We will be able to measure ourselves a few times during the season. The First to the Finish Invitational gives us an early idea of where we stand with the rest of the state. We get to race Chatham-Glenwood on our home course the following week. At the end of the season, we will race Washington several times, including our conference meet at Detweiller. By the time we arrive back at Detweiller in November, we should be a tested team. Having said all of this, the goal each day is to identify our strengths, play to them, work on our weaknesses, and enjoy the process of improving and bonding as a team."
The Pioneer's duo provide a significant advantage but have work to do in the pack following to thrust themselves into trophy contention. A near three-minute gap between Carter and third runner Lana Alcorn at state put Normal U. in 16th place. Alcorn and Reagan Bull, Jocelyn Lewis, Josie Wamsley, and Eve Whitlow return. But in 2023, only Alcorn joined Bierbaum and Carter under the 20:00 mark. Normal University can become a dangerous podium contender with another pack runner or two inserting themselves into that picture.
The Rams were defined by depth for a few years but lacked a true front-running leader. That need was answered emphatically by Emily Stecky, who became DePaul's first all-state runner in the fall, running 17:49 for 18th place. Her spring was even better, accumulating two third-place all-state medals in the 800 and 1600 meter runs in 2A and posting an 11:06 conference championship 3200m. Stecky is now a major contender in just her sophomore year. Her presence lessens the pressure on the rest of the Rams pack, allowing a host of runners to step in. where needed. Almost all of the main players from 2023 return, including Abigail Arseneau, Kate Radich, Simrin Anderson, Piper Houghton, and Claire Duman. Izzy Shifrin, Ellie Kapp, and Emily Stoessel are other experienced upperclassmen who may make varsity appearances this year.
DePaul also welcomes a large freshman group from multiple schools, especially nearby St. Benedict's. Kate Lawrence was a top-10 state finisher in IESA and has transitioned nicely to running with her new teammates. She's most likely to slide into the varsity picture, but Zoe Lee, Ryan Greeby, and Abby Radich can also make an impact early in the season.
"I'm hopeful and so excited for our team this season with the amount of great runners we have across all the grades," says Stecky. "Even just after the short time we've been practicing, I can see the talent and have a good feeling about our season." "I'm super excited to see what our team will be able to do this year," says Arseneau. "We have huge depth in our team that will push us to be great this season!"
Coaches and athletes share High expectations and goals for the season. "I predict a strong 2024 season," says Stecz. "The competition is tough, but I think our goal should be a top 5 finish at State. We have a deep squad and should compete well across all levels, which makes it fun for the whole team because everyone will experience success and feel connected to individual and team goals. But for the postseason, our work is cut out for us. We know exactly what we need to do, move our pack to a sub19 finish, but it's unclear at this point who will lead that charge." "With our new class of strong freshmen, I'm very excited to see how our team will grow and thrive in 2A with such key assets," says Shifrin. "I am hopeful for a podium finish!"
But 2024 is a new age, and the page turns to the future. "We will be working on creating a new team identity with the next generation of runners having to step up into leadership roles as well as new roles in the top 7," says Centella. "With the graduation of some all-time GCXC greats, our girls will need to rise to the challenge of making this team their team."
The runners in pole position for the top five are all juniors and headlined by all-staters Ava Henne and Jordan Sutter. They should be joined at the front by classmate Violet Rowe, who mainly came on strong in the track season, running 5:19. Ellie Chevrier has the clearest shot at the top four, running 19:00 before injuries hampered the end of her cross country season. Ava Pietruszynski, Brynn Domier, and Jenna Dunn are some of the other returners with experience and improvement from the start of last year to help out this new look Central team, who starts the season ranked top five but will be tested by excellent competition throughout the year as they try to keep trophy contention in their sights.
"The girls will be ready to fight to be at the top of the NLCC, our regional, and our sectional," concludes Centella. "They will have their eyes on finishing as high as possible at the state meet. We bring back four girls with state experience and two with all-state experience. If things go well this fall, we may find ourselves in the mix for a very high team finish at state."
The only returning scorer from the trophy team is Lizeth Montes, who returns as a top-50 runner in the classification. Although there is a lot of turnover from last year, the Wolfpack enjoys a large pool of depth to fill the necessary varsity spots. Sarah Fitzgerald also returns as a state competitor, and Mary O'Reilly and Alison Leonard should take steps forward in their sophomore years.
Gabriella Duque had her best-ever season in track and may also slide into a varsity role. Another sophomore to look out for is Elle Sheaffer. Sheaffer did not compete in the fall but put together a strong spring with a 5:25 mile performance. She now enters the cross-country season ready to give a solid boost to Ignatius. Yesenia Maley, Megan McClain, Maeve Gawne, and Julieta Mayorga are senior leaders who should also lengthen the varsity 14.
The Wolfpack will also get some depth from a good freshman class, but coach Matt Haffner, in his 18th year as Head Coach, says that the strength of the returners should help the team get to where they can go this season. "We will see how our freshmen transition to three miles," he says. "We certainly have high hopes for the season. Our cross country girls made nice progress during the track season."
As St. Francis enters a new cross country season together, experience may make a difference for their season prospects, as the track season proved. Mamminga and Hinsdale were the only sub-18 athletes at state not to make the podium (26th and 27th), so they made for four valid all-state candidates, along with Sheldon and formerly all-state Andrzejewski. Of course, it takes five, so St. Francis' best bet to challenge for a state title involves finding those other pieces to close the gap on the first four. Addy Wordekemper threw her name into the mix last fall by running a 90-second personal best at state to nearly finish in the top 100. Siena Schwan, Caitlin Twomey, and Cate Earl also return to varsity experience, and all can be in the sub-20 category early in 2024.
A good early-season indicator for the Spartans will be at the First to the Finish Invite, where they will match up against Grayslake Central, Glenwood, Washington, Normal University, and Dunlap. Can the young St. Francis team make a statement?
Ramirez and her Panthers teammates showed in the spring that they are powerful when they are allowed to run healthy. At the 3A state meet, Washington set a new 4x800 relay school record, running 9:18 to finish 7th. Ramirez's 2:13 split, followed by her second 1600 all-state performance, bodes well as she enters her junior year alongside a loaded junior class. Jayne Hermann (2:15 split), Maddie James, Ahten, and Bailey Butler have significant championship experience and are top-50 state candidates, along with seniors Olivia Nordheilm and Crista Baker.
James and Hermann ran their best race of the season in lockstep at state, finishing top-30 and in position to chase all-state this year. Washington boasts firepower that few teams in Illinois have, and they will demonstrate their pack strength by newly appearing at the Palatine Meet of Champions to take on the Chicagoland competition for the first time. "Washington has a great group of athletes," says Glenwood coach Mike Garber. "They are relatively young and talented and are really well coached. I'm excited to see what they can do after their solid track season."
"Everyone has been healthy this summer, trained together as a team, and are very self-motivated," says head coach Troy Walcott. "We're looking forward to seeing what they can accomplish this season, hoping to improve last year's state performance."