Anna Sophia Keller Leaves As 4-Time Champion; Harvest Christian Academy Surprises

Anna Sophia Keller achieved iconic status with her fourth consecutive title (Beth Scheid photo)

The IHSA State Cross Country meet comes around once a year and thousands of people gather at the iconic Detweiller Park in Peoria to compete, cheer and support those running, and take part in the excitement it all entails. There is no denying the electric atmosphere that everyone involved will remember forever. It is a day of firsts, lasts, and history being made; all which took place Saturday on November 5th.

Class 1A kicked off the excitement with the girls' race which had over 200 runners competing; made up solely of the best of the best. The obvious standout in the race was Effingham (St. Anthony) senior Anna Sophia Keller who won the race as a freshman, sophomore, and junior, and hoped to make it a fourth straight win on the course to close out a great career. Keller, who has shown she doesn't just go out to win, but to run her very best, went out the same way Saturday morning. Just a half mile into the race Keller was running all alone out in front with South Wilmington senior Daly Galloway, Pana senior Claudia Magnussen, Palos Heights (Chicago Christian) senior April Van Ryn, and numerous others running in a pack several seconds behind her.

Coming through the first mile, Keller had given herself a nice lead (5:27) while Galloway and Magnussen, were running strong but approximately 10 in back of her. Following them were Van Ryn and Stanford-Olympia senior Shelby Siltman fighting together. As they exited the "Bermuda Triangle" and neared the two mile mark, Keller had a significant lead and didn't look to let up any. Magnussen was clearly in second but now with Siltman running in third. Galloway had fell off slightly but still looked to make a move within the remainder of the race. Just a half mile later and Magnussen, who still ran second to Keller, had made a move herself and was distancing herself from Siltman. Coming into the finish was the obvious Anna Sophia Keller, crossing at a time of 16:32, granting her another state championship. Magnussen was able to hold onto her place as she finished second with 17:20. Within the final stretch Galloway had really turned it on to pass up Siltman at the finish line and came in close contact with Manussen to capture third place with 17:23 as her time. Siltman placed fourth within the same second as Galloway.

top 10 GIRLS THREE MILE RUN
PLACEATHLETETEAMRESULTPOINTS
1Anna Sophia Keller12St. Anthony High School16:32.00--
2Claudia Magnussen12Pana High School17:20.00--
3Daly Galloway12South Wilmington High School17:23.00--
4Shelby Siltman12Stanford Olympia High School17:23.001
5April Vanryn12Chicago Christian High School17:30.002
6Jordan Harmon10Tolono Unity High School17:49.003
7Payne Turney9Clinton High School17:49.00--
8Emma Argo10Eureka High School17:52.004
9Nygia Pollard11Harvest Christian Academy17:53.005
10Amelia Mclain9Benton High School17:55.00--

Anna Sophia Keller's interview:


Rounding out the team scores for the girls, the anticipated St. Joseph Ogden took home the championship trophy with a team score of 100. Tolono Unity placed second with 161, and Liberty third with 174.
Top 5 TEAM SCORES
PLACETEAMPOINTSSCORERSTIMES
1St. Joseph-Ogden High School1008+12+16+28+36 (50+98)0:50 1-5 Split | 18:36 Avg
2Tolono Unity High School1613+21+31+37+69 (70+88)2:03 1-5 Split | 18:51 Avg
3Liberty High School1746+22+23+56+67 (131+153)1:55 1-5 Split | 18:57 Avg
4Richmond-Burton High School19114+19+24+54+80 (114+148)1:35 1-5 Split | 19:05 Avg
5Williamsville High School23325+27+48+55+78 (103+109)1:15 1-5 Split | 19:17 Avg

Coach Jason Retz's thoughts on a championship: