High school cross country: Richmond-Burton’s Ryan Carlson named North Division Class 1A Girls Coach of the Year

Richmond-Burton’s Ryan Carlson has been honored by the Illinois Track and Cross Country Coaches Association as North Division Class 1A Girls Coach of the Year.

The Rockets’ girls finished fourth in the Class 1A girls race at the IHSA Cross Country State Meet at Peoria’s Detweiller Park this month. R-B was third in the Kishwaukee River Conference Meet, then was team champion at both the Winnebago Regional and Oregon Sectional.

At state, the Rockets finished with 191 points, 17 behind third-place Liberty's 174. St. Joseph-Ogden was the 1A team champion with 100, Tolono Unity was second at 161.

“The girls have been coming on strong the last three weeks,” Carlson said after state. “We were superexcited for today. Our senior leadership up front with Emma (Langlois), Breanna (Retherford) and Gabby (Ross) was great. We were happy with where we landed. It was a fun day.”

R-B’s boys brought home the third-place trophy in Class 1A.