Niles West graduate Laura Friedlander attended Niles West High School from 1978-1982 and started running for the Niles West Cross Country team during her sophomore year when Hall of Fame coach Judi Sloan, started the first ever girl’s cross-country team at Niles West. Laura also decided to join the girls’ track team that same year and competed in both girls’ track & field and girls’ cross country during her sophomore, junior and senior years.
Laura went on to qualify for the state meet all three years in cross country and finished 10th in state her senior year and was also a member of 1981 state qualifying team that captured 3rd place at state. In girls’ track & field, she ran the 1 and 2-mile and occasionally the 4x400 and 4x800 relays. She currently still holds the 1600m record for Niles West with a time of 5:08 and until recently also held the 3200m record.
During Laura’s senior campaign, she finished 7th in state in the 3200m run and 12th in state for the 1600m. Laura’s season and postseason honors included being named co-captain for cross country and track teams, being named to the CSL All-Conference team for 3 years, named Chicago Tribune Athlete of the Week, received a scholarship to run at Kansas State University and the University of Iowa.
After her days of running at the collegiate level were over, Laura went on to coach girls’ cross-country and boys’ and girls’ track & field for many years. She coached one year at Glenbrook North, one year at ETHS, three years at Niles North and finally three years at Niles West, one of which was with HOF inductee Judi Sloan!
Currently, Laura still resides in Skokie with her 3 daughters: Isabel (NN-Class of 2013), Anna (NN-Class of 2015), Miriam (NN-Class of 2018). Laura works as a school social worker at Hyde Park Day School and her hobbies include running the occasional 5K and sprint triathlons, walking and hiking. Some of her fondest memories at Niles West were running with the cross-country and track teams and learning from and laughing with her coaches and teammates.