Reach For The Stars Abby Lopez

Argo’s Abby Lopez finishes 6th at Class 3A State meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria

Image Courtesy from the Chicago Tribune

Abby Lopez, an Argo Sophomore, was already mentioning about next year’s plans after her first girls cross country state meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria.

“Right now, I’m thinking I want to get first,” Lopez said. “That’s my first goal. But I’m very happy with what I did.”

While finishing sixth in the race on Saturday, Lopez made it to class 3A to earn all-state status among the participating 210 runners at Detweiller Park. This was also the first time Lopez started racing this year since she gave up varsity basketball in exchange for extra dedication in cross country.

“I feel satisfied with what I did, but I know there’s a lot of work to do,” she said.

Lopez was able to cover the wet damp course in an impressive 16 minutes and 39 seconds, which topped her previous best time by 40 seconds. Unlike other races Lopez participated in, it wasn’t an easy race like many others.

“It was challenging because I never had girls on me and in front of me before,” Lopez said. “It was very different. It was a learning process to just keep calm and know I could do things beyond what I did before.”

Glenbard West’s Katelynne Hart, repeated as the individual state champion with a time of 16:22. Racing against Hart was fine for Lopez.

“I liked it,” Lopez said. “I liked it because she pushed me mentally and physically. I liked it because it makes me tougher.”

With just two more years of high school running left for Lopez, she has made high expectations and goals for the future.

“I’m preparing for that, getting ready for that,” she said. “I can still come in first. Next year that’s my goal.”