With the fall sports season quickly approaching, there are local athletes and teams across multiple sports looking either to capitalize on success from a year ago or establish themselves this year. Here are some of the top storylines to watch for in girls flag football, cross country, golf, girls tennis and girls swimming.

Girls flag football: Boilermakers aiming to improve on historic inaugural season

When the first IHSA Girls Flag Football State Final took place last fall, Bradley-Bourbonnais was on the field at Willowbrook High School, taking part in the historic event. The Boilermakers took fourth at state just a few short months after the program’s inception. They look primed for another strong season in Year 2. Running back Nevaeh Brown and quarterback Elise Munsterman are back as a junior and sophomore, respectively, with many of the team’s top receivers also back in the fold, and players like Avery Moutrey anchoring the defense. The area’s other local program, Kankakee, is also looking for a deeper run after winning a regional title last year and going undefeated against all opponents not named Bradley-Bourbonnais.

Girls cross country: Manteno’s Klarke Goranson chasing gold

Coming off a successful middle school cross country career that featured a second-place finish at the IESA State Championships as an eighth grader, Manteno’s freshman phenom Klarke Goranson hit the ground running at the high school level. She placed second at the Morris Early Bird Invite to begin her varsity career. She placed first at the Herscher Invite and Illinois Central Eight Conference Championships, ahead of a sixth-place finish at state with a three-mile personal record of 17:08.16. She also earned state silver and bronze in track to close out the year, and will surely be a candidate for more state-level success as a sophomore.

Boys golf: Beecher, Peyton Serafin, setting sights on further state success

Beecher’s Peyton Serafin picked up a third-place finish at the Class 1A State Tournament last season, just three strokes away from a state title with a 146, while Beecher placed ninth overall out of 12 teams at state. Serafin’s finish was the highest ever at state for Beecher, and he will be back for his senior season in 2025, looking to keep rolling. The graduations of Jackson Reece and Noah Berry leave big shoes to fill. But returners Ben Anaclerio, who tied for the team’s third-best finish at state, Charlie Nowak and Danny Vallos return with valuable experience, including some from state.

Girls tennis: BBCHS looks to continue All-City dominance after Kankakee closes gap

Bradley-Bourbonnais’ girls tennis team maintained its stranglehold on All-City foes a season ago, extending its streak of All-City championships that goes back as far as anyone involved can remember. But the Boilermakers saw their grip slip a little bit a season ago. They edged out Kankakee by a score of 17-13, with an inexperienced Bishop McNamara team finishing a distant third. Bradley-Bourbonnais will have reigning All-City singles champ Mary Claire Dwyer back as a senior, but the Boilermakers may have to push a bit harder this season to continue their All-City dominance over the Kays and a Fightin’ Irish team looking for growth.

Girls swimming: All-City swimming rounds out as Fightin’ Irish return to the water

It’s been more than a decade, but Bishop McNamara’s boys and girls swimming programs will be back in the pool this fall and winter. With the girls’ season set to get underway later this month, all three All-City schools will have swimmers ready to compete. Bradley-Bourbonnais will almost certainly maintain its advantage over its smaller local counterparts, especially as Bishop McNamara’s program looks to build up numbers in its first few seasons back. But the Irish will now rejoin the Boilermakers and Kays to bolster the local swimming scene.