The IHSA 3A state girls cross-country meet has arrived downstate in Peoria on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Two Naperville Central runners, Maddie Calvey and Kaitlin Orf, are here to compete along with the Huskies of Naperville North. It’s the final cross-country meet for North head coach Dan Iverson as he will be retiring at the end of the school year after qualifying his team for state in 34 consecutive seasons, and the rest of the Huskies are here to support their legendary coach. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Naperville North runners hit their stride
The gun goes off, and the runners hit their stride as the sun shines on the grassy fields of Detweiller Park. 241 runners are competing in this race, including individual Naperville-area runners Ashlyn Willis of Benet Academy; Kaylee Russell of Metea Valley; and Ariana Namvar of Neuqua Valley High School. Other schools in the event include Barrington, the defending 3A state champions; York High School, Mt. Prospect, Plainfield North, Wheaton Warrenville South, Batavia, and Downers Grove North and South, to name a few.
Taking a sizable lead in mile one is Kara Glenn of St. Charles North. Trailing in second place in the top five are York’s Karlin Janowski and Barrington trio, Victoria Tarara, Angelica Hil and Mia Sirois. Leading a huge pack of runners in the top six is Macy Ermitage of Downers Grove North. New Trier’s Miriam Eynon is in the pack along with Lane Tech’s Ainsley Carter, Yorkville’s Athena Triner, sectional champion Avery Hacker of Batavia, Edwardsville’s MacKenna Kerpan and Morgan Popelar, and Shayne Dietzen of Glenbard West. Jillian Crane of New Trier also leads the rest of the runners in mile one, with Huskie runners Sophia Schulz and Georgia Karstens competing in the pack. More individual runners from Lane, a trio of Edwardsville runners, and a duo of Glenbard West runners. Huskie Eliana White and Redwing Ashlyn Willis are also buried in the next pack while Wildcat Ariana Namvar looks to keep pace. Orf and Calvey are a little further back along with North runners Kathryn Rohr and Charlotte Crannell.
Kara Glenn sets a new IHSA record
Going into mile two, Kara Glenn is on cruise control, way ahead of the field. She is followed by York’s Karlin Janowski, who was last year’s first-place finisher. Running solo in the top 3 is junior Victoria Tarara, followed by her senior teammates Angelica Hil and Mia Sirois in the top five, which has separated itself from the rest. In the next pack are Miriam Eynon of New Trier, Marlie Czarniewski of Plainfield North, and Edwardsville’s MacKenna Kerpan. Three more runners rounding out the top 11 are Tessie Bradley of Maine South, Avery Hacker of Batavia, and Trojan Macy Ermitage.
Hersey takes home the 3A state championship
The state champion is junior Kara Glenn, who finishes the event with a new IHSA state record time of 15:13, one of the top times in U.S. history. York’s Karlin Janowski is the runner-up with a time of 16:01.04. The top 5 is the Barrington trio of Victoria Tarara, Angelica Hil, and Mia Sirois. New Trier’s Miriam Eynon secures 6th place while Marlie Czarniewski secures 7th place. In the top 10 are Kerpan from Edwardsville, Bradley from Maine South, and Carter from Lane Tech. Hersey is the 3A girls cross country state champion with a score of 126 after all five runners finish in the top 50, led by Madeline Serur and Graceleen Mabry in the top 20, with Barrington finishing in second place as a team and Prospect in third. Naperville North finishes in 16th as a team with senior Sophia Schulz finishing in 39th, junior Georgia Karstens in 50th, and Eliana White in 87th. Ariana Namvar finishes in 91st while Ashlyn Willis finishes in 86th.
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