2026 Conference Week Preview: Saturday

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. 3A #11 Isaac Stein of Downers Grove North will match up really well with Hill. Stein had a great race at the Naperville Twilight invite with a PR mark of 14:35. The two runners have very different styles of racing, Hill preferring a sit-and-kick and Stein leaning towards a hard start, so it should be an interesting matchup between the two runners. 3A #12 Brennan Monohan of Lyons Township and 3A #13 Henry Miller of Hinsdale Central should be right with Hill and Stein here, both runners could absolutely walk away with a win as well. On the team side, it’s going to be a close race between 3A #4 York and 3A #5 Downers Grove North. York put up one of the best team performances of the year so far at the Peoria High invite, taking a very close second to 3A #2 New Trier. Their fifth runner is much stronger than DGN’s, which gives them a narrow lead coming into the race. DGN is a team of similar caliber, but it’s going to be tough for them to keep up without Steven Cox in their lineup. They took second to an extremely tough Dixon team at the Naperville Twilight invite, but that was without Cox racing. Cox is a solid lowstick that would push up above most of York’s scorers, and it would be a huge advantage if they could have the duo of Stein and Cox up front. That being said, if he doesn’t run, you might as well call it York’s race to lose. On the girls side, it’s relatively cut-and-dry on the individual side with 3A #1 Karlin Janowski of York being the dominant favorite. The defending state champ is undefeated through week 7 of the IHSA season, and after the soul-crushing 16:25 at the Palatine invite, it’s going to be tough to deny her an easy win here. That being said 3A #9 Macy Ermitage of Downers Grove North has steadily been gaining momentum over the last few weeks and could be in a position to seriously challenge Janowski. Ermitage was 3rd at the state meet last year and she was with Janowski for most of the race, so her grit could come through in a scenario like this. Molly Mocko of Glenbard West will also be in contention here, as her season is starting to ramp up as well. Mocko was injured for the first few weeks of the season, but she just recently threw down a 17:37 at the Loyola Flight Night invitational, which is a staunch improvement from where she was early in the season. As the season drags on, Mocko has only gotten in better shape, so she could be at a point where she can compete with the leaders here. On the team side, 3A #4 Glenbard West should be on their way to an easy win here. They started the season with a little uncertainty, but even without Molly Mocko, they were nothing short of dominant during the early weeks of the season. Now that Mocko is back in their lineup, their pack of Katie King, Shayne Dietzen, Lauren Bennett, Maya Slowikowski, and Alyssa Novak is pretty much unbeatable in a race like this. 3A #22 Hinsdale Central has been pretty solid considering they’ve been without Ella Satre all season, they should be the next team in after GBW. 

Dukane Conference

Writer: Momo Hashimoto

Conference week is here! The Dukane Conference puts together many top teams within the Chicago Suburbs, making for a competitive field and exciting watch.

On the boys side, 3A #2 Sam Hill will be racing to reclaim his Dukane Conference title from the year prior and with help from 3A #15 Logan Hitchings and Christian Enger, they are looking to lead 3A #8 St. Charles North to reclaim their team title. 3A #19 Batavia, led by Senior Edward Polaski and Aaron Kernler, and 3A #22 Wheaton Warrenville South led by Liam Meyer and Joey Mowrer are also hoping to make for strong performances before heading off to Regionals. Strong performances across the board will act as a thrilling precursor to the Championship Season.

On the girls side, 3A #4 Kara Glenn is also hoping to reclaim her Dukane Conference title, but will be met with very strong competition from 3A #6 Avery Hacker. Continuing their success throughout the season, the 3A #15 St. Charles North girls will be racing to reclaim their prior Dukane Team title as well, likely garnering strong performances from Gwen Hobson and Julia Rodney. The competition within throughout the teams additionally comes from Gwendolyn Krodel of 3A #18 Batavia, and Addy Lindsay of 3A #19 Wheaton Warrenville South. 3A #25 Adley Wilson will be racing for a top placement alongside Nicole Mayer, both of whom are hoping to guide a strong performance for St. Charles East. 

Both the boys and girls races will provide many strong performances from ranked stars, in addition to unranked athletes looking to make an impact on the conference and the rankings.

