The cross country team ended its season at the IHSA state competition Nov. 4 in Detweiller Park. The boys team placed 28th, and ninth grader Taara Sajdeh placed 86th as an individual in the girls meet.
Despite the boys and girls teams moving to the more competitive 2A division, the boys team still qualified for the IHSA state competition for the first time since 2019. Taara was the only individual to qualify for state from the girls team.
Prior to state, at the IHSA sectional competition on Oct. 28 at Lewis University in Romeoville, the boys team placed seventh and the girls team placed ninth. Both teams placed second at the IHSA regional competition on Oct. 21 in Midlothian Meadows.
While Taara felt the absence of her team at state and was facing a knee injury, she was able to beat her personal record with a time of 18:54.6 on the three-mile course.
“It was a little bit scary,” Taara said, “knowing that I didn’t have my team with me — but I knew that I had all their support.”
Taara also felt a sense of independence during the race.
“It did definitely take a little bit of the pressure off because I was only running for myself, not for the whole team,” Taara said, “but I really do wish that everybody could have qualified.”
Junior Simon Lane avoided serious injury this season, though was fighting a respiratory illness. He still beat his personal record with a time of 15:32.6 on the three-mile course at state.
“I still hit my goal for the season which was very ambitious,” Simon said. “I had a really good time, and I felt great at state.”
Qualifying for state was a surprise, but it resulted from the team’s hard work.
“I did not expect the team to make state,” Simon said. “I thought it was a possibility, but everybody would have to run well — and I think everybody stepped up.”
