My name is Sophia Keeler and I am a Track and Cross Country student-athlete graduating with the class of 2025 at Yorkville High School in Yorkville, Illinois. My freshman year I ran 21:09 in Cross Country, 11:59 in the 3200, 5:45 in the 1600, and 2:43 in the 800. My freshman year was my first time running with so much competition and such a big team because in middle school the school I attended was very small and the cross country team had about 10 runners in total (boys and girls), so it was a big change going from barely running 4 times a week to having practice every day and really figuring out how to race. My sophomore year is where it felt like everything started to click and I figured out my racing style and was now able to run more mileage than I had before. I ran an 18:26 in Cross Country and was first on the team for the entirety of the State Series races, 11:41 in the 2 mile, 5:23 in the mile, a 2:23 split in the State championship for the 4×8, and a 1:04 split in the 4×4. Before my sophomore track season I was only really focused on long distance races like the mile and two mile but my coach asked me to try out the 800 relay and we found that our team worked well together, so I made the decision to switch from training for the two mile and mile to really focusing on training to the 4×8 because I wanted our team to go to state. My Junior year is not over yet, but I completed Cross Country this year being the number one runner on the team throughout all races this season with a pr of 17:27 for 3 miles and 26th place at IHSA state. Going into track this year my goals are sub 11:20 in the two mile, sub 5:10 in the mile, sub 2:20 in the 800, and 1:02 in the 400. I am aiming high with my goals this year compared to my times last year, but I am confident with my training that I can achieve them. 

As far as awards go, In Cross country I earned MVP on my team both Sophomore and Junior year, and I achieved all-conference, all-regional, and all-sectional this past year of cross. In Track I received distance MVP my sophomore year, and was 4th in indoor conference for the 3200, 5th in Illinois Indoor Top Times for the 4×800, 9th in indoor conference for the 1600, 1st in outdoor conference for the 4×800, 2nd in outdoor sectionals for the 4×800, 7th in outdoor conference, 7th in outdoor sectionals, and 8th in IHSA Outdoor Track State for the 4×800 all in my sophomore year (2023). In Academics I have been High Honor roll both my freshman and sophomore year, Have received the “Academic Excellence” Award both my freshman and sophomore year, have taken 1 AP in the past, I am currently enrolled in 2 this year, and have been in many honors classes every year since freshman year. My current GPA from the past years is 4.2. 

I am very interested in running in college in both Cross Country and Track and am looking forward to continuing my education with studying Sports Nutrition. For more information, please email me at sophiakeeler2025@gmail.com.