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Running. Basketball. A job. Schoolwork.
June was a busy time for Layla Janisch. The Sycamore junior has another word to describe it.
“June is absolutely insane,” Janisch said. “I go from running in the morning to basketball and I would work. And I was taking a class. Then I’d have to go back if I had a basketball game. I always had to make sure I was doing my extra workouts and never missing a day of running. Some days I would miss basketball if I was really tired but I was never missing running. You just have to stay focused on it.”
All the running paid off. Janisch ran back-to-back personal records to close the cross country season, peaking with an 18:34.9 at the state meet to take 61st in her first trip to the finale in Peoria.
She was also named the Daily Chronicle 2024 Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year.
“The year had a very successful ending,” Janisch said. “At points it may not have been as successful. But it had a very successful ending and I was very happy with how it ended.”
It took Janisch until mid-September to break 20 minutes, outside of a 19:47 on her home course in early September. But once she hit an 18:38.9 at Kaneland on a slightly shorter course, she never looked back.
Sycamore coach Adam Bezinovich said the focus Janisch has in June to get through her grueling scheduling shows itself during the cross country season too.
“That’s the fun part of coaching Layla,” Bezinovich said. “Every season is going to have ups and downs. It’s easy to be excited when you’re up. She’s really good at finding why didn’t it go well in this race or what can I do to get better.”
Bezinovich said Janisch was hoping to win the Interstate 8 meet, but finished third. One of the two runners she finished behind was Kaneland junior Danielle Bower. Then the next week Bower finished ahead of Janisch at the regional.
At the sectional on Bower’s home track, however, Janisch posted an 18:40.39 - her first time under 19 minutes on a full three-mile track.
“The conference meet didn’t go well, she got beat by a very good runner from Kaneland,” Bezinovich said. “Then at her home course, she beat Bower in the race. She learned. She knew she let her get too far ahead and knew she had to stay with her. It was fun to watch.”
Janisch then managed to shave almost six seconds off her time the next week at state.
“The goal I had, especially after the track season I had, was just to get to state,” Janisch said. “There was no goal other than that. Just get to state.”
Bezinovich said her commitment in the summer paid off.
“In the summer it was a huge commitment, coming in every morning at 6 a.m., running with her teammates on her own,” Bezinovich said. “She ran during our camp, the 25 times we are allowed to meet. She hardly missed any days from [after basketball ended] to track. She continued that into cross country and we saw a lot of the dividends at the end. It was exciting to watch her put it all together.”
Janisch is playing for the Spartans basketball team this winter, then shifts to track - she was a state qualifier in the 800.
When cross country season rolls around next year, Janisch said she’s hoping to win the I8 meet, help the Spartans win the I8 meet as a team and finish in the top 25 at state. She also hopes the Spartans can qualify for state as a team, something they haven’t done since 2008.
“That’s kind of crazy because that was the year I was born in,” Janisch said. “So that would be really special. It’s been my whole life since we’ve been downstate so that would be really special. And personally I would like to go all state.”