Imagine you’re at the starting line of a huge grass course, the best runners in the state surrounding you and thousands of fans watching on in anticipation. You’ve never attended, let alone run in, a race this big. A hush falls over the crowd, your heart is pounding as you check to make sure your toes are behind the white line, and suddenly you hear the gunshot.

The crowd roars as you begin to run. You know you’re running too fast, that you’ll use up all your energy by the last mile, but somehow its mile three and you can’t slow down now. With 400 meters to go you sprint, cross the finish line and become the third fastest girl in EHS history.

That dream was a reality for sophomore Abby Schrobilgen last Saturday when she placed 54th at the three-mile IHSA Cross Country State meet with a time of 18:00.

Schrobilgen started off her high school cross country career with drive. The first time Schrobilgen ran a 5K for EHS, she finished with a time of 25:03, an average time within her team. By the end of the season, she was able to climb her way up to number 15 but that still wasn’t enough to get her to state.

Schrobilgen was six spots short of becoming a state alternate her freshman year. Now, a year later, she became the first on her team to cross the State finish line and is the fifth EHS girl ever to run a time under 18:10 at the Detweiler Park course in Peoria, IL.

To what does Schrobilgen owe her seven minute improvement? Lots of practice and a supportive team.

“I trained by myself all winter and with the team all summer so that really helped me improve,” Schrobilgen said. “My team members are so motivating. Whenever I’m struggling, they always push me harder.”

With the State meet over, Schrobilgen is ready to start the track season. Because this spring will be Schrobilgin’s first year running track, the future for her as a short-distance runner is unknown.

“The way that Schrobilgen looks right now, you’d have to think that she could be contending to qualify for State in the two mile.” Cross country and track coach Dustin Davis said. “At the same time, it’s a long winter and she has to continue to stay healthy and put the work in.”

Given Schrobilgen’s meteoric rise this past season, it’s obvious that hard work won’t be an issue. The real battle will be staying injury-free during the zero-degree wind chill runs she’ll face in a few months.