Girls-
One of the adventures of the Hinsdale Hornet Devil Invite is the water jump over the creek
Ranked Teams: #4 Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West), #5 Minooka, #7 Hinsdale Central, #18 Evanston, #19 Wheaton-Warrenville South, #20 Naperville (Neuqua Valley), #21 Aurora (Metea Valley), #23 Winnetka (New Trier), #25 Palatine
The outlook: Last year at this time it was Minooka who earned the praise as a team to beat, but it was Glenbard West who walked away victorious by 16 points. The main reason was the tough front running by Lindsey Payne and Katelynne Hart. They would finish 1-3 and set the tone for their scoring teammates who all finished inside the top 20. This season it should once again be a great battle between Glenbard West and Minooka. The Lady Hilltoppers have the state's top cross country runners back in Hart and Payne and that could decide what happens within the bottom line. Minooka returns longtime outstanding runner Emily Shelton, who finished 5th last year. She lost two great teammates in Ashley Tutt and Mackenzie Callahan. The narrative will have to be pack running behind Shelton if this hopes to be among the elite. HInsdale Central returns a load of talent and will definitely be one of the squads to watch with Reilly Revord and Grace McCabe. Last year the Devilettes did not run a full squad.
Individually, watch for defending state champion Hart demonstrate her star status against a good field. We could see some of the fastest times ever ran at KLM. The key to blazing times will be the creek and the water level. It will of course dictate what the opening pace will be.