1A Boys Team Cross Country Pre-Season Preview: #20-#11 Alex Goodlad Aug 13, 2014

Over in this tier of rankings, we have many cross country teams with a lot of returning veterans that look to place lower by the end of the season. There are other teams listed that have proven themselves worthy of state competition (time and time again in some cases) but are just not cut a break in sectional placement, which we can all say is the flawed reality of the sectional system right now. But who is to say what the top 20 best teams are? It’s arbitrary and that’s why we have these rankings for!

2014 Class 1A Girls Individual Pre-Season Preview Alex Goodlad Aug 12, 2014

Generally in 1A girls, getting anywhere in the 17-minute range guarantees you a top ten finish, and getting anywhere under 18:20 guarantees an all-state spot. Last year however, coaches anticipated a competitive year and they were not disappointed. The top ten cut-off was 17:50 then going up to 18:00 for the first 15 harriers. And finally the all-state cutoff was 18:14. While this doesn’t even compare to what kind of cutoff times we generally see from 2A and 3A, this is still very astounding considering the small size of the schools. And this year, this kind of competition does not look to shrivel anytime soon with twelve of last year’s top 25 all back, including seven of last year’s top ten. And the most crucial component in the extremely competitive landscape is Effingham (St. Anthony) sophomore sensation Anna Sophia Keller. The multi-talented youngster appears to be head and shoulders above her competition. Hopefully, a deep returning field will add a bit of drama along the journey to Peoria and beyond.

1A Girls Team Cross Country Preview: #10-#1 Alex Goodlad Aug 11, 2014

From a team perspective, 2014 is looking like a year of excellent top runners. Many teams have two or three runners who can run in the 19-minute range or below. However, in order to make it or break it for a majority of these teams is either finding a solid fifth runner, or getting their fifth runner from last year down.

1A Girls Team Cross Country Preview: #20-#11 Alex Goodlad Aug 10, 2014

From a team perspective, 2014 is looking like a year of excellent top runners. Many teams have two or three runners who can run in the 19-minute range or below. However, in order to make it or break it for a majority of these teams is either finding a solid fifth runner, or getting their fifth runner from last year down.

2014 Class A Girls Pre-Season Distance Preview Alex Goodlad Jan 16, 2014

The state of distance affairs will be interesting because a ton of mainstay athletes have graduated.  However, the league will not be void of talent as it always seems someone will step up and produce some great efforts.  If this past fall’s cross country season is any indication of what is to come, the fans will not be disappointed. Only five out of last year’s top ten finishers return in this event.  The “deuce” will feature a very strong freshman presence along with some fresh performances during the cross country season competitors.

Boys 1A Individual Rankings Alex Goodlad Aug 29, 2013

The initial thing one might notice about these cross country rankings is that off the spot, all of the finishing top 10 at the 1A state finals from last year are all graduating seniors, except for one, Nick Hess, who is the obvious favorite. Furthermore, of the top 25 finishers last year, only nine come back. So there is a lot of room for unnoticeable names to sneak themselves up into the all-state scene this year. It will therefore be not that easy to rank this year’s top 25 individuals because it’s hard to know what to expect out of a lot of the group.

2013 Class A Girls Cross Country Individual Rankings: A Deep Cast of Talent Emerges Alex Goodlad Aug 28, 2013

With a bevy of incoming talent, this talented group of 17 out of the top 25 returning could be one of the best in classification history.  There was a significant amount of fast girls who did not even make it into the all-state scene last year, so it’s going to be very interesting to say the least.  The top five IHSA all-state veterans were no more than eight seconds apart in time difference, but two of the top five ranked talent are IESA record-breaking freshman. Here are the projected top 25:

1A Boys Team Preview: Elmwood-Brimfield Is Ready For Top Spot Alex Goodlad Aug 26, 2013

Last year’s state championship saw the battle of two powerful small school empires. The first is St. Thomas Moore, a non-bordered catholic school in Champaign notorious for attracting the area talent in Champaign County. The second is Elmwood, a school whose team Coop’s with Brimfield. In an area passionate about distance running, Elmwood athletes train at a young age, typically part of either the Elmwood or Brimfield middle school team before transitioning on to high school.

1A Girls Team Preview Alex Goodlad Aug 13, 2013

Three-time defending state champion Decatur (St. Teresa) was four points away from seeking a fifth straight title if one considers their 2009 second finish to Winnebago 127-123 as evidence.  In that race, St. Teresa had an opportunity to win but the Indians closed out the final half-mile out in fine fashion to complete their five-peat.  So the big question to ask: “will Decatur win again?”  On paper it looks like their dynasty could come to an end as other teams have finally stocked their rosters and now appear ready to battle.