The previews are now in the book, take some time and enjoy this prologue
The Huskies earn a record fourth straight preseason #1 nod in the 3A classification
Contributor Jamie Nicholson produces a thorough video preview for the upcoming girls xc season.
Glenbard West senior, Katelynne Hart, was named the 2019-2020 Illinois Gatorade Girls Track and Field Player of the Year
Glenbard West High School (IL) and future University of Michigan Wolverine Katelynne Hart clocked a 4:42 mile as part of the MileSplit Virtual Classic.
MileSplit Illinois editor, Tony Jones joined us to help set the table for a new article series led by Ohio coaches, 'The Best Performance I Ever Saw.'
It is time for the MileSplit Illinois team power rankings. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic these are the final rankings of the indoor season. Our rankings are data driven and non-biased. THESE ARE NOT DUAL TEAM RANKINGS!
It is time for the MileSplit Illinois team power rankings, this is week one post Power Weekend. Our rankings are data driven and non-biased. THESE ARE NOT DUAL TEAM RANKINGS!
It is time for for the MileSplit Illinois team power rankings, this is the preseason version. Our rankings are data driven and non-biased. THESE ARE NOT DUAL TEAM RANKINGS!
The most controversial list of the decade
Katelynne H for the individual scene and Naperville North will patrol the team block
See who the top girls are in the Foot Locker Midwest Region.
The opening statements from a very deep 3A field
Rankings are subjective in nature as we all know, but it's fun to follow the trail of this particular group as they work to develop into elite status
Week 12 Team Power Rankings Are In Effect!
Week 10 Team Power Rankings Are In Effect!
It is time for the MileSplit Illinois Team Power Rankings, Week Eight Is Here To Open Outdoor Season For Us! Our rankings are data driven and non-biased, THEY ARE NOT DUAL TEAM RANKINGS!
It is time for the MileSplit Illinois Team Power Rankings, Week Eight Is Here To Open Outdoor Season For Us! Our rankings are data driven and non-biased, THEY ARE NOT DUAL TEAM RANKINGS!
It is time for for the MileSplit Illinois Team Power Rankings, Week Seven Is Here To Close Out Indoor Season ! Our rankings are data driven and non-biased, THEY ARE NOT DUAL TEAM RANKINGS!
It is time for for the MileSplit Illinois Team Power Rankings, Week Four Is Here! Our rankings are data driven and non-biased. THESE ARE NOT DUAL TEAM RANKINGS!
It is time for for the MileSplit Illinois Team Power Rankings, Week Four Is Here! Our rankings are data driven and non-biased. THESE ARE NOT DUAL TEAM RANKINGS!
Taylor Ewert captured her second consecutive New Balance Nationals Indoor 1 Mile Race Walk title with a 6:34.53 clocking.
It is time for for the MileSplit Illinois Team Power Rankings, Week Four Is Here! Our rankings are data driven and non-biased. THESE ARE NOT DUAL TEAM RANKINGS!
The relays are going to be very hot this season!
Taylor Ewert earned a fourth place finish at the Foot Locker National Championship with her 17:20.10 clocking.
Taylor Ewert will conclude her cross country season at Saturday's Foot Locker National Championship. View the top 100 performers during the last five years.
Things are really heating up in the cross country season. This past weekend many states had big qualifying meets, while others had their state meet.
Check out five of the fastest race videos from this past weekend.
The verdict is in: #1 Wheaton South is top team in all of Illinois
The countdown to the #1 team is here
Cailie Logue wins pair of thrilling races at USATF Junior Nationals
Cracking the code on premium elite rankings
The premium breakdown of national rankers
Week 2 Team Power Rankings by MileSplit Illinois
The first power team rankings of the 2018 outdoor season
Check out the hot week 5 power team rankings
Week 3 Milesplit Illinois Power Rankings
Week 2 Power Team Rankings by Milesplit Illinois
The 2018 UK High School Invitational was action packed, but how did it stack up against the current national marks?
Katelynne Hart was just two seconds shy of setting a new sophomore class record in the indoor 2-mile
3A girls pre-season power rankings set
Glenbard West (IL) High sophomore Katelynne Hart is ready for her encore performance at NXN
Let's play the pre-season rankings game
Class 3A girls state championship is going to be an epic one
Wheaton-Warrenville South asserts its dominance against Lake Park Sectional field
Naperville Twilight recap is here!
