Layla Janisch is getting ready for a party with a bunch of her friends.

And if she just so happens to get her first state medal in four tries out of it, all the better.

The Sycamore senior will compete in the 800 meters and 4x800 relay this weekend at the Class 2A State Finals in Charleston. It’s her third trip to state track, but she’s never medaled.

She competed in the 800 as a junior and a sophomore. She also earned a state trip in cross country as a sophomore, but failed to medal.

She didn’t qualify in either sport as a freshman. Now, freshmen Anna Anderson, Alana Fix and Chloe Shere are running beside her.

“It’s like we’re about to have a two-day sleepover and have so much fun,” said Janisch, the Daily Chronicle 2024 Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. “There’s going to be so many memories that are made. It’s going to be the most enjoyable two days ever because these are my best friends.”

Janisch, Anderson, Fix and Shere won the 4x800 at the Class 2A Genoa-Kingston Sectional on Friday in 9 minutes, 50.21 seconds. According to athletic.net, it was only the second time that the group ran together this year, shaving more than 12 seconds off its previous best time on May 1.

But Janisch has spent the year with them, teaching them, bonding with them. She said it’s been a fun experience participating in the relay together.

“I love being able to see them progress,” Janisch said. “They all have improved so much from the beginning of the season, from their middle-school times to their high-school times. I love being there for every moment.”

Shere qualified in the 400 for the Spartans, one of seven entries in the state meet for Sycamore and one of 16 combined entries from Sycamore, DeKalb, Kaneland, Genoa-Kingston and Indian Creek.

Like Janisch, Shere competes in cross country for the Spartans. But unlike Janisch and almost every other track athlete, she can enter pretty much any race. She was also a very good triple jumper in middle school.

“She’s just a unique bird,” Sycamore coach Joe McCormick said. “To see a distance girl also be a sprinter, that’s so unique. She’s such a great athlete. She has such a bright future. I have her in class, and she’s such a great student.”

McCormick said the distance runners were the fuel that powered the sectional win for the Spartans last week. It was the first time in program history that Sycamore won a sectional and conference title in the same season.

Shere said the flexibility in the events she can compete in adds an exciting dynamic to the sport for her.

“I like being able to have a variety of things I can do because I can change it up all the time and have a lot of fun,” Shere said. “I really like the 800 and the 4, but I think next year I’m going to switch to the 4 more and try to do that and more middle distance.”

The one thing that has made everyone better, Shere said, is Janisch.

“Layla is a great role model, and she really pushes us to be our best,” Shere said. “She’s able to talk from past experiences and is able to lead us. And I think we have a good bond overall, so that helps. We’re all friends.”

McCormick said that bond is what makes the team so effective. Shere and Janisch have gone head-to-head more than once this year, and no matter the result on the track, the relationship off it always remains the same.

“There’s no animosity. They all love each other, and they all pick each other up,” McCormick said. “It’s really nice to see the seniors working with freshmen and vice versa. Chloe is such a talented freshman. They’ve gone back and forth as far as victories, but that hasn’t gotten between them. It’s just made their relationship stronger.”