Fast Facts takes a look at the history of cross country across the world, in the state of Illinois and in the city of Naperville!
-Cross Country began as a competitive sport in England in the early 1800’s.
-A high school cross country race is 3.1 miles long.
-The average life of a cross country running show is 200-300 miles.
-The top 5 runners in a race score for a team. Whatever place a runner finishes is the amount of points they score for their team. If there is a tie, the team’s 6th place runner is the tiebreaker.
-The best possible score in a cross country race is 15.
-The first IHSA team cross country state meet was held in 1946.
-The first girls cross country state meet was in 1979.
-The team with the most boys cross country state championships is York, who have won 28 under legendary head coach Joe Norton!
-Neuqua Valley has won three boys state cross country championships (2007, 2009, 2016). Naperville North won one in 2008.
-Winnebago has the most girls state cross country championships with 12
-Naperville North has the second most with 10.
-Naperville has one boys individual state champion, Neuqua Valley’s Chris Derrick in 2007. His time of 13:52 is the third fastest in state history.
-Naperville has had two girls individual state champions. Amanda Fox from Naperville Central in 2011 and Judy Pendergast from Naperville North in 2015.
-Judy Pendergast is the record holder at the state meet with a time of 15:54.
Form more segments like the Going the Distance with Cross Country Fast Facts, feel free to check out our Naperville Sports Weekly page.
