Payton Frueh has run herself into the Princeton school record books as just the 10th individual girl to qualify in 46 years of the IHSA State Cross Country Meet.

The PHS junior picked up the seventh of 10 state qualifying spots at the Sherrard Sectional, placing 19th overall with a time of 19 minutes, 32 seconds. Besides recording her 3-mile personal best, she almost got her mile and two mile bests along the way.

“I’m pretty excited. It’s a dream I never thought I’d get to do,” Frueh said. “I started the season thinking it’s just another season in cross country and it turned into being a pretty good year.”

Hodge believes that if Frueh can hit her personal best time or better that will put her close to the top 100 in Class 1A based on last year’s state results.

“I’d like to PR again. I think it’d be a good way to end the season,” said Frueh, who has been accompanied by her teammates in training this week.

Frueh has moved into Princeton’s top 12 all-time for 3.0 mile times.

The Class 1A girls race will start at 9 a.m. with the boys at 10 a.m. with the 2A and 3A races to follow.

The first state meet for girls was held in 1979. It was one class for the girls through 1987. In 1988, the state finals were split into Class A and Class AA races for girls. Princeton had two all-staters that year in Class A: Jenny Faber (8th) and Mary Ellen Markee (25th).

Faber also placed 11th in 1989. Her son, Chase Gewin, has qualified for the Class 3A boys race this season for Naperville Central.

Hodge said that some girls at PHS started running in some of the smaller boys’ meets in 1976.