Batavia junior Avery Hacker once again proved she could run with the state’s best girls cross country runners at sectionals.

At the Class 3A state meet Saturday, she beat almost all of them with her best race ever.

Hacker took second with a personal-best 16 minutes, 14.0 seconds for 3.0 miles after a fourth-place finish at the Lake Park Sectional Nov. 1 in a then previous-best 16:39.6.

“This is a really exciting race for me,” said Hacker, who became the Bulldogs’ third multiple top-25, all-state finisher. “I was just trying to stay with the girls and then move the second half and then the last mile moving to get where I was capable of.”

Hacker ran the second-fastest time in program history and tied the highest state finish by 2022 graduate Katrina Schlenker, whose school-record 16:07.31 as a freshman took second at the 2018 3A state meet. Schlenker then was third as a sophomore and 10th as a senior.

“We told the kids if we ever had another runner break 16:30 again, it would be incredible,” Batavia coach Chad Hillman said. “It’s great for Avery to be in the same area code. Katrina is one of the greatest runners ever in Illinois.”

Hacker improved significantly from last year’s ninth-place state time (16:42.4) behind four seniors. Barrington junior Mia Sirois, the 2024 champion in 15:53.4, has been injured and did not compete Saturday.

Hacker took advantage of four of the top five state finishers also being among the Lake Park Sectional field. At state, Hacker was sixth at 1.0 mile (5:18.2) and fifth at 2.0 miles (10:48.6) but never lost contact.

Hacker’s 5:25.4 third mile was second-fastest only to York sophomore Karlin Janowski (5:24.7), who won in a school-record 16:10.0 after taking second in 2024. Janowski was third at sectionals.

“I had no clue timewise what I was going to be capable of (at state). I just was going more for place and being with the girls I was with, just sticking by and then doing the best I possibly could,” Hacker said.

“She’s such a smart kid, smart racer. She analyzed how it went last week, processed how it all unfolded and executed,” Hillman said. “She knows what to do and when to do it. It was impressive.”

In 2A boys, Kaneland sophomore Carson Kaiser took another big step with his all-state third (14:12.90), 3.1 seconds faster than sectionals, after taking sixth as a freshman (14:41.3).

Kaiser was only 4.36 seconds behind the champion, Bethalto Civic Memorial senior Max Weber (14:08.54) and 2.83 seconds from second. Kaiser also became the Knights’ third runner with at least two top-10 state finishers.

“I’m grateful that this season has gone so well. I’ve really progressed, even from last year,” Kaiser said.

“There’s a lot of talent in 2A. I knew it was going to be tight until the last half mile. Even going into the last 600, there were still 4-5 guys. I still had to give it my all. I’ve still got some stuff to work on, still improve.”

Geneva senior Sofia Borter also finished impressively in 3A girls with an all-state sixth (16:49.6) after taking third at the Lake Park Sectional.

Borter’s first sub-17:00 finish moves into No. 3 on the Vikings’ top times list. As a sophomore, Borter seemed in contention for all-state honors but had a late injury and ended up 95th. She was 51st at state last year (17:47.9).

“I had a really good summer block of training, injury free, and that just really helps going into the season,” Borter said. “(All-state) means a lot because I have a lot of support from my team. It’s a goal I’ve had for a while and I’m happy with my performance.”

In 2A girls, St. Francis was second (129 points) to Chatham Glenwood (81) to tie its second-place Class A trophies in 2000 and 2001. Juniors Elena Mamminga of Geneva (8th) and Erin Hinsdale (11th) were all-state again after finishing fifth and fourth in 2024.

“We push ourselves and we really created a bond. I’m more proud of that than getting a trophy,” Mamminga said. “I feel like I’ve grown a lot from last year, not only in running but with my mindset. I wouldn’t really look forward to the meets but now I know meets are where I show off.”

Also earning all-state were St. Charles North juniors Samuel Hill in 3A boys (9th, 14:20.40) and Gwen Hobson in 3A girls (13th, 17:01.34) and Aurora Central Catholic senior Cecilia Hilby in 2A girls (14th, 17:30.72) and sophomore John Reinbold (24th, 14:46.99) in 2A boys.

The St. Charles North and ACC boys were eighth in their respective classes. The Batavia girls were 12th.