On Saturday, Nov. 8, North’s boys cross country team and junior Gwen Hobson competed in the IHSA cross country state meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria. At the meet, North’s runners competed in fields of over 200 runners from across Illinois for the three-mile race. Hobson represented the girls cross country team, placing 13th overall with a time of 17:01.34. North’s boys cross country team also placed 8th as a team, with junior Sam Hill placing 9th overall with a time of 14:20.40 and senior Matthew Russell finishing 56th overall with a time of 14:53.70.
“We had a really good year,” said boys Head Coach Kevin Harrington. “I mean, if we go back three years ago, we did not do very well in conference [and] we didn’t get out of regionals. [This year], we won the conference meet, we scored well at regionals and sectionals, and we had the eighth place team in the state, which is great.”
Leading up to the state competition, North’s athletes trained extensively to prepare themselves for the race. Starting in the summer, the runners began training for the meets and tournaments that would take place during the season. In addition, as every cross country meet runs a different course, using specific practice routines was important in the buildup to the event.
“[Cross country] is not like track,” said girls cross country Head Coach Shari Hayes. “You have different terrains, you have weather. You can go over cement, you can go over grass, you can go over other pathways and stuff too. So every workout is designed for the course we’re running.”
As a result of their hard work, North’s runners continued to improve throughout the cross country season, getting faster and better times every week.
“Gwen was super consistent throughout the whole season,” said Hayes “[Her] race kept getting faster and faster and faster. And by the end of the year, which was the state meet, she dropped 26 seconds [off her personal record].”
Looking to the future, both North cross country teams plan to build upon this year’s success. Both Hobson and Hill aim to place higher in the state tournament, with goals like placing in the top 10 or top five overall.
“I really want to get top 10 at state, definitely, like some improvement,” said Hobson. “I mean, maybe even top five to six, if I could. I definitely want to get about 15 to 30 seconds faster, so I w
ant to see improvement for next year.”
Similarly, Hill plans to continue to work hard and stay healthy throughout the year.
“The plans for the future in terms of XC and Track are just continuing to train hard even in the winter and try to eat well and drink lots of water throughout that way. It’s like clockwork,” said Hill.
Despite losing important members of their teams to graduation, Hayes and Harrington also plan to improve with their current juniors and underclassmen, who play key roles in both cross country teams. Ultimately, the two coaches aim for even more state-level success in the years to come by helping each runner improve.
“It’s all about each individual in a team atmosphere getting better,” said Harrington. “In a sport like running, your ultimate competition is yourself. Can you run faster than you’ve ever run before?”