DuPage Valley Conference

Writer: Sydney Cline

The DuPage Valley Conference brings together several strong and notable programs to IHSA cross country and running. Looking on to the boys side, Naperville (Neuqua Valley) (3A #12) and and Naperville central (3A #13) will be leading the boys team rankings. Neuqua Valley has two standout individuals with senior Jesse Gudauskas (3A #5) and junior Grayson Meek (3A #23). Gudauskas finished 24th at the 2025 IHSA Class 3A State Cross Country Championships and has already run a personal best of 14:19.2 this season. Gudauskas started off with a #15 preseason ranking and has shown remarkable improvement between his junior and senior season so far. He will be a top contender to watch here, as well as at the state finals. Meek is also coming off a strong previous XC season, finishing 14th at the 2025 IHSA state XC meet. Neuqua Valley brings a strong winning  history to the conference, having won three IHSA Class 3A state championships in 2007, 2009, and 2016. Neuqua Valley finished 14th at last year's state meet along with Naperville Central placing 16th. Many other teams apart of the Dupage Valley conference will be competing like Metea Valley, Waubonsie Valley, DeKalb, and Naperville North. On the girls side, Naperville North which is currently (3A #12) leads the conference rankings. The Huskies placed 15th at the 2025 IHSA Class 3A State Championships and have nine key runners back this season, including seniors Chloe Piot, Sophia Schulz, Elliana White, and Kate Gallagher, and juniors Kathryn Rohr, Georgia Karstens, Lorelai Garlough, Alex Pobozny, and Clara Reckamp. With no currently ranked individuals listed this week, it will be an exciting opportunity to see which runners make an impact in the conference. 

Mid Suburban League

Writer: Jackson Summy

Outlook: The Mid Suburban League compiles some of the strongest programs in the suburbs of Chicago, it’s going to lead to an electric meet this weekend. On the girls side, the individual race and the team race should both have some great matchups. The top two individuals coming into this weekend are the Barrington duo of Angelica Hil and Victoria Tarara. Hil has been the #1 for Barrington for the majority of the year, but Tarara did get a pretty substantial win last weekend at the Loyola Flight Night. Both athletes should be in a class of their own here, it’s going to be very difficult to unseat them from a 1-2 finish. After Hil and Tarara, there should be a pretty large pack of girls, mostly made up of Prospect runners, that will challenge for the third place spot. Madeline Serur of Hersey is arguably the top contender after her exceptional race at the Palatine invite. She ran her PR of 17:32 to take 8th behind some of the best runners in the state. She will be joined by Amelia Kronforst and Caitlin Resac of Prospect, who both ran outstanding at the Nike Twilight invitational. The Prospect duo both ran 18:09 at Laverne Gibson, which is not an easy course to run fast on. All three runners are in the same tier as each other, which should lead to a great race for third. On the team side, Prospect should be walking away with the win here. Prospect showed that their depth is their most powerful asset at the Nike Twilight invite, as they took second among some of the best teams in the country. If they can survive the elite lowstick capabilities of Barrington, they should be on to an easy conference title. As we already mentioned, Barrington is expected to have two athletes well above everyone, but with Mia Sirois now out for the season, it’s going to be tough for them to beat Prospect without a strong replacement for their U20 national champ. Instead, they’re going to have to really put on a show to outlast Hersey, who is getting better and better with each week. With the possible return of Graceleen Mabry this week, Hersey will be in prime position to upset Barrington for the second place spot. On the boys side, it’s actually a mirror image of the girls race, but with David Moore and Jack Jennings of Fremd leading the way. Moore and Jennings have been extremely strong up front for the Vikings, even with Jennings’ late start to the season. They have propelled Fremd up to one of the strongest teams in the state and they’ll be pretty hard to outlast individually. Other individuals to keep your eye on are Gabriel Gronski of Hersey, who had a solid race last week at the Naperville Twilight invite. Gronski has excellent closing speed, which makes him a threat to anyone that can’t bury him before the final stretch of the race. Bobby Wintermute of Prospect has quietly been having a great season, his best race so far being the 15:40 that he put up at Nike Twilight. He could be competitive here with Gronski if he can create a gap early. On the team side, it’s going to be between Prospect and Hersey. Prospect ran great at the Nike Twilight invitational, which is what gives them the slight lean over Hersey. Their top 3 has improved mightily from last year, and they have a small pack advantage over Hersey as well. Hersey will need to see a pretty strong day from their group of four behind Gronski if they want to take a win here, but it’s certainly not out of the question. 

