Meet the 2007 Boys Cross Country Team
  
Austin Beck - Junior:  Austin is a third year high school cross country runner. 
    As an underclassman, Austin showed us he is an extremely strong willed runner.  In his first two year he, proved himself to be one of our top fresh/soph leaders and is also doing very well as a varsity runner.  During his freshman year, Austin earned a medal at the Charleston Invitational open race by placing 7th. Austin earned a medal at the Springfield Invitational by placing 14th in the freshman race. Austin medaled at the Eureka Fresh/Soph Invitational by placing 18th. Austin medaled at the Olympia Fresh/Soph Invitational by placing 22nd.  As a sophomore Austin continued his strong running career.  Austin won the open race at the Charleston Invitational. Austin medaled at the Olympia Fresh/Soph Invitational by placing 23rd.  He medaled at the Mahomet-Seymour Invitational by placing 10th in the open.  Austin ran a personal best of 19:02 at Conference and a 18:51 at Eureka as a sophomore.  He represented out team by running in the top ten for our team at the Conference meet.  Austin earned his second varsity letter as a sophomore.  
    As a Junior Austin worked extremely hard during the off-season.  Austin ran over 500 miles the summer before his junior year.  He earned the title of captain for the team as a junior.  His summer mileage paid off as he opened the season by running 2nd for the team.  Austin earned a spot in our fastest top 20 juniors on our home course. Austin earned a medal at the Charleston Invitational by placing 6th in the Varsity race. He earned a medal at the Mahomet-Seymour invitational by placing 16th.  He worked his way onto the News-Gazette Prep Cross Country Leader list in September and October.  He earned a spot in our all time junior list at the Springfield Invitational, Peoria Notre Dame Invitational, East Peoria Invitational, U-High Invitational, & Mahomet-Seymour Invitational.   Austin improved 2:49 seconds from last year.  Austin ran a lifetime personal best at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational with a time of 16:10.
 
Sean Buchanan - Senior:  Sean is a third year cross country runner. 
    Sean joined us from the track team as he was a strong sprinter.  After joining us, he quickly adjusted to the longer runs and has proved himself to be a strong distance runner as well.  This fall will not only help his sprinting, but he brings a lot to the cross country team with his talent. Sean came on strong mid season as he placed 5th for the team at the East Peoria Invitational as a sophomore. Sean medaled at the Olympia Invitational in the open race by placing 19th.  Sean ran a personal best of 21:23 as a junior.
    As a Senior Sean has become quite the leader.  His intensity in workouts and time trials has set a great example for the new and younger runners.  He improved over 1:40 at the East Peoria Invitational becoming one of the fastest seniors we have had run on that course.  Sean ran in our top 6 varsity runners at the East Peoria Invitational.  He earned a spot in our all time senior list at the East Peoria Invitational.  Sean earned a medal in the open race at the Olympia Invitational by placing 23rd.   He worked his way onto the News-Gazette Prep Cross Country Leader list in October.  Sean ran a lifetime best at the East Peoria Invitational where he ran a time of 21:20.
  
Kurt Bucker - Junior:  Kurt is a third year cross country runner. 
    As an underclassman, Kurt won fresh/soph new runner of the week honors for his great work ethic and determination.  He is a pleasure to be around and is a great role model for our other runners.  Kurt along with teammate Thomas Thoren were great team leaders in the off season before his sophomore year.  Kurt and Thomas ran almost every day the winter before his sophomore year.  Kurt medaled at the Charleston Invitational by placing 12th in the open race. Kurt was one of only four of our runners to run a personal best at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational. Kurt medaled at the Olympia Fresh/Soph Invitational by placing 29th.  Kurt ran a personal best of 19:48 as a sophomore.  Kurt improved 1 minute and 26 seconds from his freshman year.  Kurt was a letter winner as a sophomore.
    As a junior, Kurt really dedicated himself to the off-season training.  Kurt ran over 400 miles in the summer and earned the title of captain for the team during his junior year.  Kurt earned a spot in our fastest top 20 juniors on our home course.  Kurt ran 4th for the team at the Springfield invitational.  Kurt worked his way onto the News-Gazette Prep Cross Country Leader list in September and October.  He earned a spot in our all time junior list at the Springfield Invitational, Peoria Notre Dame Invitational, East Peoria Invitational, & U-High Invitational.  Kurt improved 2 minutes and 21 seconds from his sophomore year.  Kurt ran a lifetime best at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational where he ran a time of 17:27.  
 
