In Wake of Northville Controversy, Judy Pendergast & Naperville North Train and Wait

MileSplit Spotlight
Johanna Gretschel

We had to dig into the MileSplit archives for this one. Freshman Judy placed 23rd at the Illinois Class 3A state meet in 17:09, as Naperville North won the team title.

Beyond The Sophomore Slump

Pendergast will likely contend for two national titles in the coming weeks at NXN and Foot Locker.

But, like many distance runners, her journey started with soccer first.

"I was always the person running up and down the field," she said.

She tried cross country in seventh grade at the urging of her parents and took to it immediately. The precocious freshman ran in the state meet when Madeline Perez broke the Detweiller Park record in 16:02 - though she was more than a minute back, placing 23rd overall in 17:09 for three miles.

Running to All-State honors in Illinois' toughest class is a solid start for a frosh. But her track season was not what she hoped it would be - she did not even make the Huskies' varsity roster - and the following cross country season was also a downturn, as she added nearly a minute to her state meet time (17:58) and finished back in 44th overall.

Not only that - the Huskies, team champions one year prior, placed runners-up to Glenbard West in the team standings.

"We couldn't quite pinpoint what was going wrong," Iverson said. 

It wasn't until the following summer that Pendergast approached a doctor, who diagnosed her with a gluten and dairy allergy that also contributed to the development of asthma.

The health issues forced Pendergast to become a clever cook - she says she will prepare the turkey for her family today on Thanksgiving. (You can check out a few of her favorite recipes here for Cinnamon and Spice Sweet Potato Bread and here for Hawaiian Chicken Kebabs).

Confronting the issue head-on also helped her running.

"It really cleared up a lot of the subsidiary issues she was having in terms of asthma and really, within a month, she was a totally different runner," Iverson said. "Then it was a steady crescendo between track and cross country and what you're seeing now."


Judy Pendergast ran to All-State honors again as a junior, clocking 17:06 for ninth place at the Illinois state meet.

The 2014 cross country season saw Pendergast approach and then break her best times on every course - including the state meet by three seconds, as she placed ninth in 17:06 to gain All-State honors again. And the team state title.

Even with that dramatic rise back to state relevance was not her breakout, however, as she saved the best for last. In the past two years, a young, inexperienced Pendergast placed 168th and 101st at Nike Cross Nationals. In 2014, the Portland championship served as her coming-out party, as she ran to All-American honors in 22nd overall, ahead of plenty of more well-known national stars. The effort was enough to lead the Huskies to fourth place overall, their best finish in Pendergast's tenure at the program (13th in 2013, 15th in 2012).

She would ride the momentum to a state title in the spring, per a 10:35.15 3200m run. She also set PRs of 10:34 in the event and 4:56 in the 1600m.


"She ended last track season as one of the better runners across the country," Iverson said. "Her strength just needed to evolve."

The 10:34 mark is quick, making her the 38th best returner in the nation and 22nd in the Class of 2016.

But to go sub-16 at Detweiller is not just quick. Such a time requires a special athlete.

"I haven't been a runner that's been the best in the state for four years," Pendergast said. "I've been a runner that's developed over time.

"Dropping a whole minute seemed a little crazy."


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