Kellee Hart gives a few tips on how to be a supportive parent from the sidelines.
Check out this MileSplit LIVE interview with Illinois webmaster Tony Jones
Check out the current XC team scores rankings for Illinois girls as of September 5th.
It will be a great one in Hinsdale this weekend
Naperville North girls lead 3A #1 charge
Up next on our Flo50 girls countdown is No. 11 Katelynne Hart
Glenbard West (IL) High freshman Katelynne Hart has a chance to go for a US No. 1 in the mile at Magis Mile on Friday
Glenbard West (IL) High freshman Katelynne Hart is just getting started, but on Saturday she set a U.S. No. 1 mark in the 3200m.
Check out the girls XC team scores rankings based on scoring the season best 5K times of the top 7 runners of each team in the state of Illinois.
Glenbard West is tabbed slight favorite
It is going to be electric in Naperville for the Twilight Invitational
Check out the top girls teams in the state of Illinois as of September 22nd based on XC team scoring all of the 5K times currently in the MileSplit database for the 2016 season.
There's no holding back in the Midwest region this year.
Find out who has the best JV girls squads in Illinois by XC team scoring the #8 thru #14 runners on each team in the state.
the quick recap
Check out the top girls teams in the state of Illinois as of September 14th based on XC team scoring all of the 5K times currently in the MileSplit database for the 2016 season.
Check out the top 500 girls cross country 3 mile times in the state of Illinois in the MileSplit database as of September 12th.
Blake and Lindsey repeat as meet champions
The 36th Annual Hinsdale Hornet-Devil Invitational was anything but soft on a glorious Saturday morning for racing.
Hinsdale Hornet-Devil Invitational will be the state's top invitational this weekend
Every state in the Union can brag about their best team or set of best teams. That is a given and a nature birth right to do so. However, when it comes to boys cross country, it would be incredibly hard to argue against the West Suburban Conference (Silver Division) not being the premier league in Illinois.
It was a magical Wednesday evening at Naperville North High School...
This mid-week invitational is expected to be classic, especially on the girls with the top four teams in the state meeting up...
The so-called battle "Goliath vs. Goliath" between #1 Orland Park (Sandburg) and #2 Naperville (Neuqua Valley) was anything but that...
It is going to be a long day at Detweiller Park but a good one if you are a fan of high school cross country. The second installment of the Detweiller series known as the Richard Spring or Peoria Notre Dame Invite will pit a bevy of schools against each other.
The 3A portion of Boys Cross Country preview session is now here! We will be taking a look at the top 30 3A Boys in Illinois, as well as some of the other teams who might crack that top 30.
The Illinois girls have stormed on to the national stage in recent years with respect. It was last November that two elite teams qualified for the Nike Cross Country National in Portland, Oregon. Naperville North took 4th place and Palatine, an at-large entry, copped a very respectable 12th after being stiffed a year prior. Without going any further, this could be one of the most memorable years state and national wide for Illinois girls.
This is just a sneak peek to get you up, out of your seat and excited for the upcoming cross country season which promises to be another great one!
The extended above average climes in the Chicago land area has been a welcome relief to what most of us experienced during the usual cold winter. So it would behoove teams and individuals to take advantage of the situation before Mother Nature decides to flip the switch back to icy temperatures. The competitors at the Ritter Invitational hosted by Downers Grove North made good use of the situation and put in quality performances all around.
Friday night is going to be a great night either way… you may be out and about enjoying the beautiful spring time weather that is expected to reach near 80 degrees on the Mercury. Or if you are near a track and field stadium in the Downers Grove area, grab something to eat and head to Carstens Field on the Downers Grove North High School campus.
"There is no "I" in team, but there is an "I" in win." This was the sentiment of one coach after an amazing evening of top notch performances at the Al B. Carius Indoor Track and Field on the campus of North Central College in Naperville. The "I" simply refers to one getting check mated like a chess match. Game over.
The distance events (including the 4x8 relay) is going to another pressure cooker this season. Count on it!
The 4x800m relay without question is the deepest and most popular event on the boys event ledger. In 2014, there were an amazing 15 teams ranked among the nation's top 100- the most of any state in this great union. There were 34 teams that broke 8:00 which also was #1 in the country.
Sarah Kettel (17:28) & Jesse Reiser (15:01) individual champs. Carmel girls & Sandburg boys take team titles!
