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1A Kankakee (McNamara) Writer: Brodie Peterson The boys race shows off some decent talent with Holden Gerdes of Fairbury Prairie Ridge, ranked 12th in 1A, battling it out with 1A #15 Joe Faris of Dwight. Following close behind them will be Evan Benoit of Herscher. All three of these guys have been having killer seasons, so this could be anyone’s game here. On the team side Herscher, the 8th-ranked team in 1A, is the clear favorite. In a regional, a simulated 50 point gap is h

West Suburban Conference Silver Writer: Jackson Summy The WSC Silver is one of the strongest 3A conferences in the state, and it should be another exciting year of racing here. On the boys side, the individual race should be pretty close between a number of ranked runners. 3A #8 Patrick Hill of York is the narrow favorite coming into this race. He took second at the Richard Spring invite with a PR of 14:29 and he has been a dominant force in every race that he’s ran so far. 3

Conference week is here, and we're breaking down all of the friday action below! There are a couple good meets today, so read up and see who's the favorite to win their conference title around the state! Friday Southwest Prairie Conference Writer: Brayden Gaffud Boys Teams: 3A - #1 Plainfield (South), #14 Plainfield (North), #24 Yorkville, Bolingbrook, Joliet (Central), Joliet (West), Plainfield (Central), Plainfield (East), Minooka, Oswego, Oswego (East), Romeoville Girls T

Naperville Twilight is one of the best meets of the year, and it's going down this Wednesday! We broke down all the action for you right here, enjoy the Naperville Twilight Preview: Boys Teams: Addison (A. Trail), Arlington Heights (Hersey), Aurora (Metea Valley), Batavia, Chicago (Jones), Dixon, Downers Grove (North), Downers Grove (South), Geneva, Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West), LaGrange (Lyons), Minooka, Morris, Naperville (Central), Naperville (Neuqua Valley), Naperville (Nor

Here are this week’s IHSA Sectional Rankings! Last week the IHSA reveiled the assignments! These rankings are dedicated to Mike Newman, who passed away last year. Mike was the owner of ILXCTF.com and was well-known for producing these top 10 rankings every season. In his honor, we have named these rankings after him. 3A Boys Elk Grove Village New Lenox (Lincoln-Way Central) Roselle (Lake Park) LaGrange (Lyons) Rank Team Last Rank Rank Team Last Rank Rank Team Last Rank Rank T

Week 5 brings a number of exciting invites around the state. We break down all the big meets going on this weekend here! Enjoy this weeks edition of the Weekend Roundup! Palatine “Meet Of Champions” Invite Writer: Jackson Summy Boys Teams: 3A - #4 Arlington Heights (Hersey), #5 Winnetka (New Trier), #7 Palatine (Fremd), #8 Elmhurst (York), #9 Mt. Prospect (Prospect), #10 Plainfield North, #11 Lake Zurich, #15 Park Ridge (Maine South), #16 Libertyville, #17 Naperville (Neuqua

We're already in week 4 of the 2026 cross country season! We break down all of the action going on this weekend in this weeks edition of the weekend roundup! Dale Donner Invite Writer: Ian Tancrell Boys Teams: 1A - #2 East Dubuque, #14 Rockford (Lutheran), #15 Elmwood, Aledo (Mercer County) Amboy, Cambridge, Erie-Prophetstown, Forreston, Grannville (Putnam County), Henry (H.-Senachwine), Kewanee, Kewanee (Wethersfield), LaSalle (L.-Peru), Manlius (Bureau Valley), Mendota, Min

FTTF 1A Invite Writer: Brodie Peterson Boys Teams: #1 Eureka, #2 East Dubuque, #3 Clinton, #4 Elmwood, #5 Chillicothe (Illinois Valley Central), #6 El Paso-Gridley, #8 Delavan, #9 Williamsville, #11 Edwardsville (Metro-East Lutheran), #13 Herscher, #15 Rockford Christian, #16 Roxana, #17 St. Joseph-Ogden, #18 Murphysboro, #19 Fairbury (Prairie Central), #20 Rockford Lutheran, #21 Toledo (Cumberland); Abingdon-Avon, Anna-Jonesboro, Argenta-Oreana, Auburn, Aurora Christian, Bee

Granite City Robinson/Lang Invite Boys Teams: 2A - #13 Marion, #23 Waterloo; 1A - #15 Metro East Lutheran, #20 Roxana; MO - #2 SLUH; Alton, Belleville Althoff, Belleville East, Belleville West, Breese Central, Chatham Glenwood, Chesterton Academy, Civic Memorial, Collinsville, Columbia, Confluence Academy, Dupo, East St. Louis, East Alton Wood River, Edwardsville, Father McGivney, First Baptist Academy(O’Fallon), Freeburg, Gibault, Granite City, Greenville, Highland, Jacksonv

