Anna Sophia Keller Commits to Notre Dame

St. Anthony High School's fantastically successful distance runner Anna Sophia Keller has verbally committed to the University of Notre Dame.

It's been a lengthy process, and the nine-time state champion made college visits to four campuses before formally deciding to head to South Bend, Indiana for the next four years.

Anna Sophia said by phone Monday that she visited Missouri, Indiana and Auburn as well as Notre Dame before announcing her decision. She said it was tough to let the coaches at the other schools know of her decision since she's gotten to know them the past several months.

One thing that helped in deciding on Notre Dame was that it has a successful running program including NCAA champion runners. Another is that she has been acquainted with Matt Sparks since she was a high school freshman running her first meet at SIU Carbondale where he was on staff. He is now on staff at Notre Dame. Another factor for her is that Notre Dame is a Catholic school. Anna Sophia said she has always attended Catholic schools and appreciates that Notre Dame is a place "where faith is taken seriously".

St. Anthony's track season began over the weekend and Anna Sophia won the 1600 meters in 5:00.85. That's almost 28 seconds ahead of the second place finisher. There's every indication that Anna Sophia will compete for more state championships. She has won the state Class A cross-country championship all four years of her high school career, has won the 1600 meters her first three years in high school, and won the 3200 meters her sophomore and junior years after finishing second her freshman year due to a fall in the finals. The high school success follows state championship success in junior high school.

Still, we asked Anna Sophia whether there might be one more gear for her to find in college. She said, "I've always trained by myself, or with my dad. This will be an opportunity to train with others."

Anna Sophia plans to pursue a degree in the medical field, but understands that many college students change majors and she's open to that. 

A formal signing ceremony is planned sometime in April.