Karlin Janowski had a marvelous debut state meet last fall as a freshman.

She did it one better this year. And then some.

The York sophomore, second at the Class 3A state cross country meet as a freshman, won the state championship earlier this month in Peoria. In doing so, Janowski broke a school record with her time of 16 minutes, 10 seconds over 3 miles. Janowski helped lead the Dukes to third place as a team.

It capped off a postseason in which Janowski won the West Suburban Silver and regional races, and was third at the sectional meet. Janowski also won the Palatine Invitational Meet of Champions, was second at St. Charles East’s Leavey Invitational and fourth at the Richard Spring Invitational.

For her achievements, York sophomore Karlin Janowski is the Suburban Life girls cross country Athlete of the Year.

Here is Janowski’s Q&A with Sports Editor Joshua Welge:

I read that you were “shocked” to win state. Have you processed it?

Janowski: Yes, now I have processed it but at the time I did not expect to win state. I knew it was a possibility, though, so I went and ran hard and did my best and it worked. I’m also proud of not just my performance but of how our team did at state.

Did the race go as planned, though?

Janowski: Yes, the race went exactly how I planned. I executed our team’s plan just like I wanted to. Our team had been preparing and training for the race for a long time, so we were ready going in to state. Running is a very mental sport, so there are a lot of aspects of racing that are mental like pushing yourself to go faster and making decisions in the race and not letting yourself fall behind. I planned mentally so that those things would happen.

You set a school record at state. Was that a mark you were targeting and thought was realistic?

Janowski: I was not directly targeting the school record but I did think it was realistic. Going into state I tried not to put too much pressure on myself, but I really did want to PR because before the race I had not gotten a PR yet this year.

It looked like you cut a fair amount of time at state. Is that just competition pushing you or were you peaking at the right time? I saw you won like four of your last five races.

Janowski: It was a little bit of both, the competition and peaking at the right time. Before I raced I knew who I would be running with so I was able to prepare for that and think the race through. Peaking at the right time was because of our coaches, because they made the training plan so a lot of credit goes to them. Also, it was a lot of preparation the week before to do well at state that I had to do, so that contributed to my performance. It was a lot of mental preparation going into my race.

How and when did you start running? What do like about it? Have you done other sports?

Janowski: I have always run from a very young age, and I started cross country in middle school. I have always loved running, how it’s a sport that allows for you to challenge yourself both physically and mentally. I did both gymnastics and soccer for eight years.

Do you have a favorite course? How about a favorite race day meal or snack?

Janowski: I do think the Detweiler Park Peoria course where we ran state is my favorite because it is a great course to get a PR on and I like how there is always a lot of competition when I race there.

Outside of running, do you have a favorite TV show or movie?

Janowski: I love watching the show Survivor and NFL games

It’s almost Thanksgiving: Favorite food as part of that meal?

Janowski: My favorite Thanksgiving food is the green bean casserole

What’s the last book you read?

Janowski: I enjoy reading any science fiction books.