SWSC Conference

Writer: Vinny Ciccarelli

Outlook: The Southwest Suburban Conference Cross Country Meet this Saturday is certainly a competition you will not want to miss, as nine area programs—Lincoln-Way Central, Carl Sandburg, Bradley-Bourbonnais, Lockport Township, Lincoln-Way East, Lincoln-Way West, Andrew, Homewood-Flossmoor, and Amos Alonzo Stagg—prepare to compete for conference supremacy on both the boys’ and girls’ sides. The championship race amongst these very talented teams will provide an important opportunity for runners to demonstrate how much they have developed throughout the 2026 season. On the girls’ side, Lincoln-Way Central enters the meet as a team to keep an eye on, with an impressive foundation following their performance at the Southwest Suburban Conference Pre-Conference Meet on August 25, 2026, where the Knights captured the team title with 23 points. The Knights have several very talented runners from the Junior and the Senior class. Under the direction of Head Coach Ryan Stapinski, Lincoln-Way Central of New Lenox, IL  has demonstrated the importance of team depth, led by senior standout Mia Forystek, who has committed to the University of Illinois. Forystek won the pre-conference race in 18:17.10 over two miles, establishing herself as one of the runners to watch entering the championship this weekend. Katie Petrosky followed with a third-place finish in 18:43.67, while Ana Dal Ponte placed fourth in 18:49.62. Jillian Davies and Brea Counihan completed the Knights’ top five with seventh- and eighth-place finishes, respectively, giving Lincoln-Way Central five runners inside the top eight and a commanding 23-point team score. Ava Zartler also finished ninth in a personal-best 19:30.16, while Grace Mathis placed 11th in 19:46.50. That combination of front-running talent and scoring depth will be important as the Knights attempt to carry their pre-conference success into Saturday’s championship. Forystek has continued to produce strong performances over longer distances, recording a 17:53.5 three-mile performance at the Naperville Girls Cross Country Invitational on September 25, where she finished ahead of teammate Dal Ponte, who ran a personal-best 18:11.9. Dal Ponte’s improvement, combined with the experience of Petrosky, Davies, and Counihan, gives Lincoln-Way Central several athletes capable of contributing to another strong team performance. Counihan has also recorded an 18:13.3 three-mile performance this season, while Petrosky ran a personal-best 18:32.6 at the Naperville meet. These three-mile results provide a more recent look at the Knights’ progression beyond the two-mile pre-conference race, although times must be compared carefully because course conditions and race distances can differ. One of the most compelling individual storylines will be the matchup between Forystek and Ella Giblin of Carl Sandburg. At the September 25 Naperville Girls Cross Country Invitational, Forystek clocked 17:53.5 over three miles, while Giblin finished in 18:03.0, a difference of just 9.5 seconds. Their performances establish a documented head-to-head comparison entering the conference championship and provide a compelling reason to watch the lead group as the race develops. The girls’ individual field also includes Heidi Schaaf, Kate Roberts, Chase Foster, Olivia Launius, Aubrey Gentile, Ally Dean, and Audrey Nelson. Their recent results throughout this season will help determine how the individual standings and team scoring battles unfold, particularly if the leading runners remain closely grouped through the middle stages. Beyond the top two contenders, the competition for the remaining scoring positions could prove decisive. In a championship scored by finishing place, every position matters, and a runner moving ahead of a rival team’s scorer can influence the final standings. For Lincoln-Way Central, the objective will be to place its first five runners as high as possible while keeping the gap between its lead runner and fifth scorer manageable. Carl Sandburg, Bradley-Bourbonnais, Lockport Township, Lincoln-Way East, Lincoln-Way West, Andrew, Homewood-Flossmoor, and Stagg will all look to challenge the Knights and establish their own position among the conference’s leading programs. On the boys’ side, the same nine schools will compete in a race where front-running ability, consistent pacing, and team depth will be central to the outcome. The individual runners to watch include Brendan Hanrahan, Brayden Gaffud, Ryan Zartler, Matthew Lienhardt, Kyler Savini, Tate Heaster, Nelson Speakman, Colin Sinks, and John Shervino. Ryan Zartler has recorded a 15:34.63 three-mile performance in the pre-conference results, followed by a 15:52.73 performance at the Normal West Invitational on August 29 and a 15:44.73 result at the Mike Kuharic Cross Country Invitational on September 5. His 15:34.63 mark provides a useful early-season benchmark as the boys’ individual competition approaches. However, the complete current season-best times for the other named runners and the competing boys’ teams are needed before making a reliable prediction about the individual winner or team champion. The race itself will likely develop through several important stages. The opening mile will establish the initial positioning, with runners attempting to remain close enough to the lead group without expending too much energy too early. Through the middle portion of the course, maintaining rhythm and staying connected to teammates will become increasingly important, especially for programs relying on a tightly grouped scoring pack. The final mile should provide the clearest indication of which athletes have managed their effort effectively, as runners attempt to move up the field and protect their positions. Course terrain and footing will also matter, particularly if the route includes uneven surfaces, turns, hills, or other sections that disrupt a runner’s rhythm. Weather and temperature could influence pacing as well, so previous times should be evaluated in context rather than treated as direct predictions of Saturday’s results. Team scoring will be another major storyline throughout both races. Each varsity team’s first five finishers contribute to its score, with lower totals producing better team standings. For example, a team whose five scoring runners finish in places 1, 4, 6, 8, and 10 earns 29 points, illustrating why placing multiple runners near the front can be more valuable than relying on a single individual champion. Sixth and seventh runners can also influence the overall outcome by finishing ahead of opposing teams’ scorers, even though they do not contribute directly to their own team’s five-runner score. With nine programs competing, the championship could be decided by small differences in finishing positions rather than a single standout performance. Lincoln-Way Central’s pre-conference victory gives its girls’ team a strong result to build upon, while the individual matchup between Forystek and Giblin adds another compelling storyline to the championship. On the boys’ side, Zartler’s documented performances offer an initial benchmark, but additional season results will be necessary to establish the leading contenders. Ultimately, Saturday’s Southwest Suburban Conference Cross Country Meet promises an important test of endurance, strategy, and team depth, with athletes looking to finish their conference campaign on a high note and establish momentum heading into the postseason. The meet is set to take place this Saturday at Lockport Township High School in Lockport, IL 

