It has been a long time since Manteno’s cross country program enjoyed a season quite like the one it just completed.

At Saturday’s Class 1A State Championships, the Panthers were represented by their girls team for the first time. The boys team, which was the last Manteno cross country team to qualify for state in 1978, had multiple runners compete for the first time since 1979.

Sophomore Klarke Goranson led the girls team with a 12th-place finish (17:11.8) and secured All-State honors for the second straight season. She became the first runner in school history to earn multiple All-State selections.

“It’s really awesome we were able to make it as a whole team, especially since that’s never happened at Manteno for a girls team,” she said. “I feel very honored that I could be a part of that and lead the team to state for the first time in school history.”

Goranson and fellow sophomore Lyla Nevel qualified for state as individuals last season, with Goranson finishing sixth in the 2A race and Nevel placing 112th.

Nevel finished 42nd, setting a new personal record (18:24.10) by over 37 seconds and shaving nearly a minute off her state time from a season ago.

With that experience from a season ago, Goranson said it was nice to head back to Detweiller Park in Peoria with a full girls team and a pair of boys to share state with. She also said it was fun to take part in a tough 1A race. Her time would have placed her third in 2A.

“The main difference was the competition in 1A was a lot stronger than (2A) last year, which made for a really good experience because it’s always good to have a lot of competition to race against,” she said. “And for my team, just showing them everything since me and Lyla already experienced it all, we were able to help them have a good experience and just have fun.”

Freshman DeLanie Monroe placed 156th while the team’s lone junior, Olivia Zwirkowski, placed 204th. A pair of freshmen in Riley Powell (239th) and Sawyer Maveety (251st) rounded out the field for the Panthers.

With everyone who ran at state expected back next year, head coach Troy Mitchell said they are looking forward to making sure this program-best season is just the beginning.

“The girls were all excited about this year, and of course, our goal was to make it as a team,” he said. “Having that experience now coming back is huge. Usually, when you go to state, a lot of people graduate.”

The boys team made it to sectionals as a group this season, where Seth McHugh claimed the eighth individual spot in state and Caden Reiter claimed the 10th and final spot.

McHugh placed 165th (16:38.04) at state, and Reiter placed 190th (17:02.32), with both setting new personal records in their final high school race – the first trip to state for both.

McHugh said being able to go to state as a senior with his teammates and friends from other area teams was a great way to go out.

“Just getting there and seeing everyone, all my friends from Herscher that I’ve met and got close with over the years, and then having the girls team and most importantly having my best friend Caden Reiter qualify as the last individual, that really made the state run even more memorable and exciting,” he said.

McHugh said that the team atmosphere established by Mitchell across the boys and girls teams really helped them push through the season and reach state.

“Some of the meets, we struggled at early,” McHugh said. “I was getting discouraged, and I know Klarke was and Caden was. But we all peaked when it mattered. I think that is what (Mitchell) instilled in his workouts and work he put into it.”

Mitchell is in his fourth season with the program, and in his first season had just two girls runners compete at regionals.

He said the program has been able to grow in the years since, thanks to the dedication of the runners.

“The biggest thing was they worked hard,” he said. “A lot of kids worked hard during the summer. Klarke, Lyla and the boys, and some of the girls ran good miles over the summer. I always tell them summer miles equal November smiles when you go to state.”