By Michael Newman

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3A Girls

Glenbard West was the pre-season favorite to capture the 3A Girls Team State Championship in November at Detweiller Park. Coach Paul Hass knew that they do not award state championships on paper or in pre-season outlooks. The Hilltoppers started their 2013 season without the services of 2012 State Champion Madeline Perez who was out with an injury. West struggled early in the year losing to Palatine at the Hornet-Red Devil Invitational and the Richard Spring Invitational. Hass used this early season period to give younger runners a chance to contribute to the team knowing that they would be needed during the state series.

When Perez came back for the West Suburban Silver Conference Meet, the Hilltoppers went on a roll. They easily won their conference, regional, and sectional meets. At the 2013 State Meet, Glenbard West had four all-state runners as they captured the 3A Girls state championship. Part of that championship had to do with the patience Hass had with his team earlier in the year.

We also have to acknowledge a couple of coaches that were considered for this award. John Burnside (New Trier HS, Winnetka) lost two all-state runners in Courtney and Jessica Ackerman along with Katherine Keene. He rebuilt the team led by state individual champion Mimi Smith. The top five consisted of Smith, a junior, along with four runners that were either freshmen or sophomores. That group gave New Trier a third place finish. A year ago, this school finished fourth.

Evon Marie Schlotter’s Lockport team finished 18^th in 2012. Their philosophy is quite simple: run within an arm’s length of each other which would keep their five runner split low. This season brought Schlotter Freshman Morgan Bollinger into the top seven. By the beginning of October, the Lockport coach realized that she had a special runner on her hands. Bollinger was towards the front in most of the races while the pack continued to do their thing. This resulted in a Sectional championship at Hinsdale and then a surprise fifth place finish at the 3A State Meet.

It was close between the three, but Hass gets the slight edge.

We congratulate Paul Hass of Glenbard West HS as the DyeStat Illinois 2013 3A Girls Coach of the Year.

2A Girls

Expectations were high for Chris Muth and his Yorkville Girls’ Cross Country Team. They were the defending 2A state champions and returned a young group of talented runners. Their season started with projected #2 runner and all-state runner Summer Pierson ruled out for the season with a hip injury. Illness held Erin Reynolds out of meets and a leg injury kept Julia Schultz out of meets. The chances did not look good for the Lady Foxes as they were running 5 runner splits over two minutes. That’s not the right equation to defend a state championship.

Reynolds and Schultz got healthy at the time of their conference meet giving the confidence that the team was looking for. Then another setback for their team as their top runner Skyler Bollinger had a knee injury that would affect her. They lost to Glenbard South at the Wheaton Academy Regional. Muth’s calm approach kept his team together as they headed for a rematch the following week at the same Wheaton Academy course. Yorkville’s first four runners stayed close together with Bollinger as their fourth runner. They were able to hold off Glenbard South in that sectional race. That meet gave the Lady Foxes the confidence that they needed at Detweiller Park. They ran a season best 70 second split in winning another state championship. It came down to Muth keeping his team focused even when things looked bad.

Acknowledgement for this award also has to go to Brian Webb of Glenbard South, RJ Meyer of Marengo, and Suzanne Richert of Vernon Hills who were also considered for this. All three coaches had their team in the top four at the state meet and had great seasons.

We congratulate Chris Muth of Yorkville HS as the DyeStat Illinois 2013 2A Girls Coach of the Year.

1A Girls and Overall Girls

Latin School was not even on the radar at the beginning of the year. They were not in the top 25 in the DyeStat Illinois pre-season rankings. They had lost four of their top seven from the previous year. They were expected to make it back to the state meet but not to be in contention for a trophy. The thing was that no one told the Latin School athletes and Coach Dan Daly.

This team gave notice to the rest of the state that they could run with some of the top teams in the state after they finished 24^th at the Richard Spring Invitational. This is a meet that has some of the top 3A and 2A schools. Latin School was the first 1A school to finish. They moved up to #6 in the DyeStat IL 1A ratings.

There was still doubt that a 1A school from Chicago could place at the state meet. With 2 runners, Victoria Bianco and Abigail Nadler, that earned all-state status along with three freshman runners in the top five, Latin School proved that an urban school in Chicago could run with the state’s best. They finished third in the 1A state meet. It was truly one of the better success stories of the year. It all comes down to how Coach Dan Daly coached this team and gave them the confidence that his runners could succeed.

Not only do we recognize Daly as the 1A Girls Coach of the Year, he is also our choice as the Overall Girls Coach of the Year in the state.

We congratulate Dan Daly of The Latin School as the DyeStat Illinois 2013 Overall Girls Coach of the Year along as the 1A Girls Coach of the Year.