It was a meat grinder in last year's Illinois Top Times meet
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For the first time since Glenbard West's Katelynne Hart was a freshman, it will be a freshman coming into high school as the top distance runner to watch without a track resume. The athlete is Isabella Keller of Effingham St. Anthony. She went undefeated against state competitors during the cross country season while running for a 1A school.
Keller ran the fastest three-mile and five-kilometer races of the season. Her times of 16:26 and 17:06 resulted in big dividends.
Keller also proved she was great on the national scene, finishing eighth at the deep Nike Cross Nationals in 17:43.
Now, how will the cross country success transfer to indoor track? At the very least, we can only assume that if she runs a two-mile or 3200, it will be very fast from an aerobic standpoint. Isabella's father, Chuck Keller, said he doesn't know if or when she will contest the longer race.
Liv Phillips (Sr., Naperville Central) will be coming into the season with much momentum from cross country. Phillips earned a spot in San Diego for the Foot Locker National XC Championships, which should propel her to run faster than her 10:46.94. If you think Phillips is average, think again. She blazed 10:34.84 outdoors. So far the numbers have trended well since last April.
Scout Storms (Jr., Batavia) is the top returner by the numbers, and rightfully so. She dominated the cross country season, winning her first 3A state title. Storm's indoor best happened to be in the 2-mile; she clocked 10:34.35.
Mia Kotler (Jr., Chicago Latin) was one of the best long-distance runners in the state when she was healthy. She ran 10:50 in limited action a year ago. But she has an indoor best of 10:39.20 from two indoor seasons ago. After a solid preseason, Kotler can get back to her normal levels.
Veronica Znajda (Jr., Mt. Prospect [Prospect]) was a strong presence during the cross-country season; one of her key victories was defeating Scout Storms at the MSL Championship. She later earned high all-state honors and another appearance in the NXN Championship. The versatile Znajda appears to be more of a middle-distance runner by default, but she is the leader of her team's long-distance corps. She will be motivated to surpass her success from a year ago including a lifetime best of 10:49.00.
Annika Swan (So., Chicago St. Ignatius) did not contest the long event indoors last year, but she tried it once outside and won easily in 10:49.11. Moreover, it has been hinted that Swan wants to show more of a presence outdoors in the event. If the plan is to compete with the best at the Arcadia Invitational, she must run fast once or twice over the next month ahead of April.
Kate Foltz (So., Tuscola) produced an exceptional cross-country season that netted her a third-place finish in the 1A state championship. She hopes prior success will lead to substantially faster times this winter (10:53.32 PB).
Molly Farrell (So., Marshall) is the defending 1A state champion (10:34.17). An undefeated indoor season and an Illinois Top Times title set much of that success.
Runners to watch for: Jane Lynch (Jr., Wilmette Loyola Academy), Zoe Carter (Jr., Normal University), Danielle Jensen (Sr., McHenry), Katherine Klimek (Sr., Elmhurst York), Julie Piot (Sr., Naperville North), Lily Ginsberg (Sr., Prospect), Shania Tandon (So., Naperville North), Meg Peterson (So., Prospect)