After winning regionals and sectionals, the girls’ cross country team is ready to finish off their epic season and take on the state meet, led by head coach Deborah Revolta and assistant coach Katherine Filosa.

Although the girls won second place at the conference meet, the Fillies won first in their regional and sectional meets, securing their spot to run in the IHSA cross-country state competition. They now move forward to compete for the state title against twenty-eight other qualifying teams in Illinois.

Even though only seven would run in the state meet, the team also brought five other alternates. Madison Miles, a sophomore alternate for one of the seven state runners, would accompany them, bringing along her optimism, team spirit, and a jacket.

The team left the high school in the morning on Friday, Nov. 3 on a white minibus and headed to Peoria, IL, where state competition was being held. During the bus ride, they played board games and talked while listening to music.

“We weren’t running that day so we didn’t get too hyped on the way down, but we talked, played games and socialized, I know lots of us had homework on the bus too,” Miles said.

The team left for the state meet on Friday, giving the girls ample time to settle into their hotel, take a practice run on the state course, and eat dinner as a team.

When running long distances, energy is hard to come by, which is why eating carbohydrate-heavy meals is a great choice before a big race. The team ate dinner together, giving them time to socialize and prepare themselves for the meet the next day.

“Olive Garden is what we have done recently. We have learned that it’s a lot easier to order in advance to pick up as opposed to actually sitting at the restaurant,” Filosa said. “We’ll have it together as a group in the lobby. They have the kind of seating area and so we bring the Olive Garden back to the hotel and then we have a team dinner.”

After dinner, the coaches talk to both the alternates and state runners in preparation for the meet.

“We have a whole team meeting where we talk about what they need to know logistically for the next day but also talk about what to expect,” Filosa said.

After this team meeting the coaches also talked to the alternates. Miles’s perspective of this team conversation was that the coaches commended them for their support on the team and for their teammates.

“They pulled the alternates and had two separate talks. They said, you know, you guys are still part of the team. You guys have helped pull them all the way through like your big deal,” Miles said.

The Fillies took the state meet by storm and placed third as a team, with Scout Storms taking first place, running three miles in 16.38 minutes. With this victory, Storms also broke the school record for the fastest five-kilometer run.

With a new school record and a third-place trophy, the Fillies began their journey back to BHS where they celebrated their win with their favorite songs.

“We blasted Taylor Swift the entire way back,” Miles said.

Assistant coach Filosa truly believes running can make a positive impact on a student’s life.

“So I know I’m biased when I say this, but I think it’s one of the best ways to teach people, students about hard work,” Filosa said.

She commemorated the senior runners finishing their last year at BHS and in the cross country team, celebrating their hard work.

“We’ll miss you so much. There are such wonderful kids, not only runners but people who have been such incredible leaders on our team,” Filosa said.