Three area runners earned All-State honors Saturday at the IHSA Girls Class 1A State Finals meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria.
Leading the way with a seventh place finish was Annawan-Wethersfield senior Kennady Anderson. She ran the 3-mile course in 17:23.53, shaving off 10 seconds of her previous school record of 17:33.
Effingham-St. Anthony freshman Isabella Keller was the Girls 1A winner. Keller had a time of 16:26.13 to top the field of 258 runners.
This is the third consecutive year that Anderson has been accorded All-State honors (top 25 in each class). She placed 24th as a sophomore and fourth as a junior.
“We knew going into the race that she she could be anywhere between third and tenth,” said A/W Coach Creston Fenn. “Every race our goal is to put ourselves in a spot to do great things. She did that,” added Fenn.
Ridgewood sophomore Emily Downing earned her second All-State medal. Last year as a freshman Downing ran to a 13th place finish in a time of 18:13.12. She repeated that feat Saturday, also placing 13th, but with an improved time of 17:44.0.
Stark County freshman Dusti Smith earned her first All-State medal. The upstart finished in 22nd place in a time of 18:03.82.
As a team, the Stark County girls placed 19th in the 30-team field. Tolono Unity won the team event with 109 points, while Stark County tallied 481 points.
Downing’s freshman teammate, Jana VandeKemp, crossed the finish line in 33rd place at 18:29.03.
A/W junior Karson Shrum finished in 44th place in the Class 1A boys race in a time of 15:49.73. The overall winner was Gavin Genisio of Benton. Genisio ran the 3-mile course in 14:12.56, topping the field of 256 runners.
“Karson absolutely ran a race to be proud of,” said Coach Fenn. “He went out in 5:00 which wasn’t too far off of his track 1600 PR. He passed seven runners the last mile to finish 44th, which is the third highest boy’s finish in the history of the A/W Titans,” added Fenn.
“Karson transformed who he is as a runner this year, mentally and physically, and that’s going to take him far. This is only the beginning for him. Saturday I walked away feeling excited for his future.”
Ridgewood senior Fernando Avila-Rubio closed out his high school cross country career with an 88th place finish in a time of 16:19.38.
