The Grayslake North Cross Country team is running up a great start of the season.
The boys and girls teams’ training is paying off as they performed well in their first three meets. They opened the season at Deerfield High School on August 29th, continued to the Lake County Invitational on September 4th at Lakes Community High School, and most recently ran at Grayslake Central for the Vicky Piela Invitational.
The girls, coached by Susan Miller, set ambitious goals for the season ahead.
“We are hoping to get Yarami Ramos and Madison Peterson back to state this year,” said Coach Miller. “We hope to see Lucy Roscoe also make a comeback from freshman year and return to the state meet.”
Peterson is well on her way to turning those goals into reality. The junior led the girls team with a sixth place finish at the most recent meet held at Grayslake Central with a time of 18:51. She also finished with a remarkable fourth place run at Lakes with a time of 18:50.
Ramos concluded the Piela Invitational with a 19:46 time and a 19:57 at the Lake County Invitational – both with great speed.
Roscoe ran at state in the 2022-2023 season as a freshman. At the Vicky Piela Invitational, she finished a strong race with a time of 21:37.
The girls team is led by captains Sydney Wilson (senior) and Julia Flannery (junior).
The boys team is led by captains Ryan Larrivee and Oliver Davies (juniors), as well as sophomore Joey Clark.
Even with key returners, both teams have speedy underclassmen up and coming.
The boys team gained four new freshmen runners who are already beginning their Grayslake North running career on the right foot. At the Grayslake Central Vicky Piela Invitational, the freshmen boys had great times – Jovani Vazquez ran a 19:58, Kieran McMorrow a 20:06, and Gabe Hart a 20:10.
The Knights girls squad has promising young runners as well. Freshman Chloe Strebel stepped up to her Grayslake North career finishing the Vicky Piela Invite with a time of 23:01.
“Where we are at this season is a lot faster than where we were at last season,” said Miller. “We are hoping to continue that trend upwards to our sectionals and regionals.”
They aim to qualify both boys and girls for sectionals with the help of their strong returners and developing newcomers.
