Johnsburg's Jolene Cashmore continued her stellar cross country season when she won Grant’s Invite by 29 seconds, adding to a long list of top finishes for the Skyhawks senior. For her performance, Cashmore was voted the Northwest Herald Athlete of the Week by readers.

Prairie Ridge's Rachel Soukup and Crystal Lake Central's Hadley Ferrero finished third and fourth at the Palatine Cross Country Invitational on Saturday.

Check out the team-by-team girls cross country preview with top returners, newcomers, and information about each Northwest Herald area team for the 2022 season.

Here are five girls cross country runners to watch in the Northwest Herald area during the 2022 season.

Crystal Lake Central freshman Hadley Ferrero is the Northwest Herald Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. Ferrero lost only three races in her season, the Palatine Invitational, the Class 2A Woodstock North Sectional and the Class 2A State Meet.

Meet the 2021 Northwest Herald All-Area girls cross country team.

Crystal Lake South nearly won a state team title and six Fox Valley Conference girls grabbed Class 2A All-State honors at the IHSA Cross Country State Meet Saturday at Peoria's Detweiller Park.

Crystal Lake South will be one of the teams contending for the Class 2A girls team title at the IHSA Cross Country State Meet on Saturday at Peoria's Detweiller Park. The Gators have been strong in winning the Fox Valley Conference Meet, the Woodstock Regional and Woodstock North Sectional.

Crystal Lake South's girls cross country team won the Class 2A Woodstock North Cross Country Sectional meet, its second consecutive team title.