OPRF Girls Cross Country Team Advances to Sectional on Nov. 2nd

It was a poignant scene Saturday as the Oak Park and River Forest High School girls’ cross country team won its second consecutive regional championship at Lincoln Park in Chicago.

With the title, the Huskies advanced to the sectional round next Saturday, November 2.

In the other 14 regionals for the Class 3A division throughout Illinois, 120 schools participated—with eight or nine teams a typical field. However, only two schools squared off in this one. The slim field was the unfortunate byproduct of the Chicago Public Schools teachers’ strike, which sidelined CPS schools Whitney Young, Jones College Prep, Lane Tech, Lincoln Park, Schurz, Taft and Von Steuben.

As a result, at the sound of the starter pistol, the seven Huskie runners were joined only by the seven Eagle runners from Leyden High School in Franklin Park.

Within the first mile, all the OPRF runners had outpaced the swiftest Eagle. Running at a measured pace, the Huskies turned in moderate times—there would be no personal records on this brisk, drizzly day.

“The strategy was to pack-run with conservative pace for the first two miles, then pick it up during the last mile,” said Huskies coach Ashley Raymond. “The goal was to get in a good effort but leave the race feeling like we had more in the tank.”

Sophomore Josephine Welin finished first on the 3.05-mile course, at 18:41, followed closely by junior Nora Wollen (18:44). A little over one minute later, the rest of the Huskies began streaming in: junior Maggie Rose Baron (19:54), junior Parker Hulen (20:00), senior Jana Casey (20:07), senior Audrey Lewis (20:18), and freshman Rylee Danley (20:28).

The top Leyden runner, freshman Madelyn Virzi, finished a shade over a minute later, at 21:36, with the remaining Eagles concluding over the next 43 seconds. Leyden likewise advanced to the sectionals, which will be held at Lake Park High School in Roselle.

Runners from CPS schools came in uniform and displayed respectful sportsmanship as they cheered on their suburban-school peers.

“I was so impressed with the CPS athletes throughout the whole week and at the meet. They advocated for themselves, rallied and when the ruling went against them, they reacted in a selfless way,” Raymond said. “They showed up, stood in solidarity together as one team behind the line and supported the athletes that could run by cheering during the race.”

In the Huskies’ pre-race huddle, those CPS athletes were a topic of discussion.

“We vowed to keep the CPS athletes in mind while we raced,” Raymond revealed. “And we will continue to keep them in mind at sectionals.”

The same two-team scene played out for boys’ cross country, with OPRF and Leyden the only squads competing. Huskie Eamon Cavanaugh, a junior, was the regional winner, with a time of 16:24, and all five OPRF scorers were in the top seven as the team likewise advanced to sectionals.

As for the girls cross country team, the Huskies were favorites to advance to sectionals, CPS strike or no strike. OPRF was already defending regional champs, having placed seven runners inside the top 20 a year ago in the race hosted by Jones College Prep.

This year, with five returning runners, the Huskies are poised to make another strong run at sectionals. Out of the 14 schools competing at Lake Park High School in Roselle—down from the usual contingent of 18 teams—only five schools will advance.

The Huskies have “looked great” in workouts and “are definitely itching to run fast,” said Raymond.

“Nora Wollen and Josephine Welin have done a great job leading the team from the front and we have a solid second pack of Maggie Rose Baron, Jana Casey, Parker Hulen, Avery Minnis and Audrey Lewis close behind,” she added. “If our front pack finishes in the top ten and our second pack stays within 20 seconds of each other, we should advance to state.”

In all, 25 Class 3A schools from across the state will descend on Detweiller Park in Peoria on Saturday, November 9.

Last year, OPRF exceeded expectations by placing 10th in the state—marking the program’s most successful outing in history while matching the 10th place finish for the 1984 Huskie squad.

Full disclosure: the writer is the father of an OPRF girls’ cross country runner.