Girls cross country: Record-setting Sirois, Barrington bring home state championships

It was a historic day for Barrington sophomore Mia Sirois and the Fillies' team as they embarked on the 45th IHSA girls cross country state meet in Peoria.

Sirois was once again in a class of her own as she set the 3-mile Detweiller Park course record with a time of 15:53.40 to nip the previous record of 15:53.80 set by Naperville North's Judy Pendergast in 2015. York's Karlin Janowski's second-place time of 16:30.60 was 37 seconds behind Sirois.

The team race was one for the ages as Barrington (131 points) beat defending champion York (132 points) by one point, and third-place Downers Grove North (133 points) by two points to bring home the Fillies' first state title since 2003.

Prospect held off Batavia 142-148 for fourth place followed by Naperville North (214) in seventh, Hersey (282) in ninth, and Huntley (363) in 10th.

"I'm just shocked to win by one point. We talked about how we really had to fight for each point and we knew that we had to hit it really hard no matter how we were feeling," said Barrington coach Debbie Revolt, whose team placed third last year. "She (Sirois) has a great work ethic, her mom was a runner at Purdue I believe, and she wanted this since she won state track (3,200 meters). That has been her goal so I can't say enough about her."

Besides Sirois, Barrington's road to victory was led by Scout Storms in sixth, Sabrina Roach in 28th, Viktoria Higgins in 50th, and Victoria Tarara in 68th.

"I'm super happy with how our team did and that we were able to come away with that championship," said Sirois. "I'm really happy with my own performance as well. I knew that the course record was possible, but I knew I had to fight for it. It did start raining like an hour before our race so it was a little muddy, but overall the (course) conditions were really good."

Prospect was led by Veronica Znajda in third place followed by Willowbrook's Amelie Ojeda in fifth, Prospect's Meg Peterson in seventh, Batavia's Avery Hacker in eighth, and Downers Grove North's Alayna Todnem in ninth.

Wheaton Warrenville South's Nicole Poglitsch placed 11th to outpace Naperville North's Emma Berres (13th), Prospect's Ireland Wildhart (14th), Naperville North's Rianna Tandon (15th), York's Sophia Galiano-Sanchez (17th), and Wheaton North's Maddie Romaine (18th).

"It was a great day for the Knights. We ran our best race of the season by far," said Prospect coach Pete Wintermute. "We were nine points out of a trophy and 12 points out of first place so it's great to be a part of an awesome state competition."

DGN teammates Audrey Casten and Lily Eddington placed 19-20 followed by Batavia's Madeline Cassidy (21st), Hersey's Madeline Bialko (22nd), Glenbard West's Alexa Novak (23rd), and Naperville North's Shania Tandon (24th). Maine South's Sofia Arcuri (26th) just missed the all-state team by one place.

"I'm just really proud of my team. We had five PRs, and I would say this was our best race of the season," said York coach Lauren Deangelis, whose program now has 11 top-three IHSA trophies. "I'm pretty sure we passed a ton of people in that last mile. All season it has been this close, and we had some girls that really stepped up for us today so it was a really good team effort."

CLASS 2A

St. Ignatius won the Class 2A crown by a comfortable 76-177 score over DePaul College Prep. Crystal Lake South outdistanced St. Francis 266-288 for eighth place followed by Benet Academy in 11th, Grayslake Central in 14th, Wheaton Academy in 16th, St. Viator in 21st, and Carmel Catholic in 22nd.

St. Viator teammates Erin Hinsdale and Elena Mamminga finished 4-5 followed by Benet's Delilah Helenhouse (eighth), Carmel's Izzy Bing (11th), Antioch's Rosalyn Gonzalez (15th), Fenton's Josslyn Wade (16th), Burlington Central's Abigail Burke (27th), and Grayslake North's Yaremi Ramos (31st). Benet's Keira Jenke (32nd) edged CLS's Caroline Lucas (34th), and Grayslake North's Madison Petersen (35th). Grayslake Central's Ava Henne (44th) nipped St. Francis' Margaret Andrzejewski (46th).

CLASS 1A

In Class 1A, Williamsville (171 points) nipped runner-up Unity (173), and Anna-Jonesboro (177) for the team title. IC Catholic placed 14th followed by Aurora Central Catholic in 17th, and Montini in 22nd.

Montini teammates Sydney Gertsen and Ashlynn Lindt placed sixth and 18th, respectively, followed by ACC's Cece Hilby (20th), and Harvest Christian Academy's Giselle Moret (34th). IC Catholic was led by Graziella Narcisi (37th), and Grace Gildea (53rd) while St. Edward's Sophie Holland placed 85th.