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La Salle-Peru
Coach: John Beatty
Top returners: Anya De La Luz, sr.; Ashlee Lord, sr.; Kiely Domyancich, so.
Key newcomers: Gracie Politch, so.; Lylian Pabian, jr.; Aniya Lumpkins, so.
Worth noting: De La Luz leads a solid group of returners after qualifying for the sectional last season. Lord was an All-Interstate 8 Conference performer in track in the 4x800-meter relay, while Domyancich was L-P’s top 3,200 runner in the spring. Lumpkins and Pabian are coming out for cross country after competing in track in the spring. “I think we can get one or more girls and boys to state if we train right and avoid injury,” Beatty said.
St. Bede
Coach: Marty Makransky
Top returners: Sierah Shaver, sr.
Key newcomer: Kennedy Nguyen, sr.
Worth noting: Shaver ran for the Bruins last season, and she had a successful track season in the spring, helping St. Bede’s 4x100-meter and 4x200 relays to sectional titles and state medals. Nguyen, an exchange student from Vietnam, is an inexperienced runner. “I think [Shaver] could qualify for sectional for sure,” Makransky said. “She’s a scrappy athlete.”
Hall
Coach: Tom Keegan
Top returners: Evelyn Castelan, so.; Jade Wangelin, so.
Worth noting: A pair of sophomores will run for the Red Devils this fall. “We are looking for continued improvement from where they left off last year,” Keegan said. “Hopefully, we can develop over the course of the year to where we can send some individuals onto the sectional level.”
Mendota
Coach: Kevin Wohrley
Top returners: Anna Valdes, so.
Key newcomers: Emily Banks, so.; Samara Hernandez, so.; Peri Manning, so.; Payton Stavropoulos, jr.
Worth noting: The Trojans have a young and inexperienced roster with only Valdes returning. “I am certain the girls are going to see significant improvement over the next few months,” Wohrley said.
Princeton
Coach: Pat Hodge
Key returners: Ella Grey, jr.; Avery Waca, so.
Key newcomers: Ruby Acker, fr.; Payton Frueh, fr.; Alexandra Waca, fr.
Worth noting: The Tigresses lost two key runners with the graduation of three-time NewsTribune Runner of the Year Lexi Bohms and Kiana Brokaw, both all-conference runners. Grey and Waca will lead the way with Princeton adding three freshmen. Acker, Frueh and Waca all competed in Illinois Elementary School Association sectionals in 2022. “Graduating two all-conference runners in Lexi Bohms and Kiana Brokaw obviously hurts us. It’s too bad that they weren’t around for another year, as we have a nice little group of freshmen coming in,” Hodge said. ”Avery had a solid rookie year in ‘22, and Ella was a consistent performer for us, too. Time will tell exactly where Ruby, Payton and Alexandra compare to what we graduated, but if we have improvement from our two returning runners and the three freshmen run comparatively as well as they did at Logan, we should be a stronger overall team than last year. We could use a few more runners, though, as we won’t have a team if one girl is missing at a given meet.”
Bureau Valley
Coach: Bob Benck
Top returners: None
Key newcomer: Leah House, fr.
Worth noting: After not having any female runners last fall, freshman Leah House joins the team this year.
Amboy co-op
Coach: Michael Robinson
Top returners: Natalie Pratt, jr.; Addison Pertell, jr.; Samantha Nauman, so.; Anna Carlson, so.
Key newcomers: Bella Yanos, so.
Worth noting: The Clippers are experienced with four of the five runners back from last season. Robinson said Yanos could provide a spark. “As always, our goal is to improve over the course of the season and give ourselves our best shot for the postseason,” Robinson said.
Henry-Midland
Coach: Carrie Meffert
Top returners: Daniella Bumber, so.
Key newcomers: Sam Nauman, fr.
Worth noting: Bumber is an elite sprinter who tried cross country last fall for the first time with plenty of success for the Timberducks. She had a top-10 regional finish and narrowly missed a state berth. In her freshman track season, she qualified for state in four events and placed second in the 400 meters, fourth in the 200 and sixth in the 100. “She came out last year and had never run distance before. She was a nice surprise,” Meffert said. “She had a great sprint season in track. She’s got a year of cross country under her belt and knows what to expect out of the courses this year.” Nauman, a freshman who also is a swimmer, is expected to contribute, as well. “I think she and Daniella will push each other,” Meffert said. “Sam has that same competitive drive and is willing to work hard.” Meffert said she thinks Bumber and Nauman have the potential to qualify for state.
Fieldcrest
Coach: Carol Bauer
Top returners: Clare Phillips, sr.; Macy Gochanour, so.; Tatiana Serna, sr.; Hannah Schumacher, jr.; Emma Martin, so.
Worth noting: Phillips will lead a Fieldcrest squad that has 11 runners. Phillips was a sectional qualifier last fall. “She had a solid season last year qualifying for sectional and followed that up with her best track season ever,” Bauer said. “Her summer running has been good, and we will continue to work on personal bests with her.” Gochanour’s main focus is volleyball but will be the Knights’ No. 2 runner when she’s available. She was a state qualifier in the 300-meter hurdles in the spring. Serna, Schumacher and Martin will round out the top five.