CPS City Championships

Writer: Ella Buciak

CPS City, if anything like the past week at Loyola Flight Night, looks to be dominated by Lane Tech on both sides. For the girls, 3A #2 Lane Tech enters as the heavy favorite, led by 3A #10 Ainsley Carter, followed by the duo Sienna O’Malley and Isabella Chapin who both broke 18 last week. 2A #18 Viviana Tryfonopaulos from Kennedy and Payton’s Macy Freschinger should be an interesting dynamic to watch out for, as both have close season bests in the mid 17s. Freschinger looks to have more foot speed, especially in the 2 mile with a PR of 11:19 at Legion Classic, as well as confidently gapping the pack at the Latin Prep Classic. However, if Tryfonopaulos and Ferschinger are having a close race, they’ll push each other to fast times. On the team’s side, Whitney Young and Payton look to have a close race depending on conditions, with Payton having a faster one through four, but Whitney Young having faster five, six, and seven runners. 2A#13 Northside looks to be the first 2A team and hold its own against some strong 3A programs. The boy’s side will be led by another Lane Tech runner, 3A #3 Sam Assefa, who is coming off a huge win of over 30 seconds at Flight Night. The rest of Lane’s top five are all well below 16, creating a squad fit to take the City Championship title. Mather’s #19 Naod Abreha and Whitney Young’s #25 Amilo Rajandram look to close the gap a bit between them and Assefa, just as they did the week previous. While Abreha beat Rajandram last week and is ranked higher, it's been a close battle between the two throughout the season. Something to note is that City will only be Rajandram’s fourth race of the season, which could suggest more improvement, especially because he has more experience in the 14s. However, Abreha is only a sophomore who is rising in his field, and will not only be spurred on by Rajandram, but also 2A #18 Luis Coss, who will be right in with them. Coss’s SB was at the Latin Prep Classic, and not at Detweiller like Abreha and Rajandram, which may prove interesting to his dynamic and round out the top field in this race. Team wise, 3A #17 Mather crushed Whitney Young at Flight Night by 10 places at Flight Night, but City could be closer if Whitney’s 3-5 get closer up to the top packs.