High school girls cross country: 2020 season preview capsules

Praririe Ridge repeated as the third-place finisher at the Class 2A Girls Cross Country State Meet last season with five different runners in its lineup.

The Wolves have their top seven runners returning, led by All-Staters Colette Janik and Rylee Lydon, and could have a shot at another trophy if there is a state meet.

Starting the season, that is very much in question amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but coaches are hopeful something still might be worked out.

Crystal Lake South’s Bella Gonzalez won the Fox Valley Conference title as a freshman last season.

Huntley’s Molly Allen was the best of a strong freshman group that helped the Red Raiders make it to the Class 3A State Meet.

McHenry’s Lydia Zancho and Cary-Grove’s Morgan Dieschbourg and Maggie Mason are three other top returners in the FVC.

Richmond-Burton returns four of the top runners to make another run at the Kishwaukee River Conference championship.

Fox Valley Conference

Burlington Central

Coach: Vince Neil.

Last year's finish: Sixth in FVC Meet.

Top returning runners: Lauren Dowd, sr.; Jocelyn Victoria, sr.; Michaela Kruse, so.; Erin Jossart, sr.; Tia Brennan, so.

Top new runners: Corryn Kester, fr.; Jasmine Escobedo, fr.

Worth noting: Dowd and Victoria will be instrumental to the success of the team. Kruse and Jossart also will make major contributions for the Rockets.

Cary-Grove

Coach: Mark Anderson (20th season), Tom Smith (sixth season)

Last year's finish: Second in FVC Meet

Top returning runners: Maggie Mason, sr.; Morgan Dieschbourg, sr.; Delaney Blohm, sr.; Abby Williams, sr.; Ada Saletnik, so.

Top new runner: Joclyn Onstot, so.

Worth noting: Dieschbourg turned in her best high school season and was a Northwest Herald All-Area second-team selection after taking fifth in the FVC Meet. … Mason was nagged by a hip stress fracture from the 2019 soccer season, although she still was ninth in the FVC Meet. She could challenge for the FVC individual title.

Crystal Lake Central

Coach: Brett Willhoit (fifth season)

Last year's finish: Fifth in FVC Meet

Top returning runners: Kylie Smith, sr.; Annie Ferrero, so.; Meghan Easterday, sr.; Olivia Verg, so.; Avery Wilson so.; Grace Moore, so.; Sabrina Godinho, jr.; Dos Santos jr.

Top new runners: Hope Ferrero, fr.

Worth noting: Smith missed Class 2A All-State honors by six places when she took 31st at the state meet. … Willhoit said a solid group of sophomores, along with some freshmen, will challenge for the top seven spots. … "We have a good group of upperclassmen that have led during the summer," Willhoit said. "They have done a tremendous job leading the team during this pandemic."

Crystal Lake South

Coach: Ken Greenfield (10th season)

Last year's finish: Third in FVC Meet

Top returning runners: Bella Gonzalez, so.; Addie Frisch, jr.; Emma Murphy, sr.; Bianca Garay, sr.; Chelsea Greene, sr.; Anna McDermott, so.; Elise Gorman, jr.

Top new runners: Jacky Buehler, jr.; Carly Gorman, fr.; Brie James, fr.; Abby Machesky, fr.

Worth noting: Gonzalez became the fourth Gators runner in five years to win the FVC individual title, joining Caitlin Bruzzini (2015, 2016) and Mackenzie Aldridge (2018). … Aldridge is now running at D-I Eastern Illinois, but South returns its other top seven runners from a team that was third in the FVC and sixth in the Class 2A State Meet. … "I'm really proud of how our girls held each other accountable during a summer where we were unable to meet early," Greenfield said. "Their dedication is showing up in really good fitness levels for this time of the year."

Dundee-Crown

Coach: Ronald Delarmente (third season)

Last year's finish: 10th in FVC Meet

Top returning runners: Kaylee Brodie, so.; Pundit Tetteh, jr.; Melina Garcia, so.

Worth noting: Brodie was close to qualifying for state from the Class 3A Hoffman Estates Sectional last season. … Delarmente has two juniors and the rest of the top seven are sophomores and freshmen.

Hampshire

Coach: Ryan Hollister (second season)

Last year's finish: Ninth in FVC Meet

Top returning runners: Lindsey Baron, sr.; Cortney Kriens, jr.; Emma Johnson, jr.; Genevieve Bangert, so.; Eshal Shakoor, so.

Top new runners: Gillian Bangert, fr.; Janelle Mella, so.; Kate Haefling, jr.; McKenna Stanley, sr.

Worth noting: Five of the Whip-Purs' top seven runners return, led by Baron and Kriens, who have been the team leaders. They both were Class 2A sectional qualifiers. … "We have plenty of incoming athletes, not just freshmen, but sophomores, juniors and seniors who have seen success in other sports and decided to give cross country a try," Hollister said.

Huntley

Coach: Matt Kaplan (third season)

Last year's finish: FVC champion

Top returning runners: Molly Allen, so.; Breanna Burak, so.; Brittney Burak, so.; Grace Allen, so.; Genevieve Collatz, jr.; Annie Mitchell, sr.; Delaney Cairns, jr.

Top new runners: Ava Allison, fr.

Worth noting: Huntley won the FVC Meet and qualified for the Class 3A State Meet as a team with big contributions from a strong freshmen group. Molly Allen was a Northwest Herald All-Area first-team selection, and the Burak twins were usually the Nos. 3-4 runners at the end of the season. … Six of the eight top runners return for the Red Raiders, and Allison, a freshman, should make an impact in Huntley's top seven. "Already this summer she has shown she can run with our top group," Kaplan said.

