Girls cross country: Vernon Hills is all about being consistent

There is a lot to be said about consistency.

Take the Vernon Hills girls cross country team, for example. Coach Suzanne Curry's crew won the Central Suburban North title in 2020, placed second at the Class 2A regional and sectional levels and then second again at the unsanctioned Shazam state meet.

Consistency at the team level was made possible by consistency individually from the trio of now juniors Anna Todd, Reina Hill and Rose Sheridan. Hill was fifth at the sectional, sixth at the regional and seventh at Shazam. Todd was fourth at the regional, seventh in sectionals and 16th at Shazam, while Sheridan, all-state for the Cougars as a freshman, was sixth at the sectional, seventh in the regional and 13th at Shazam.

"As we return to more normal, traditional-style meets, this talented trio will be able to run together more often than they were able to last season," Curry said. "We always have been a strong pack-running team and look forward to returning to that style of racing as it suits our current talent. All three of these girls train hard every day and we expect them to lead a deep group of talented runners."

In fact, Vernon Hills, looking to qualify for the state meet for a 10th year in a row, returns all of its top seven runners from last fall, while still maintaining a youthful, yet experienced roster.

"We have some really fast juniors, a couple of seniors who are really fast and a couple of incoming freshmen doing really well," Sheridan said.

Sheridan said the trio of her, Todd and Hill (currently injured) has plenty of upside. "We work well together at practice," she said. "We usually run and do workouts together and push each other during races. Knowing them keeps conversations going. It's easy to open up and talk to them."

Todd added: "Reina, Rose and I push each other and that helps us to get stronger, which also pushes the rest of our teammates to succeed as well."

Hill said the challenge of last year's COVID-19 season has made the Cougars a stronger program. "A lot of us last year didn't think there would be a season," she said. "The motivation wasn't there 100 percent and it was difficult mentally. We didn't feel like we were fully mentally prepared. It's very different from how it is this season. Last season with everything that was going on, we still did very well. Now, we are very optimistic for this season, but we know that goes for other teams as well. We know we will have to be ready."

Hill said keeping the Cougars' Peoria streak rolling is front of mind. "Our goal is definitely to go to state and we would like to place well there," she said. "Another goal for us is to become even closer as a team. We will be good because we will be a more cohesive team and work together and move toward more pack running. We have a friendly competitiveness that drives us to become faster runners. The team atmosphere here is very welcoming."