Most seniors would happily take what Amanda Fox has accomplished this year.
The fact she has had all of her success as a Naperville Central sophomore makes her cross-country achievements all the more uncanny.
Fox won Saturday's Class 3A girls St. Charles East Sectional. She now has won nine individual meet titles this year of a possible 10.
Fox has dominated the competitive field from start to finish in 2009. She won the season-opening Hornet/Red Devil Invite in Hinsdale and has taken first in all but one meet since that Sept. 5 race. At the Oct. 10 West Aurora Stampede, Fox finished second.
Despite her eye-popping performances, she remains the quintessential example of humility.
"With Amanda, one of her main qualities is that she's super-modest," teammate and senior co-captain Rachel Irion said. "She's never cocky. She wouldn't be who she is without that (personality trait). She never counts on herself winning and even though she has her lows like everyone else, Amanda keeps it in perspective."
Shelby Pealer, like Irion a senior and co-captain, agreed with Irion's thoughts.
"Honestly, she's a good runner but she's one of the best teammates also," Pealer said. "She's the most modest person you'll ever meet in your life."
Fox often has talked in her post-race interviews about herself or the team giving maximum effort. That mental approach should help her significantly Saturday at the state meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria.
As Fox said after her sectional title, in looking ahead to state, "You just have to go in it and have fun with it. You've worked hard to get there, so you might as well enjoy it. It's the last race of the year, so I want to lay everything out."
She'll most certainly give state her "all," as she likes to say because she knows what kind of atmosphere the state competition is.
Fox finished 59th in state (18 minutes, 10 seconds) as a freshman last year.
She's not only humble but also incredibly team-oriented in her thinking, calling the Oct. 3 Wheaton North Falcon Classic flight meet her favorite.
"(It) was definitely my favorite race because all of our top 7 had really strong races," Fox said.
Central coach Aislinn Hicks said the flight meet was probably Fox's most impressive of the year due to the competition involved. Fox captured the title in the championship flight in 17:53.
"She came out a real winner that day," Hicks said.
And Fox has come out a real winner as a competitor.
"Everything I ask her to do, she gives 100 percent," Hicks said. "She respects all of her competition and doesn't take any race lightly."
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