Editor’s note: This story was written on October 15th, before the conference meet took place on the 18th. Rankings and results may have changed since this story was written.
As of Tuesday, Oct. 14, St. Charles East’s Girls’ Cross Country team has been ranked in the top 25 for seven straight weeks, according to Illinois Running News. They’ve been having a breakthrough season, reaching heights they haven’t reached since 2022 and taking everyone by surprise.
Just nine short weeks ago, nobody in the running world was paying attention to the Lady Saints. In 2024, the postseason team placed eighth at regionals and failed to qualify for sectionals for the first time in many years, leaving the program very disappointed with the season. After that loss, very few expected St. Charles East to come back as strong as they did.
For those unfamiliar with the sport, the Cross Country postseason consists of three meets: regionals, sectionals and state, in that order. The top seven teams and top 10 individuals advance to the next tier before finishing at the state meet at Detweiler park, Peoria. The girls’ team hasn’t qualified for state since 2022.
As the end of the regular season approaches, the Lady Saints are in contention for conference champion at their meet this Saturday, the 18th. They have also been looking to qualify for state all season. According to Illinois Running News, St. Charles East is currently ranked #23 in the state for Girls 3A. However, the Saints can’t relax just yet. While they are ranked very well, so is the rest of their sectional. The top ten teams in the Roselle sectional have all been ranked in Illinois Running News’ top 25, making the race very competitive. The Saints are currently ranked sixth in the sectional.
That said, our Saints have been performing well all season. Notable performances include placing second in the Kane County XC Invitational, fifth at the STC Leavey Invitational, and missing first place at the Macnider Invitational by three points. Furthermore, Sophomore Adley Wilson has been leading the team to success by earning a medal in every race this season.
“My hopes going into this summer and season was that our team would work very hard and have the season we’ve [been having],” said Girls’ Head Coach Bradley Kaplan. “[I was] hoping as a team we’d be in the top half of every invite, I wanted to do well at conference, [and] make it to sectionals as a team since we missed last year and see what happens.” He also added that this team “is the best team we’ve had since 2021 and arguably better.”
As the cross country season starts to wind down, the girls will finally be able to see just how much their hard work is paying off. As they continue to defy expectations, tune in to see just how much they will achieve this postseason.