Alex Charter - Sophomore:  Alex is a second year high school cross country runner. 
    He came to the team with a lot of experience as a freshman.  During his freshman year, he won a medal at the Charleston Invitational by placing 13th in the open race.  Alex ran second for our freshman team at the Springfield Invitational and placed 17th.  Alex helped his freshman team to a 2nd place at the Springfield Invitational. Alex ran our 9th fastest time for the team at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational. Alex medaled at the Olympia Fresh/Soph Invitational by placing 24th. He medaled at the Mahomet-Seymour Invitational by placing 5th in the open.  Alex ran a personal best of 18:32 as a freshman.  Alex represented the team well at Conference by running in the top 9.  Alex was a first year letter winner as a freshman.
    As a sophomore, Alex ran over 300 miles in the summer and joined our few that have made the 300 mile club award winners.  He started the season right away in the top 10 of the team.  Alex earned a spot on our fastest top 20 sophomores on our home course.  Alex earned a medal at the Charleston Invitational by placing 5th in the open race. He medaled at the Eureka FS Invitational.  He earned in our all time sophomore list at the Springfield Invitational, Eureka Fresh/Soph Invitational, Peoria Notre Dame Invitational, East Peoria Invitational, Olympia Fresh/Soph Invitational, & U-High Invitational.  Alex earned a medal in the fresh/soph race at the Olympia Invitational by placing 15th.  He earned a medal at the Mahomet-Seymour invitational by placing 7th in the open.  Alex worked his way onto the News-Gazette Prep Cross Country Leader list in September and October.  Alex ran most of the season as 8th for the team.  Alex improved 25 seconds from his freshman to sophomore year.  Alex ran a lifetime best at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational where he ran a 18:13.
  
Dale Donoho - Sophomore:  Dale is a second year cross country runner at the high school level. 
    As a freshman, Dale earned a medal by placing 14th at the Charleston Invitational open race.  Dale helped his freshman team to a 2nd place at the Springfield Invitational.  Dale ran a personal best of 20:19 his freshman year.  This is one of the stronger times in the area for a freshman.  Dale was a first year letter winner as a freshman.
    As a sophomore, Dale has shown great improvement in his overall strength and times. Dale has shown a great amount of team spirit and determination as a runner this year.  Dale ran a personal best in almost every meet.  He earned in our all time sophomore list at the East Peoria Invitational. By mid-season he already had meet his lifetime best.  Dale worked his way onto the News-Gazette Prep Cross Country Leader list in September and October.  Dale ran a lifetime best at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational where he ran a 20:12.

Sam Geneser - Junior:  Sam is a second year cross country runner at the high school level. 
    As a freshman, Sam was sidelined due to an illness.
    As a junior, Sam showed a great amount of determination as he trained through an illness that most runners wouldn't have had the heart to do.  Sam is a good runner and we should be seeing good things out of him this year.  Sam started the season out by running a 3 miles in over 32 minutes.  He improved more than anyone on our team throughout the season.  By the Peoria Notre Dame meet he was already running in the 25 minute range. He earned a medal in the open race at the Olympia Invitational by placing 26th. Sam ran a lifetime best at Conference where he ran a 25:32.
 
