2023 Daily Chronicle girls cross country preview capsules

DeKalb

Head coach: Mike Wolf (26th season)

Last season: 16th at 3A Lake Park Sectional

Top returner: Korima Gonzalez, jr.

Top newcomers: Christina Blanchard, jr.; Sam Vander Bleek, fr.

Worth noting: The Barbs return a strong leader in Korima Gonzalez. Gonzalez shaved almost a minute off of her time at the 3A Lake Park Sectional compared to her time as a freshman in 2021. With Gonzalez responding well to an increased mileage over the summer, coach Mike Wolf is looking for depth.

“We are looking to have our 2-5 runners very close together,” Wolf said. “We are looking for strong improvement in our regional and sectional finishes from last season.”

Kaneland

Head coach: Doug Ecker (36th season)

Last season: 10th in 2A Kaneland Sectional

Top returners: Abby Fitts, sr.; Olivia Pastovich, sr. Abigail Lechocki, jr.; Jaden Unzueta, jr,; Audrey Walker, jr.; Danielle Bower, so.

Top newcomers: Graycen Cole, so.

Worth noting: The Kaneland girls cross country team returns all but one runner from last year’s top seven. This team is loaded with talent and coach Doug Ecker hopes that they can get a little luck this season when it comes to the health of his team.

“We gotta stay healthy,” Ecker said. “Last year, we battled injuries and illnesses. If we can do that, I think that we can be competitive with an outside chance of making it out of our sectional as a team.”

Sycamore

Head coach: Adam Bezinovich (11th season)

Last season: 17th in 2A Kaneland Sectional

Top returners: Hayley King, sr.; Carly Carpenter, sr.; Layla Janisch, so.

Top newcomers: Alyssa Stacey, jr.; Zoe Field, so.

Worth noting: The Spartans will be bringing back a lot of experience. Head coach Adam Bezinovich noted that underclassmen come into high school ready to compete for a varsity spot at Sycamore, citing Janisch’s success last season.

“We have a real good middle school program that preps them,” Bezinovich said. “If we can keep our splits from one through five down around 2:00 to 2:30, I think we can be top three in our conference and make it to our sectional meet.

Genoa-Kingston

Head coaches: Grace Nelson (first season) and Michael Franckowiak (fourth season)

Top returners: Abbie Andrews, sr.; Rowan Ellis, jr.; Keara Ellis, jr.; Dulce Ibarra, so.

Top newcomers: Emma James, fr.; Gracie Zapatka, fr.

Worth noting: The Cogs are trying to build their program back to where it was in 2019 when the Cogs made sectionals as a team. Senior Abbie Andrews could be a candidate to fill the top role, while the young group of Emma James, Gracie Zapatka and Dulce Ibarra have time to build a core that can grow together over the next three seasons.