The states' best headed to the state meet course at Detweiller Park for a preview of what is to come in the coming months. It was a sunny Saturday morning with temperatures in the low 70's with little wind. Ideal racing conditions that would set the state for some blazing times.
On the girls side, Lake Park standout and nationally ranked Kaylee Flanagan battled it out with another national caliber runner, Madeline Perez of Glenbard West. Flanagan pulled away from Perez in tow to a new course record time of 16:21 breaking the all-time course record set by Kayla Beattie of Woodstock in 2010. Perez and Flanagan had battled it out before in the season, but once again it was Flanagan standing first at the finish line. Perez continued her impressive season finishing second in 16:29. Glenbard West dominated the team standings with Lisa Luczak finishing fifth and a solid 3-4-5 pack finishing in the top forty-two spots to give them a 115-142 win over Flanagan's Lake Park squad.
The boy's race was more tightly packed. York showed their pack style of running and moved around 1.3 miles into the race, but Belvidere North and O'Fallon were also in the mix and wearing the same uniforms! Garrett Lee came across the line first for the win in a great time of 14:27.00. Patrick Perrier of O'Fallon coming off a great performance in Missouri finished second in 14:28.00. Lee's teammate Tyler Yunk finished third. York finished sixth, seventh, and eighth, to place first in the team standings and win by a sizeable margin with 93 points, a 33 second spread, and a team average of 14:56.40! O'Fallon (172), Belvidere North (184), and Palatine (215) rounded out the top four.