IL: 1A Girls State Mash- It Could Be One For The Ages

IHSA State XC Championships
Trae Cotner

Tessa Bowers and Shelbyville will be gunning for their first state championship title (Mike Woolery photo)

 
Date: 11/8/2025
Location: Detweiller Park; Peoria, IL
Course: 3.0 miles
Race Time: 9:00 a.m.; awards ceremony- 11:00 AM at the Detweiller Park venue
Weather forecast: 44F, possible rain shower and cloudy, wind @ 4 mph
MileSplit IL 50 Rankings: Read Here
The qualifying teams: 1 Shelbyville, 2 Eureka, 3 Winnebago, 4 El Paso-Gridley, 5 St. Joseph (Ogden), 6 Elmwood, 7 Anna-Jonesboro, 8 Delavan, 10 Marshall, 11 Williamsville, 12 Belleville (Althoff Catholic), 13 Tolono (Unity), 14 Urbana (University),15 Toulon (Stark County), 17 Cambridge, 19 Knoxville, 20 Effingham (St. Anthony), 21 Breese (Mater Dei), 23 Roxana, 25 Elmhurst (Timothy Christian), Byron, Lisle, Elgin (Harvest Christian Academy), Manteno, Murphysboro, Palos Heights (Chicago Christian), Sandwich, Richmond-Burton, Genoa-Kingston, Fairfield
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Outlook: Shelbyville has rolled through the season undefeated to this point, and they have to be considered the favorite heading into the state championship. The Rams are led by senior Tessa Bowers, a low-stick talent who is almost sure to secure a spot in the top five and no worse than tenth place. That will come in handy since the Rams have an average scoring split of 3:30.

However, seven teams can compete for the state title in this class. Winnebago has come on strong the past few weeks and looks to be the top challenger for Shelbyville. El Paso-Gridley is always a force at the state meet and will challenge the top two teams. It would not be surprising to see Eureka, Elmwood, or St. Joe win a trophy in this class. This could be the closest finish of all the classes outside of the 3A boys.

Here are my top 10 picks: 1) Shelbyville, 2) Winnebago, 3) El Paso-Gridley, 4) Anna-Jonesboro, 5) Eureka, 6) Elmwood, 7 St. Joseph-Ogden, 8) Delevan, 9) Marshall, 10) Cambridge

The Cumberland Sectional provided a glimpse of what could happen on Saturday among some of the state's elite individuals.
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We do not yet know it, but this could be a race for the ages. Isabella Keller (Jr., Effingham St. Anthony), Sundara Weber (Sr., Sandwich), Kate Foltz (Sr., Tuscola), and Kyla Babb (Sr., Westmont) will square off for the title.

Let's start with Keller, whose confidence has soared this season, especially after completing an injury-free campaign up to this point, compared to last year. She understands the implications of winning another title and the competition that she will face.

Something will have to give unless it's a tie on Saturday. Sunny Weber is one of the state's elite athletes, having come down as a champion from 2A and remaining undefeated. Two things could happen: they could either push for the all-time record or get bogged down like World War 1 trench warfare. 

Speaking of records, Foltz is the state championship record holder in classification. She surprised the field with a sizzling 15:59 clocking and later parlayed her season into a trip to San Diego, California, for the Foot Locker National Championship. "Foltz comes alive for the state meet and runs well through the Thanksgiving holiday," says Class A insider and Foltz family friend Dave Behm.

Babb and Bowers appear to be the top athletes capable of challenging the top group and will aim to disrupt the scorecard.  Don't sleep on Klaire Eighner (Sr., Maroa-Forsyth), who has quietly put together a phenomenal season and should challenge for a top-five finish. Others to watch are: Abagail Baumann (Sr., Rockford Lutheran), Emily Downing (Sr., Cambridge), Molly Farrell (Sr., Marshall), and Aubrey Denning (Jr., Effingham St. Anthony).