Lyons Township senior Mya Coglianese couldn’t believe her time at her second Class 3A girls cross country state meet Saturday. She ran a lifetime-best 17:48.2 for 3.0 miles at Peoria’s Detweiller Park to finish 72nd – her first time under 18:00 after a previous-best 18:12 at regionals and sectionals.
“It was definitely really nice because I thought if I was breaking 18:00 it would be by like two seconds,” Coglianese said. “That was pretty much the goal, let the people carry me through.”
She also progressed from 129th place after one mile to 94th after two. Coglianese was 98th at 2024 state in a then-best 18:14.0.
“I just tried focusing on the finish,” Coglianese said.
Nazareth cross country
The third trip to the Class 2A boys cross country state meet for Nazareth Academy senior Daniel Lewis of Brookfield was different even before the start.
“Having the opportunity to toe the line with my teammates at the state meet was something my freshman self wouldn’t have thought was possible,” he said.
The Roadrunners qualified for state as a team for the first time.
Lewis achieved a personal-record with a team-best 15:20.1 for 3.0 miles to finish 60th but had hoped for more. After Lewis ran 15:51.7 competing at Detweiller, Sept. 13, he had visions of breaking 15:00 and achieving all-state. A 14:47.56 earned 25th in 2A Saturday.
“Having some time to reflect, I think a disappointing season is something necessary for my growth as not only a runner but as a person,” he said Monday.
Among three personal or season bests, Lewis ran faster than 2024 state but with basically the same place (61st, 15:28.6). He was 160th at 2023 state (16:27.2).
On Saturday, Lewis was 60th after 2.0 miles (10:06.2). He then passed 15 runners to move into the mid-40s place-wise but couldn’t close the final 400 meters.
“I just hit a wall,” Lewis said. “I can’t really explain exactly what happened, but it felt as if I was running in slow motion with all the kids who I had passed in the previous three-quarters passing me right back.”
The Roadrunners were 27th (769) after gaining the seventh and last qualifying berth at the Fenton Sectional.
Seniors Anthony Lopez (211th, 16:58.95) and Owen Hogan (217th, 17:14.56) were their No. 2-3 finishers, followed by juniors Patrick O’Reilly (220th, 17:20.78) and Lucas Weber (230th, 18:06.67), freshman Thomas Gerros (233rd, 18:14.59) and sophomore Brendan Hyland (234th, 18:16.75).
Making their sixth straight IHSA state appearance, the Nazareth girls tied for 11th (334) and were 12th counting a sixth-runner tiebreaker.
Sophomore Kathleen Hardy (44th, 18:11.25) finished among the top 50, followed by freshman Maggie Morrissey (71st, 18:41.88), juniors Allie O’Halloran (98th, 19:03.27) and Claire Sigmund (119th, 19:18.75), freshmen Elena Vlahos (133rd, 19:29.41) and Audrey Wendt (156th, 19:46.66) and junior Julia Parkes (199th, 20:32.42).
Hardy, an all-state 22nd in 2024 (personal-best 17:42.7) splits her time as a standout lacrosse player. Hardy was among five Roadrunners with season or personal bests.
“Team-wise this was the best race we’ve had this season for sure,” Nazareth coach Joe Wejman said. “We weren’t tested the last couple of weeks. I was curious how they would respond but they came out pretty sharp, pretty aggressive and the team was very close together.”
Fenwick cross country
After being all-state in 2A the past two seasons, Fenwick junior Juliana Gamboa of Riverside was even better in her 3A state debut Saturday. Gamboa was 42nd in 17:32.00 to beat her previous-best 21st-place 17:41.2 from 2A state last year,
The Friars’ other two individual state qualifiers, Bridget Brunick and Mia Bagato, ran personal bests Saturday. Gamboa’s time Saturday would have contended for top-15 in 2A.
“I was super-excited to PR and excited for both of my teammates because they PRed as well. If we were in 2A, I think we would have had some top finishes or definitely finishes up there,” Gamboa said.
“Being moved up [to 3A] allowed us to race some of the best girls out there. We’re grateful we had that opportunity, even though we haven’t placed up there yet. It definitely gives me some goals for next year.”