The first weekend of cross country action is officially upon us! Illinois Running News will be providing coverage of multiple major invites across the state of illinois. The following 5 meets will all have coverage produced by Illinois Running News at. Sit back and enjoy reading about where we will be this weekend. EIU Showdown Writer: Sydney Cine Boys Teams: 3A - #3 Downers Grove North, #12 Naperville (Neuqua Valley), #20 Plainfield North, Algonquin (Jacobs), Bolingbrook, Hi

Class 1A has long been known for producing championship-caliber teams, and the 2026 season is shaping up to be another exciting one. From defending state contenders to emerging programs on the rise, this year's preseason Top 25 features teams with a strong blend of returning experience, talented underclassmen, and proven postseason success. Our rankings are based solely on performances and information available prior to July 1st, 2026, meaning any races or results after that

While the teams ranked in our preseason Top 25 enter the season with the highest expectations, they are far from the only programs capable of making an impact this fall. Illinois Class 1A is filled with talented squads that narrowly missed the rankings and have the potential to emerge as contenders as the season progresses. The teams featured below were not included in our preseason rankings but had their coaches complete the preseason questionnaire that was sent via email, a

100m This is going to be one of the closest 100m State Final races we have ever seen. There are many athletes that are within milliseconds of each other. Realistically, any of the athletes mentioned here could take the title, as long as they have a good day on Finals day. The first contender is the only returning All-Stater from last year, Jaiduan Cranford of Metamora. Cranford was the early season favorite, as he smoked the field at IL Top Times. Not to mention, he still has

We have finally made it to the end of the season, and the girls state meet is just around the corner. With 1A prelims tomorrow, we have gone event by event and broken down all of the action that you will see this weekend! 100 Danville currently holds both the boys and the girls top 2A 100m runners. Focusing on the girls side, Jamia Esther is the favorite to win. Now, the tiniest mistake can be made in such a short race, but Esther is currently almost .4 seconds ahead of every

We have finally made it to the end of the season, and the girls state meet is just around the corner. With 1A prelims tomorrow, we have gone event by event and broken down all of the action that you will see this weekend! 100m The 100m is always a marquee event at the state meet, one that can throw a wrench into predictions given how little margin for error exists in such a short race. That said, this year's field has a clear and heavy favorite in Rayna Raglin of Alton, who h

SWSC The Southwest Suburban Conference is the best it has been in years, there is a ton of exciting stuff going down here. In the sprints, we are going to be treated to a great matchup in the 300mH between Myles Ellis of Homewood Flossmoor and Anthony Lusciatti of Lincoln Way West. Ellis has been a fantastic 300mH all season long, his season best of 37.39 stands as the #4 mark in Illinois. Ellis will also be running the open 100, where he should be in for an easy win, as his

In the wake of the passing of Mike Newman, Illinois Running News is honored to carry forward one of the state’s most beloved traditions: the Sub 5/Sub 6 Challenge. This challenge has long been a staple of the Illinois distance running community, celebrating the pursuit of breaking the 5-minute mile for boys and the 6-minute mile for girls. With the blessing of Noah Lawrence, who played a key role in creating and shaping the original concept, Illinois Running News is committed

The stage is set for one of the most anticipated meets of the indoor season as the Illinois Indoor Championships return this Saturday to the fast, banked surface of the Dr. Conrad Worrill Track & Field Center. With elite talent from across the state converging under one roof, this meet promises high-level competition, breakthrough performances, and early glimpses of athletes poised to make noise when the outdoor season arrives. From loaded distance fields to explosive sprints

Gabriel Gronski - Hersey Batavia Distance 1600m 4:16.23 Gabriel Gronski had an incredible win at Batavia this past Friday with a blazing 4:16.23 that just barely broke the old meet record of 4:16.59. Gronski has never really had the spotlight on him throughout high school. Just narrowly missing state in the 1600m last year, Gronski still has yet to run on the blue oval. This year, Gronski has already decided to change his fate. His first ever sub 4:20 1600m allowed him to lea

Friday Central Illinois Invite Although there are many impressive athletes on the boys side, the girls side is just as amazing. Starting with sprinters, the first big name is Sophia Shapiro of Edwardsville, who has already run some quick times in the 200 and 400 and has the #9-ranked 400 time in Illinois this season. Another notable name is Rayna Raglin from Alton, who is ranked #3 in the 60m and #1 in the 200m this season across all classes. Aswell, Nina Brown of Champaig