Scouting girls cross country: Barrington takes aim at three-peat

After winning the Class 3A state title last fall without injured elite junior Mia Sirois, the Barrington girls cross country team is ready to go for three straight championships with the Notre Dame-bound Sirois back in the lineup for her senior year.

The Fillies won the 2024 state crown by a 130-131-132 margin over runner-up York and third-place Downers Grove North as Sirois posted a state-record time of 15:53.40 at Detweiller Park in Peoria. Sirois also has three 3,200-meter state track titles to her credit, including an IHSA record clocking of 9:44.16 last May.

Barrington has three all-staters returning in junior Victoria Tarara (eighth), senior Angelica Hil (22nd), and sophomore Ashleigh Forbes (23rd).

"Winning a state title is very hard to do because there are so many good teams," said Barrington coach Debbie Revolta. "Whether we walk away with a trophy or not we have to know we did the best that we could do. And if we do and we don't get a trophy we can still walk away proud of what we tried to accomplish.

"Mia (Sirois) is going to go hard in every meet that she's in and do the best that she can. She's the kind of person that makes everybody around her better. She's encouraging, she cares about how they're doing, and she's a great kid to have around for sure."

Perennial power Prospect placed second to the Fillies last year after the Knights took second in 2021, first in 2022, fourth in 2023, and fourth in 2024.

Prospect will miss the presence of Meg Peterson (University of Illinois) at the front of its pack. But the squad has four of its top five runners back, including all-state sophomore Adelaide Galla (24th).

"We have had a good summer of training and they are eager to lace up their shoes and compete against others," said Prospect coach Pete Wintermute, whose team won MSL and sectional titles last year. "After a great track season, their confidence is growing and they are putting in the work to be aerobic monsters."

The Knights have many experienced runners back, including Brooklyn Stocking, Caitlin Resac, Juliana Mihalopoulous, Ali Kalkwarf, Kaitlin Miazga, and Sami Lobacz.

York has a total of 12 top-three trophies, including a first in 2021, second in 2022, first in 2023, second in 2024, and third last year.

York junior Karlin Janowski took first place in Class 3A last fall, but the Dukes lost four of their top five runners to graduation. Key runners for York will be Stella Rosso, Julia Weseloh, Amelia Crotty, Dehlia Bernardi, Alli Buhrfiend, Citlali Zamora-Garcia and Emma Schweitzer. Freshman Elenor Berry is a key newcomer.

"We have had a strong, consistent summer building our team confidence and focusing on this squad's journey," said York coach Lauren DeAngelis. "We are stacking days and focusing on the small things that build a strong foundation. This team is extremely close, supportive, and ready to step into the leadership roles left by our graduating seniors."

Batavia senior Avery Hacker was the state runner-up last year while Downers Grove North junior Macy Ermitage placed third. Jacobs sophomore Lennox Szymonik had an impressive freshman campaign by placing 10th at state.

With three of the top four finishing teams in Class 3A last year, the Mid-Suburban League should be a dominant force again behind Barrington, Prospect and Hersey. The Huskies were only 12 points behind York in fourth place while Lake Zurich was 10 points behind the Hersey in fifth.

Hersey sophomore Graceleen Mabry (14th) should be a pack leader while teammates Alexa Izenstark (32nd) and JoJo Messer ( 39tlh ) had strong showings at state. Sophomore Clara Vincent was the Huskies' No. 4 runner at state.

Key freshman Maddie Serur is expected to be one of the top two runners on the squad. Ola Kopacz, Sofia Donner, Martyna Makowski and Sarah Sandoval give the team great depth. Emily Rugg is another key newcomer.

"It was a great year last year, but our seniors are determined to step up and make it matter more," said Hersey coach Mikayla Olsen, whose program has three third-place trophies. "All these girls elevate each other, and I'm excited to see what’s ahead for them this season. They are one of the most talented cross country crews Hersey will ever have."

Hinsdale Central (seventh in Class 3A) should be strong again behind all-state senior Ella Satre (12th) as she edged St. Charles North's Gwen Hobson in 13th.

Maine South senior Tessie Bradley (19th), Warren senior Kaylee Wilson (20th) and Lake Zurich senior Avery Muhr (21st) were all-state (top 25) last year. Lake Zurich sophomore Chloe Wettstein just missed all-state in 27th place.

The Bears welcome new head coach Travis Shepherd to the program as Shepherd had a lot of success coaching the Lakes girls cross country team.

Juniors Patricia Johnson and Celia Blaylock were Lake Zurich's 3-4 runners at state followed by sophomore Abigail Kocher in fifth. Other key cogs for the Bears will be Karolina Borg, Riley Pitchford and Anja Wiersum. Freshmen Colette Deignan and Riley Muhr are among the key newcomers.

"The team will focus on being a major factor at every invite throughout the season. As we get into October we want to show off our depth and push for a win at all three levels in the North Suburban Conference," said Shepherd. "The girls are focused on improving on last year's state series run which concluded with a fifth-place finish."

Other strong returning runners from state are Hinsdale Central senior Morgan Kohn (34th), Glenbard West junior Shayne Dietzen (35th), Metea Valley junior Kaylee Russell (38th), Huntley senior Haley Rahman (40th), Wheaton Warrenville South junior Addy Lindsay (41st) and Huntley senior Morgan Sauber (45th).

"We will have a veteran team this year with four of our projected top six being seniors," said Hinsdale Central coach Mark McCabe, whose team has Marin Backus, Ally Furey and Lucy McCormick returning from state. "We have the potential to be significantly stronger than last year's seventh-place team, and our summer has been fantastic from top to bottom."

Glenbard West is coming off a 10th-place finish at the state meet followed by Batavia in 13th and Naperville North in 15th.

In Class 2A, state champion Sydney Gertsen (Montini) is now competing for Saint Louis University in cross country and track.

Class 2A state runner-up St. Francis brings back a strong contingent of runners, including all-state seniors Elena Mamminga (eighth) and Erin Hinsdale (11th).

Vernon Hills senior Estella Ollinger (20th) is pushing to finish even higher this fall as are St. Francis sophomore Abby Yarusso (29th) and Wheaton Academy junior Sydnie Becker (34th).

Cary-Grove junior Alexandra Santoyo (38th), Lakes sophomore Madison Schrader (39th) and Crystal Lake South junior Caroline Lucas (40th) are runners to watch.

After taking third in Class 1A as both a junior and a senior, Westmont's Kyla Babb is now competing in cross country and track at Northwestern University.