Jacobs
 
Coach: Kevin Christian (14th season)
 
Last year's finish: Eighth in FVC Meet
 
Top returning runners: Kelly Carpenter, jr.; Elisabeth Kania, jr.; Avery Mason, jr.; Ella Tamburrino, jr.
 
Top new runners: Alyssa Madera, so.; Natali Varela, so.; Addie Gorman, so.
 
Worth noting: Christian said Carpenter and Kania had terrific indoor track seasons before getting shut down. He feels they will both compete with the best runners in the FVC. … "Our depth is not as great as it's been, but we are hoping to have a solid group of seven that can compete with anyone," Christian said.

McHenry

Coach: Kevin Horst (fifth season)

Last year's finish: Seventh in FVC Meet

Top returning runners: Lydia Zancho, jr.; Alyssa Moore, so.; Lynda Rotundo, so.; Emma Keesey, jr.

Top new runners: Danielle Jensen, fr.; Jasmine Ortiz, fr.; Mackenzie Sloan, fr.

Worth noting: Zancho was an All-Area first-team pick after finishing third in the FVC Meet. She has battled through injuries, but Horst likes her dedication to cross-training to remain in the best shape possible. … Moore, Rotundo and Keesey have trained hard this summer and made big strides.

Prairie Ridge

Coach: Kelly MacDonald (19th season)

Last year's finish: Fourth in FVC Meet

Top returning runners: Colette Janik, jr.; Rylee Lydon, so.; Rachel Soukup, so.; Bridget Jewell, jr.; Sophie Robinson, jr.; Allie Klauser, jr.; Leah Walters, jr.; Katie Harth, sr.

Top new runners: Olivia McPherson, fr.; Addison Taege, fr.; Ella Hartmann, fr.; Grace Turnman, fr.; Alie Storz, fr.

Worth noting: Prairie Ridge brought home back-to-back third-place trophies from the Class 2A State Meet but did so last year with five different runners than in 2018. The Wolves return their top seven runners, led by All-Staters Janik and Lydon. … "They have some lofty goals," MacDonald said. "They are a close group of friends and have spent the summer putting in a lot of miles."

Kishwaukee River Conference

Harvard

Coach: Jeff Koza (first season)

Last year's finish: Fifth in KRC Meet

Top returning runners: Lizeth Flores-Bernal, sr.; Christina Koleno, so.

Worth noting: Koza said Flores has been a strong leader in the offseason. She and Koleno were two of the three Hornets who ran in last year's KRC Meet.

Johnsburg

Coach: Chris Setzler (25th season)

Last year's finish: Fourth in KRC Meet

Top returning runners: Morgan Klos, jr.; Ellie Bauer, so.; Traci Bennett, sr.; Saida Blount, sr.

Worth noting: The Skyhawks may have trouble fielding a full team for races after graduating four seniors and not having any freshmen come into the program. … Bauer was 14th and Klos took 15th in the KRC Meet, but the other top three runners graduated.

Marengo

Coach: Kim Hoffmeister (second season)

Last year's finish: Marengo did not have a full team for the KRC Meet

Top returning runners: Gretchen Casper, sr.; Lauren Snelgrove, jr.

Top new runners: Savannah Swanson, sr.; Maggie Simons, sr.; Ruby Escorza, jr.; Jordan Brogdon, so.

Worth noting: The nine girls on the team is a high for recent years and should help. … Swanson trained with the boys this summer and Brogdon is a move-in who should help the team. Hoffmeister sees Simons helping out and Casper as a strong senior team leader.

Richmond-Burton

Coach: Ryan Carlson (sixth season).

Top returning runners: Catherine Miller, sr.; Jane Wisniewski, sr.; Amanda Allport, jr.; Lilly Alberts, jr.

Top new runners: Julia Hicks, fr.; Layla Curtis, fr.

Worth noting: The Rockets edged Woodstock North by six points for last year's KRC championship. Miller (second), Wisniewski (sixth), Allport (seventh) and Alberts (13th) all were scoring runners for that team. So R-B should be in good shape for another run at the title. … "We are hoping to remaing competitive within the conference and race well," Carlson said. "We hope to compete again for the KRC championship."

Woodstock

Coach: Jay Fuller (seventh season)

Last year's finish: Third in KRC Meet
 
Top returning runners: Theresa Presisto, sr.; Ireland Dunnett, jr.; Emma Meiners, so.; Abby Smith, so.; Kathleen Thomas, so.

Top new runners: Maggie Adams, fr.; Grace Topf, fr.;

Worth noting: Meiners and Presisto finished 10th and 11th in the KRC Meet and return to lead the Blue Streaks. … "We have five new freshmen and are looking to get better throughout the season," Fuller said. "The girls bonded well during our three-week summer camp."

Woodstock North

Coach: Cas Creighton (seventh season)

Last year's finish: Second in KRC Meet

Top returning runners: Hannah Pittman, so.; Alli Goers, sr.

Top new runners: Hailey Drach, fr.

Worth noting: The Thunder finished second in the KRC Meet, only six points behind champion Richmond-Burton. Pittman was fifth in the KRC race and Goers was 25th. … North does not have five runners this season, but Creighton said the four runners she has work hard and are excited about the season.

East Suburban Catholic Conference

Marian Central

Coach: Murray Domich (second season)

Last year's finish: Did not have full team for ESCC Meet

Top returning runners: Caroline Binotti, sr.

Top new runners: Gabi Farraj, fr.

Worth noting: Siobhan Stoll, who graduated, capped her outstanding season with an eighth-place finish at the Class 2A State Meet and was selected Northwest Herald Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. … Binotti was an All-ESCC runner with her 12th-place finish in the conference meet.