Caleb Johnson - Sophomore:  Caleb is a second year cross country runner at the high school level. 
    As a freshman, Caleb helped his freshman team to a 2nd place at the Springfield Invitational.  Caleb has proven himself to be one the strongest freshman runners in the area.  Caleb ran a personal best of 20:05 at Conference where he ran 3rd for the team in the open race.  I know you will see great things out of Caleb in future years.  Caleb was a first year letter winner as a freshman.
    As a sophomore, Caleb came out strong with a great improvement in his times from his freshman year.  He ran early time trials as fast as 6 minutes faster than his first year. Caleb earned a spot on our fastest top 20 sophomore on our home course.  Caleb earned a medal at the Charleston Invitational by placing 4th in the open race. He earned a spot in our all time sophomore list at the Springfield Invitational, Eureka Fresh/Soph Invitational, East Peoria Invitational, & U-High Invitational.  He earned a medal in the fresh/soph race at the Olympia Invitational by placing 30th.  Caleb worked his way onto the News-Gazette Prep Cross Country Leader list in September and October.  Caleb improved 1:02 from his freshman to sophomore year.  Caleb ran a lifetime best at the Conference meet with a time of 19:03.
 
Jared Kingry - Senior:  Jared is a second year cross country runner at the high school level. 
    As a freshman, Jared showed us his great leadership abilities and strength.
    As a senior, Jared returned to the team as an ever stronger leader.  He started the year right away as the strongest vocal supporter of the team.  From the start of the season, Jared drastically cut off time each week in practices.  His enthusiasm to work hard and improve was a motivation to the team.  Jared showed great determination in practice.  Early in the season he cut off 14 minutes in a 5 mile time trial.  He ran personal bests at almost every meet.  Jared ran in our top 7 varsity runners at the East Peoria Invitational.  He earned a medal in the open race at the Olympia Invitational by placing 22nd.  Jared worked his way onto the News-Gazette Prep Cross Country Leader list in September and October.  Jared ran a season best of 21:01 at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational.

Dustin Kinkelaar - Senior:  Dustin is a forth year cross country runner. 
    Dustin stepped right up into our top 8 on the Varsity team in most meets during his freshman year, despite having never had previous cross country experience.  Dustin has an amazing amount of natural ability in this sport combined with a determined mind that will make him one of the best in the sport someday.  Dustin also brings to the team a carefree attitude.  Although he can be serious when it counts, he is a fun loving person that his teammates enjoy being around. 
     During his sophomore year, Dustin earned a medal at the Charleston Invitational open race by placing 9th.  Dustin was our team's fastest open runner in the Springfield Invitational. Dustin medaled at the Eureka Fresh/Soph Invitational by placing 13th. Dustin medaled at the Olympia Fresh/Soph race by placing 15th. Dustin earned a medal in the open race at the Mahomet-Seymour invitational by placing 9th.
     During Dustin's Junior year, he ran in the top 7 runners.  Dustin earned a medal at the Charleston Invitational by placing 18th. Dustin ran number 3 for the team at the U-High meet. Dustin was our #2 Varsity runner at the East Peoria Invitational.   Dustin won his 3rd varsity letter as a junior.  Dustin ran a sub 5 minute mile to get into our old dog club.
     As a senior, Dustin's experience and strength continue to help the team.  He once again is in the top 7 of his team and continues to improve upon his already strong times.  Dustin earned a spot in our fastest top 20 seniors on our home course.  Dustin earned a medal at the Charleston Invitational by placing 10th in the Varsity race.  He earned a medal at the Mahomet-Seymour invitational by placing 24th.  Dustin worked his way onto the News-Gazette Prep Cross Country Leader list in September and October.  He earned a spot in our all time senior list at the Springfield Invitational, Peoria Notre Dame Invitational, U-High Invitational, & Mahomet-Seymour Invitational.  Dustin improved 36 seconds from his junior to senior year.  He ran a lifetime personal best at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational by running a time of 16:57.
  
