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.