Prairie Ridge Girls Win 2026 Cross Country State Title, First in Program History

The Prairie Ridge girls cross country team claimed the program’s first state title in the IHSA 2A state championship meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria on November 7. The Wolves had five runners set their personal-best times to clinch the title. 

Prairie Ridge ran against 27 other teams in the 2A state championship and ended the race in a tie for first place with Glenwood High School at 132 points. The tie was broken by sophomore Addison Sawyer, whose personal-best time of 18:55.43 placed her in a higher position than Glenwood’s sixth-place runner to secure the Wolves' first cross country state title. 

The Wolves were led by three runners who finished in a state medalist position. Junior Anneke Dam finished seventh overall with a personal best of 17:28.04 while sophomores Maia Lancaster (17:50.67) and Emmie Foster (17:58.65) finished in 17th and 23rd, respectively, to take top-25 spots for Prairie Ridge. Senior Genevieve Torgerson (18:44), sophomore Emily LaPorte (18:46.38), Sawyer, and freshman Mackenzie Nelligan (19:39.56) also ran in the state meet. 

Led by coach Kelly MacDonald, the girls cross country team made the 2A state meet for the fourth time since 2021, including a third-place finish last season that tied their best finish in program history before winning state this year. 

The Wolves excelled across the 2026-27 season, winning the Fox Valley Conference meet for the second time in program history, before taking first place in both the Lake Forest High School regional and Woodstock North sectional on their road to state.