The Lady Hubs varsity cross country team made history last season, advancing to the sectional round for the first time since 2013. And behind several returning runners including senior Hannah Cruz, the Rochelle girls are seeking their second straight sectional trip this fall.

Despite suffering from IT (Illotibial) Band Syndrome earlier this season, Cruz has fought back to give the Lady Hubs strong performances including a second-best team time of 21:11 to help Rochelle finish second in the Genoa-Kingston Matt Walter Invitational on Sept. 26. Cruz knocked nearly one minute off her time at the Freeport Invitational just a few days later, clocking in at 20:22 to help lead the Lady Hubs to third place.

“I think the season has gone really well,” Cruz said. “I think we’ve all improved since last year… We really pushed ourselves as a team to get to sectionals, and we were in one of the toughest regionals in the state. But we really wanted to make it to sectionals as a team, and I thought that was a really big accomplishment. We’ve made some really great improvements so I think we’ll be competing with some of the more competitive teams this meet.”

Cruz has caught fire at the right time, with the Lady Hubs cross country team set to race in the IHSA Class 2A Regional at Belvidere this weekend. The senior beat her conference time from last season by nearly one minute at the Northern Illinois Big 12 Meet on Oct. 16, finishing with a time of 20:57 to help Rochelle take seventh overall.

While her IT Band injury may have slowed her down, Cruz has made great strides in just her second year of high school cross country, and her newfound passion for running has inspired her to join the track and field team this coming spring.

“I’m doing really well coming off the injury,” she said. “I did a lot of running over the summer. I was running 5 or 6 times a week, and I think my training helped me prepare for the season and step up as a team leader… When I first did cross country, I had never done any type of running sport before, but I really fell in love with cross country and I’d like to continue doing a running sport.”

Under the direction of Rochelle coaches John Dobbs and Mark Zilis, Cruz said she’s made significant improvements to her physical preparation skills since beginning her cross country career last season. She said her coaches have helped her refined her running stride, and she also said she has improved her breathing before and during races.

“Shortening my stride really helped with speed and preventing injuries,” Cruz said. “You want to get a good start at the beginning of each race. You’re definitely going at a faster pace, and once you get into a good position you try and maintain that pace for about the first mile. My second mile is where I go hard and try to pass people, and the last 400 meters of the third mile are really when you want to push yourself and get to the finish line as fast as you can.”

Furthermore, Cruz said she has sharpened her mental edge through cross country. A former cheerleader and softball pitcher, Cruz said the mental approach to running is far different than any of her previous sports.

“I know what stress can be like in a competitive sport, but cross country has been the toughest mental sport I’ve been in,” she said. “You’re running as fast as you can for 20 minutes, and that’s a lot harder than it sounds. When you don’t have music to distract yourself or somebody to talk to, it can be really challenging. It’s very rewarding when you finish the race and you have a good time.”

Cruz is one of several seniors including Morgan Baker, Claire Plapp and Rhylie Erdman who will be aiming to keep their final high school seasons alive at the regional meet this weekend. And even when Hannah’s season reaches its inevitable conclusion, her freshman sister Heidi could potentially follow in the footsteps of the graduating seniors.

“I wasn’t expecting Heidi to go out for cross country but she really loves it,” Cruz said. “It’s been really cool to compete in a few races with my sister. It’s a cool experience with the one year we’re both going to be in high school that we can share the sport with each other.”