The Yorkville boys and girls cross country teams both took third place at the Southwest Prairie Conference meet held Friday at Channahon Community Park. Individually, Yorkville senior Owen Horeni and Yorkville sophomore Athena Triner each placed fourth.

Downers Grove North's Philip Cupial and Sandwich's Sunny Weber both defended their individual titles at the Twilight Invite cross country meet, Cupial leading the Trojans to the team title while Batavia used a late surge to win the girls team title in Geneva.

The 2025 girls cross country season is underway. Here are previews of teams from around the Record Newspapers coverage area.

Sandwich junior Sunny Weber, who won the school's first girls cross country state championship this fall, is the Record Newspapers girls cross country Athlete of the Year.

Sandwich junior Sunny Weber wasn’t taking any chances at the halfway point of the Class 2A girls cross country state race Saturday. Weber became Sandwich’s first individual state champion with a big personal-record as well. In 3A, Yorkville's Owen Horeni was an All-State 17th.

Fueled by a season-best 1:34 split between all-sectional Macy Dick and their No. 5 finisher and 1:39 to their No. 7 finisher, Oswego East placed fifth at the Class 3A Hinsdale Central Sectional and advanced to the state meet for the third straight year with a top-seven finish.

Maya Ledesma ran a Channahon Community Park course record, her 40-second win leading Minooka's girls to the Southwest Prairie Conference team championship. In the boys race, Plainfield South's Dylan Mahoney repeated as champion and Plainfield North edged South for the team title.

Downers Grove North's boys and girls teams took home the team title, with Philip Cupial and Gavin Schroeder leading the boys with a 1-2 finish, while Sandwich's Sunny Weber controlled the girls race to take the individual title.

Sandwich junior Sunny Weber, who won the Class 2A race at the First to the Finish Invitational meet in Peoria in 16 minutes, 50.70 seconds, is the Record Newspapers Athlete of the Week in an online vote. Here is her Q&A with Joshua Welge.