Tray Kipp - Sophomore:  Tray is a second year cross country runner. 
    As a freshman, Tray brought jr high running experience with him to the team.  Tray has shown what determination and effort can accomplish as he continues to drastically improve throughout the year.  By mid-season Tray had already run in the low 23's at the Eureka Fresh/Soph Invitational.  Tray ran a personal best of 23:18 as a freshman.
    As a sophomore, Tray drastically improved.  He trained harder in the off-season and came back with a great amount of intensity.  His times improved over 4 minutes from the previous year in time trials which impressed his teammates and coaches.  In the 3rd week of the season, Tray continued to cut off another 2 minutes from his time.  In week 5, Tray cut another 3 minutes off his personal best.  He may be one of the luckiest individuals as he found a $10 bill during the middle of a race at the East Peoria Invitational.  He worked his way onto the News-Gazette Prep Cross Country Leader list in October.  Tray improved 1 minute and 27 seconds from his freshman to sophomore year.   He ran a lifetime best at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational with a time of 21:51.  He had the most improved fresh/soph time of the year.
  
Andrew Kumler - Senior:  Andrew is a forth year cross country runner. 
    Andrew has been a leader on the team all four years.  As a freshman he represented us in sectionals. 
    As a junior he continues to be in the top seven runners.  He is a tremendous runner who does a great job for the team.  Andrew has proven himself to be in our top seven runners again as a junior. He medaled at the Mahomet-Seymour Invitational by placing 30th.   Andrew ran a personal best of 17:16 which he ran at the Mahomet-Seymour Invitational.  Andrew won his second varsity letter his junior year in cross country.  Andrew ran a sub 5 minute mile to get into our old dog club.  Andrew ran in the top ten at regionals by placing 9th.
    As a senior, Andrew's times continue to be one of the stronger in the area.  He has stepped up as one of the vocal leaders of the team. Andrew earned a spot in our fastest top 20 seniors on our home course. Andrew earned a medal at the Charleston Invitational by placing 19th in the Variety race. He earned a medal at the Mahomet-Seymour invitational by placing 27th. Andrew worked his way onto the News-Gazette Prep Cross Country Leader list in September and October.  He earned a spot in our all time senior list at the Springfield Invitational, Peoria Notre Invitational, East Peoria Invitational, U-High Invitational, & Mahomet-Seymour Invitational.  Andrew ran a lifetime personal best at the Normal U-High Invitational by running a time of 17:11.
    
Jacob Mahaffey - Junior:  Jacob is a third year high school cross country runner. 
    As a freshman, Jacob brought a lot of running experience with him from the junior high.  Jacob ran constantly in the summer before his freshman year and it paid off.  Jacob already started the year in the top seven runners.  As a freshman, he is small in stature, but he has an incredibly large will to be a great runner.  Jacob will be one of the top runners in the area in his grade.  Keep an eye out for this future high school super star.  During his freshman year, Jacob earned a medal at the Charleston Invitational by placing 23rd.  Jacob earned a medal by placing 5th in the freshman race at the Springfield Invitational. Jacob medaled at the Eureka Fresh/Soph Invitational by placing 7th.  Jacob won a medal at the East Peoria Invite by placing 12th in the Fresh/Soph Race. Jacob medaled at the Olympia Fresh/Soph Invitational by placing 7th. He also earned a medal at the Mahomet-Seymour invitational by placing 30th.
    As a sophomore, Jacob ran over 300 miles in the summer.  He earned a medal at the Charleston Invitational by placing 7th.  He placed 3rd at the Prairie Central meet.  He earned a medal by placing 2nd at the Eureka fresh/soph meet.  Jacob spent most of his sophomore year running a solid number 3 for the team.  He also broke into the top 10 list of most of our recent all time lists. Jacob medaled at the East Peoria Invitational by placing 3rd in the Fresh/Soph race. Jacob medaled at the Olympia Fresh/Soph Invitational by placing 3rd.  He medaled at the Mahomet-Seymour Invitational by placing 16th with a time of 16:31.  He is one of only 5 Mahomet-Seymour runners to run in the 16's on our home course since 2001.  He was a second year letter winner as a sophomore.  Jacob won the fastest sophomore and Most Valuable Fresh/Soph Runner as a sophomore.  Jacob ran a sub 5 minute mile to get into our old dog club.  Jacob ran in the top ten at regionals by placing 10th.
    As a junior, Jacob increased his summer running to over 500 miles.  He earned the title of captain for his junior year.  Jacob earned a spot in our fastest top 20 juniors on our home course.  Jacob earned a medal at the Charleston Invitational by placing 2nd in the Varsity race.  He medaled at the Springfield invitational by placing 8th. He earned a medal at the East Peoria Invitational by placing 7th in the varsity race.  He medaled at the U-High Invitational by placing 2nd.  He earned a medal at the Mahomet-Seymour invitational by placing 5th.  Jacob worked his way onto the News-Gazette Prep Cross Country Leader list in September and October.  He earned a spot in our all time junior list at the Springfield Invitational, Peoria Notre Dame Invitational, East Peoria Invitational, U-High Invitational, & Mahomet-Seymour Invitational.  Jacob improved 49 seconds from his sophomore to junior year.  He ran a lifetime personal best at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational by running a 15:42.  Jacob earned all-conference status by placing 7th at conference.  Jacob placed 2nd in the Regional meet.
  
