Girls cross country: 2022 Northwest Herald All-Area team

Meet the 2022 Northwest Herald All-Area girls cross country team.

First Team

Breanna Burak, Huntley, senior

Burak finished 12th in the Class 3A girls race at the IHSA Cross Country State Meet, the second-fastest time (17:54.23) of any local runner, to earn All-State honors. She was third in the Fox Valley Conference, Harlem Regional champion and third in the Lake Park Sectional. Burak was an All-Area second-team selection last year and will run at Illinois State.

Brittney Burak, Huntley, senior

Burak finished 21st in the Class 3A State Meet to make both twins All-Staters. She took seventh in the FVC Meet, fourth in the Harlem Regional and ninth in the Lake Park Sectional. She was an All-Area honorable mention last year and will run at Indiana State.

Hadley Ferrero, Crystal Lake Central, so.

Ferrero had a disappointing finish to her season as she battled a calf injury through the Class 2A Kaneland Sectional, where she still finished fourth, and at the state meet. She tried running at state, but dropped out during the race. The 2021 Northwest Herald Runner of the Year was runner-up at the FVC Meet, the Belvidere Regional and Kaneland Sectional, all to Prairie Ridge’s Rachel Soukup, the runner of the year. She is a repeat All-Area first-team selection.

Danielle Jensen, McHenry, jr.

Jensen finished 14th at the Class 3A State Meet with a time of 17:58.75, the third-fastest among local runners that day. She took fourth in the FVC Meet, second at the Grant Regional and 10th in the Hoffman Estates Sectional, helping her team make it to state. She was an All-Area second-teamer last season.

Rachel Soukup, Prairie Ridge, senior

Soukup was the Class 2A state runner-up to Richland County’s Tatum David. While David had a wide margin for first, Soukup also had a big gap for second. Soukup was the picture of consistency. She won the McHenry County Meet, the FVC Meet, the Belvidere Regional and Kaneland Sectional and then was second at state. She is a three-time All-Area first-team selection and will run at NCAA Division I Belmont next year.

Second Team

Bella Gonzalez, Crystal Lake South, sr.

Jolene Cashmore, Johnsburg, sr.

Alyssa Moore, McHenry, sr.

Lynda Rotundo, McHenry, sr.

Bailey Schwartz, Jacobs, so.

Honorable Mention

Molly Allen, Huntley, sr.

Brenna Benjamin, Prairie Ridge, fr.

Annie Ferrero, Crystal Lake Central, sr.

Abby Machesky, Crystal Lake South, jr.

Natalia Maciorowski, Jacobs, sr.

Olivia McPherson, Prairie Ridge, jr.

Jocelyn Onstot, Cary-Grove, sr.

Gianna Pinta, Crystal Lake South, sr.

Olivia Pinta, Crystal Lake South, so.

Ada Saletnik, Cary-Grove, sr.