Delaney Gidd of North Riverside had even more reason to be excited when the Riverside Brookfield High School girls cross country team began regular-season practices this week. The incoming freshman completed quite a summer of running with not just her first but two national titles at the Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympics Aug. 3-8 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Competing with the Chicago Flyers track club in the Girls 14-year-old age division, Gidd won the 1,500-meter run Aug. 4 (4:46.59) and the 3,000 Saturday (10:18.38) with a personal-best time by more than 10.77 seconds.
“At first, I was in such shock at winning one title and when I won the second, that was truly such a surprise,” Gidd said. “Both victories are equal for me, but the 1,500 was a bit more exciting to win. I have wanted to win a national title for so long and once I won the 1,500, I was pretty confident for the 3,000.”
Gidd won the 1,500 by 5.05 seconds and missed her lifetime best by just 2.17 seconds. In the 3,000, Gidd needed her lifetime best because she only won by 5.21 seconds.
“This is by far my biggest running accomplishment in both cross country and track,” Gidd said. Her summer already was impressive. On June 6, she won the Women’s Youth Championship race at Magis Mile in Chicago (5:08.68/4:49.83 for 1,500 meters). On June 22, she was in Eugene, Ore., competing at the Nike Outdoor Nationals, where she was 12th for the 1,500 in the U20 Women’s Middle School Enroute division with a personal-best 4:44.42.
She also was able to train with RBHS runners during the summer.
“All the races I ran this season, Magis and Nike Outdoor Nationals included, gave me so much more confidence to run strong and win my national titles,” Gidd said.
“My amazing training with the Chicago Flyers truly helped me to go to the point I’m at now and I’m so excited to see what high school holds for me. The 3,000 competition truly pushed me to PR huge and hit my lap splits. All the workouts and just showing up every day truly pushed me (also).”
Gidd has run three track and cross country seasons with the Flyers. She started cross country in fifth grade at Komarek School in North Riverside.
At the 2025 AAU JOs, Gidd was fourth in the 1,500 (4;56.55) and sixth in the 800 (2:20.10).
This time, she was disappointed after taking 11th in the 800, Aug. 5, (2:29.13), especially following a personal-best 2:19.26 in prelims. That perhaps provided the extra fuel that propelled Gidd to her second championship and personal record.
“The 800 finals did not go as planned so I was determined to come back for the 3,000 and show myself I could win another title and PR after a bad race,” Gidd said.