Girls Varsity Cross Country ends an undefeated season with a State win

On Saturday Nov. 7, the top seven on the York Girls Varsity Cross Country Team advanced to state and won, competing at Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, IL. With the girls team having not seen a state title since 2002, this was a momentous achievement for the team. 

“This 2020 team is on cloud nine!” varsity coach Lauren DeAngelis said. “They stopped Naperville North from winning their fifth consecutive state championship, and that is a huge accomplishment that they are extremely proud of.”

This was an outstanding year for the team, filled with hardwork and many obstacles including coronavirus restrictions, quarantining and limited interaction with teammates. Despite this, the team achieved an impressive winning streak.

“The girls went undefeated this 2020 Season. They were WSC [west suburban conference] Silver Division Champions, 3A IHSA Proviso West Regional Champions, 3A IHSA Lyons Township Sectional Champions and now Shazam State Champions,” DeAngelis said. 

The girls conquered race after race, defeating each competing team. The girls prepared for this race their entire season, giving one-hundred percent effort.

“All the hard work, sacrifices and dedication has paid off and I would not want it any other way,” freshman varsity runner Michaela Quinn said. “There were so many things we had to prepare for these races such as supporting each other when workouts get tough, being smart with our decisions and eating well.”

The training didn’t begin in the fall. These girls have been running thoughtfully since the beginning of summer. 

“Every day since June, except for Sundays, we have been running on the Prairie Path and putting in the miles to get ready for this race,” junior varsity runner Katelyn Winton said. “It took a lot of time and dedication, but it was definitely worth it.”

The top seven, along with the other members of the varsity team who did not run in state, would train daily during the season. They worked to improve themselves in hopes to run a faster three-mile at each meet. 

“For our training we go on different types of running workouts and some have pushed us to our physical and mental limits, but I think they made us stronger in the long run,” freshman varsity runner Katherine Klimek said. 

Considering the substantial changes to the season, the team still continued to run socially-distanced. The girls adapted to different changes within the season, considering that even the meets had different rules

“Instead of running in one big race, the races were flighted so only two girls from each team would run at time,” top varsity runner, sophomore Brooke Berger said. “Our team is very good at pack running, so we had to adjust to running with only one other girl, but we were able to still push one another to have great races.”

With no runners in the graduating class of 2021, the girls will have the motivation to come back next season and continue what they have started. The coaches motivate the girls to start thinking about next season and how they can come back even stronger by using the big state win to push themselves.

“In the future, I will carry this feeling of success with me to make me train even harder,” varsity runner, Bria Bennis said. “And through the doubts, I will remember that it can in fact pay off in such an amazing way.”

Despite all the change that 2020 has brought to this team, the girls and coaches couldn’t be more excited about all their accomplishments this season. 

“The smiles on their faces and their pure excitement and joy was such an amazing feeling,” DeAngelis said. “I am so incredibly proud of this entire team and can’t wait to see what the future holds.”