-The girls championship was a dandy to say the least. It was a record setting affair for the entire field in terms of aggregate times. Check out the action and more!
State week! Historic Detweiller Park in Peoria has held a special place in my heart ever since I first ran there my sophomore year during the season but I don’t think I’m the only person in Illinois who feels that way. I’ve been to the state meet both as part of a qualifying team and to watch individuals from our school, and it is hard to parallel the excitement and energy at the park.
Every state championship seems to bring out the best in Illinois runners. Could it be that historic Detweiller is the reason? Perhaps it is to an extent, but the real reason has to be better coaching of girls for the three-mile distance. Two seasons ago Madeline Perez of Glenbard West set the all-time record of 16:02. That performance and the other 86 girls who broke 18:00 confirmed the fact that girls can indeed run the same distance as boys with relevance and respect. This year times are fast and we all should see some wonderful team and individual performances on Saturday afternoon
Power rankings explanation: This week’s rankings are taken in with consideration to where teams are at in their current situations. Respect is given to said teams who have injuries, sickness, byes, or multiple key personnel holdouts. Contact the MileSplit Illinois team for inquiries: Tony Jones- tjones@milesplit.com and Alex Goodlad agmoneymeister@gmail.com (Class A rankings editor)
Let’s ditch the pronouncements such as “Sectional of death” or this is “the most anticipated meet in the state” and simply call the Niles West Sectional a cross country meet to watch.
See how some in-state battles at State Champs have affected the Saucony Flo50 Rankings
Power rankings explanation: This week’s rankings are taken in with consideration to where teams are at in their current situations. Respect is given to said teams who have injuries, sickness, byes, or multiple key personnel holdouts. Contact the MileSplit Illinois team for inquiries: Tony Jones- tjones@milesplit.com and Alex Goodlad agmoneymeister@gmail.com (Class A rankings editor)
Power rankings explanation: This week’s rankings are taken in with consideration to where teams are at in their current situations. Respect is given to said teams who have injuries, sickness, byes, or multiple key personnel holdouts. Contact MileSplit Illinois team for inquiries: Tony Jones- tjones@milesplit.com and Alex Goodlad agmoneymeister@gmail.com (Class A rankings editor)
Power rankings explanation: This week’s rankings are taken in with consideration to where teams are at in their current situations. Respect is given to said teams who have injuries, sickness, byes, or multiple key personnel holdouts. Contact MileSplit Illinois team for inquiries: Tony Jones- tjones@milesplit.com and Alex Goodlad agmoneymeister@gmail.com (Class A rankings editor)
Top 50 fastest girls cross country teams in the state of Illinois based on season best 3 mile performances entered in the MileSplit database as of October 6th.
Power rankings explanation: This week’s rankings are taken in with consideration to where teams are at in their current situations. Respect is given to said teams who have injuries, sickness, byes, or multiple key personnel holdouts.
Power rankings explanation: This week’s rankings are taken in with consideration to where teams are at in their current situations. Respect is given to said teams who have injuries, sickness, byes, or multiple key personnel holdouts. Contact MileSplit Illinois team for inquiries: Tony Jones- tjones@milesplit.com and Alex Goodlad agmoneymeister@gmail.com (Class A rankings editor)
Cross Country action covering 9/14-9/20, 2014
One of the prevailing feelings coming in was the boys and girls chess piece landscape had not been completed.
his is the reason that the commonly phased Peoria Notre Dame Invitational or PND will be officially referred as the Richard Spring Memorial Invitational on paper: “Richard Spring, a 1981 graduate of Bergan High School in Peoria, ran cross-country, the mile, and the two-mile. Participating on two state championship teams, Richard personally finished third in the single-class IHSA state tournament in his senior year. Richard died running at Augustana College in 1982.”
After almost a month of XC action, there are some shakeups in the Saucony Flo50 team rankings. Jimmy takes a look at some of those changes on the girls' side.
Week #4 rankings for the week of Sept 16, 2014
Milesplit Illinois Week in review spanning Sept. 7-13, 2014
Last weekend at the Hinsdale Hornet-Devil Invitational, the competition and atmosphere was incredible and at a post-season fever pitch. It is hard to think anything can top that just a week later. Let’s go out on the limb and at least predict the level of production and excitement on all levels will be of equal proportions.
