For many high school teams, the season usually peaks when the team has the opportunity to compete at the state level. However, Naperville North Girls Cross Country is competing in the national championship in Oregon this Friday, Dec. 4.

This is the fourth year in a row that the team has advanced to the national level. They excelled at the state competition with a 2nd place overall finish. After being invited to compete in the Midwest Regionals, the team qualified for nationals, according to head coach Dan Iverson.

“There are nine regions throughout the country, and you have to finish first or second in those regions,” Iverson said. “Or there are four at-large spots, so to qualify for an at-large spot you have finish third or fourth.”

The cross country team ended up finishing in an at-large spot within the Midwest Championship, and was picked by the race committee to compete at nationals.

At the national competition, each team is allowed to bring seven of their top runners. For NNHS, these runners are Jenny Gibson, Kayla Glowacki, Emory Griffin, Claire Hamilton, Judy Pendergast, Sarah Schmitt, and Kate Shannon. Schmitt, a sophomore, expressed how she felt about going to nationals.

“It’s always exciting,” Schmitt said. “I know we went last year and our team went the year before, but going to nationals never really gets old and it’s a really great experience.”

For most of the seniors, nationals will be their last high school cross country experience. One of the seniors, Gibson, showed her appreciation for everything the program has given her throughout her high school career.

“Cross country is one of my favorite things about my high school experience so far,” Gibson said. “Going into this now I just want to have fun with my teammates because I’ve enjoyed so much the last four years.”