The #1 Yorkville Lady Foxes made history by becoming one of a select few teams to ever win four titles in a row. It was done with precision and a collective team effort. Sophomore Alexis Grandys and junior Skyler Bollinger did not go out and try and run an insane pace that would have ultimately hurt the team. Instead they stayed in a comfy lead pack to finish 2nd and 4th respectively in the team scoring stats. Grandys made a big statement on the big stage with a runner-up finish in 17:12. The Foxes as a whole scored 79 points to easily defeat upstart #3 Lake Forest who scored 165 points. Dunlap coach Chris Friedman told his girls "run with arrogance... you belong here!" The statement worked because his #5 ranked squad got the 3rd place trophy over #7 Lemont 187-191. #2 Belvidere North would fade in the final mile after sitting in a good spot took 5th. #10 Chicago (Latin) who were competing in 2A for the first time copped 6th with 195 points.
Maryjeanne Gilbert (Jr., Peoria Notre Dame) did not mess around with the field as she went out hard and hid from everyone. She would go on to run the opening mile in 5:18, the halfway point in a lightening 7:58, the two mile at 10:42, and finally dusting off the competition with a class record 16:12 and #2 all-time. What is impressive about the effort was that she was not pushed by anyone at any time. Gilbert did admit that the home crowd inspired her to keep pushing. The emerging superstar should be ranked higher than 24th in the nation. Maybe that will change after this weekend.
The scope of girls 2A level cross country has grown since its inception in 2007. Yorkville is expected to a great team in 2015 but they may move up to 3A if the projected growth is true.
26 total girls broke 18:00- the most ever. This is an impressive feat when you consider the weather wasn't not optimal for racing. In 2007, there were only 10 girls that broke 18:00.