Rankings by Tony Jones and Alex Goodlad- Week of 9/9/2014
They say the hardest thing in sports to do is defending a championship. In Hinsdale Central Boys and Glen Ellyn Glenbard West’s Girls case, they are the respective 3A state championship team title holders. They both come into their season openers with ample artillery to stave off any would be hunters. Beautiful Katherine Legge Memorial Woods Park in Hinsdale provided just the right setting.
The mega hyped Hinsdale Hornet-Devil Invitational lived up to the billing and churned out some great performances.
Defending Illinois 3A state champions in the Hinsdale Central boys and Glenbard West girls showed they are not ready to give up the #1 spot in their state with their team wins at the Hornet Red Devil Invitational.
The barometer reading in the Chicago area (where the majority top notch competition will be) is supposed to only reach the mid-70s. This is perfect for a long distance sport such as cross country. A bevy of great meets will be anchored by the Hinsdale Red Devil-Hornet Invitational.
The cross country scene on Illinois' biggest stage is expected to be MAJOR this season. Consider the fact that defending state champion Glenbard West lost only one girl in its top seven (albeit the great Madeline Perez) and did not even contest themselves after the IHSA season. The Lady Hilltoppers will be in the proverbial catbird seat once again with the likes of a hungry and national teams like Naperville North and New Trier on their heels. Thus the pre-season hype is ready to explode. Don't forget about the hunters lurking just down under and waiting for their opportunity to pounce on those who they catch slacking.
A list of the top 25 fastest returning girls cross country teams within the states of the NXN Midwest Region including Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio.
The build up to the official start date of the 2014 cross country season has already been in effect. It actually started as soon as the 2014 track and field season ended for the vast majority of the returning teams and individuals. Of course each new season begins with its own set of hypeness. Well MileSplit has dedicated to lauch its own hypeness attack.
Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West) junior standout Lindsay Graham was already an emerging talent when she transferred from cross county rival Glenbard East in the fall of 2013. Graham proceeded as an individual force for the Hilltoppers. The damage that Graham created was to the tune of two state all-state honors in cross country and track. The Hilltoppers copped the team title in the 3A classification as well. Lindsay has been training well and injury free. As a result she agreed in kind to share some of her summer running experience.
Who are the powerhouse programs and track & field factories of the United States? Which team produces the best milers, quarter milers, half milers, two milers, sprinters, and hurdlers? Well MileSplit has those answers for you as our database can do a lot of things including show the deepest high school teams in each running event by taking the top 5 fastest on each team and averaging out for the fastest team averages to rank the squads nationally in order.
When it comes to big league relays things can be fierce. Over the past several years Illinois has made a name among the national conscious. For example, in 2012, Wheaton-Warrenville South and Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West) proved that a friendly rival can produce dividends for all. It produced a state record and national spotlight for the land of Lincoln in the 4x800m relay. Relays can also be used as a prop for coaches to lull their competition in for other causes. For years, teams like E. St. Louis, Chicago Morgan Park, and Evanston would use relays in their quest to win a state championship. Sometimes the tactics worked and sometimes it didn’t. The 800m medley was an event that smart coaches with deep pockets would use as a throw away event. To them it didn’t make sense to run their best athletes in an event that would tax them too much later. Evanston coach Fenton Gunter has always felt that using a top 400 runner on a medley would kill that athlete’s ability to perform up to standard in other events later. For a team battling for a team trophy, quick decisions have to be made. Remember that relays only count for 10 points in Illinois- not 20 as they do in Texas. But then again that same runner could also be used to bait other teams in thinking they will be spent on a relay when it isn’t true. But remember that every quality sprinter must be able to run the 4×400 relay.
The state championship is the pinnacle for almost every team in the land of milk and honey. It will certainly be the pinnacle for defending state champion Naperville North who has fared dominant against Illinois foes. Although the Huskies appear to be the team to beat, it is never easy winning a state title. As well, there are going to be a ton of starving teams out to quench their hunger by trying to obtain one of the three state trophies given out at the Detweiller Park awards ceremony.
The weather cooperated long enough for the competition to exercise their demons on a new course on the grounds of Lake Park High School’s east campus. The Lancer staff and community finally got their opportunity to host a sectional championship after putting in bids for years. They responded with an awesome presentation and display. Kudos!
A solid look at the new and ultra competitive Lake Park State Sectional.
Conference, District, Regional and State meets are upon us and teams will begin resting up to compete well at their championship meets before gearing up for the post-season championship meets. Therefore the rankings haven't changed much this week with the exception of a VERY strong Davis squad moving up to #1 and a few more teams added to the watch list.
Simi Valley (CA) showed up big at the Clovis Invitational, winning with 60 points and the 6th fastest total team time average on the course! (Photo by Bob Binnie)
It was a quiet week on the team front, but there were still a few fireworks on display.
Down goes the empire! At least for now... The girls from Unionville were absolutely unstoppable, putting up 45 points and a 17:32 average to topple Fayetteville-Manlius, 79 points and a 17:59 average.
It’s a lazy Saturday evening after a long day of coverage at a cross country meet followed by some perusing of meet results from around the state. Then it was on to watching some college football before dozing off into a nap for several hours. Upon waking up there would be a message on the Bat phone from superstar senior Madeline Perez of Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West). The first thoughts running through my head were ‘uh oh I hope everything is alright.’ In this day and age with numerous streams of media access available to young people, the psyche can be pulled in many different ways.
Historical Detweiller Park in Peoria was used as the backdrop on an absolutely gorgeous day to run a cross country meet (and race for that matter) that officially ushered out the summer solstice and into the second half of the season.
Madeline Perez is going to be mad serious about leading a super class of girls who are destined to be even faster than last year’s record breaking year in which 87 runners broke 18:00 in the state championship! In addition to the deep field returning is the prospect of team aspirations for some of the top returning girls. Still, talent breeds fast times and that undoubtedly is going to be what’s on the menu.
Our countdown of the top 25 3A boys teams continues with #20-#16.
2012 was the deepest year on record for the girls at the state championship that saw an amazing 87 girls break 18:00 for three-miles. As well there two home land teams that qualified for the Nike Cross Nationals in Winnetka New Trier (11th) and Naperville North (15th)- a fantastic year on the girls' side for both for individuals and for teams to say the least. This season should see more of the same. Let’s take a peek into the pre-season outlook:
The 2013 cross country season is right around the corner. We kick off our preseason coverage by ranking the top returners in each class. Madeline Perez had an awesome junior season that culminated in the 3A state title and several national meets. Can she do it again and lead Glenbard West to the team title?
2012 was the deepest year on record for the girls at the state championship that saw an amazing 87 girls break 18:00 for three-miles.
For the 2013 track and field season, MileSplit Illinois is proud to announce that we will once again have a group of bloggers much like we did for the cross country season. Several of the top athletes in Illinois will take you on a journey throughout their seasons. We believe it is a great way for the running community to all get together and share experiences. Lisa Luczak is a sophomore at Glenbard West and one of the top young distance runners in the state. This past cross country season she finished sixth with a new personal best of 16:45.00 for three miles.
Maddie Nagle was a standout track and field runner for Glenbard West as a member of the runner-up 4x800 meter team. She also was a member of the cross country team where she finished 69th at states last year. She is currently a redshirt freshman at Iowa State University. She talks about making that transition to college running and is excited to see where her future with the Cyclones will take her. Find out more about what Nagle has been up to in our Where Are They Now feature.
Madeline Perez obliterated the girls state-meet record for all classes Saturday in winning the Class 3A cross-country title. (via Chicago Tribune)
Sarah Baxter smashed the CR by 16s at Mt. Sac with a 16:00 clocking! Perrin gets MT state title, Rohrer and Erba super fast in IN! Much more inside!
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.
Belvidere North senior Tyler Yunk and Glenbard West junior Madeline Perez are this week's Athletes of the Week. Yunk won two races this week including a new personal best best time of 15:14.20 to take the Crystal Lake South Invitational. Perez won the Hinsdale South Hornet Invitational in a new personal best time of 16:59.40 leading her squad to a team title over nationally ranked New Trier.
Glenbard West came into the 2012 season as the seventh best team in 3A. Last weekend they silenced the critics at the Hinsdale South Hornet Invitational when they edged out US#4 New Trier by four points, and also beat a very strong Palatine team.
Included are MileSplit’s selection of the top 2012 U.S. girls’ individual and team cross country performances August 27 through September 3. (Photo - Glenbard West HS, IL, who upset preseason #4 ranked New Trier HS)
Glenbard West earned a share of the overall West Suburban Conference Silver Division girls title by beating York on a sixth-runner tiebreaker at Saturday’s Silver Meet while Madeline Perez, Mike Lederhouse and Brandon Bonifer were top-five finishers. (via Glen Ellyn Patch)