Evan Monson - Senior:  Evan is a forth year high school cross country runner. 
    Evan shows a great amount of commitment and determination to himself and the team.  His ability to run through discomfort is one of the best on the team.  He continues to improve his time as a result.
    During the summer before his sophomore year, Evan ran constantly and it shows.  Evan cut off around 7 minutes from the start of his freshman year to his sophomore year.  Evan earned our most improved fresh/soph runner of the year his sophomore year.
    As a junior, Evan continues to improve.  He often runs and races in the off-season.  Evan continues to run minutes faster each year due to his desire to run PRs. Evan medaled at the Olympia Invitational in the open race by placing 23rd.  Evan ran a personal best of 23:52.  He improved 1 minute and 37 seconds from his sophomore year.
    As a senior, Evan started the season the strongest physically and mentally ever.  He has improved more over a 4 year span than I have ever seen an athlete improve.  He sets our team standard for the future runners to see who can improve the most over 4 years.  By mid-season, Evan was running life time best times.  Evan improved another 39 seconds between his junior and senior year.  Evan ran a lifetime personal best at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational with a time of 23:19.  He worked his way onto the News-Gazette Prep Cross Country Leader list in October.  His first race of his freshman year was 34:16.  His slowest time his first season was a 36:47.  He ran in the 30 minute range for 10 of his 11 races his freshman year.  He improved 10 minutes and 57 seconds from his first 3 mile race as a freshman to his senior personal best.
 
Joe Nusbaum - Sophomore:  Joe is a first year cross country runner at the high school level. 
    As a sophomore, Joe came out showing us that he was a strong physical runner and a great supporter of his teammates.  Joe often is seen encouraging his teammates to not give up.  Joe should be one of the top fresh/soph runners of our team this year.  Joe earned a medal at the Charleston Invitational by placing 10th in the open race.  He earned in our all time sophomore list at the East Peoria Invitational, & U-High Invitational.  Joe worked his way onto the News-Gazette Prep Cross Country Leader list in September and October.  Joe ran a lifetime best of 19:26 which he ran at the Normal U-High Invitational.

John Prillaman - Freshman:  John is a first year cross country runner at the high school level. 
    As a freshman, John came to us with lots of experience from the jr high level.  John was one of the state's best cross country runners during his 8th grade year.  He adjusted quickly to the high school training and racing.  He stepped right into our top 7 which few freshman have been able to do in the past.  John earned a spot in our fastest top 20 freshman on our home course.  John earned a medal at the Charleston Invitational by placing 5th in the Varsity race.  He medaled at the Springfield Invitational by placing 2nd in the Freshman race.  He medaled at the Eureka FS Invitational after winning the meet.  John earned a medal at the East Peoria Invitational by placing 2nd in the Fresh/Soph race.  He earned a medal in the fresh/soph race at the Olympia Invitational by placing 2nd.  He earned a medal at the Mahomet-Seymour invitational by placing 30th.  John worked his way onto the News-Gazette Prep Cross Country Leader list in September and October.  He earned a spot in our top 10 all time freshman list at the Springfield Invitational, Eureka Fresh/Soph Invitational, Peoria Notre Dame Invitational, East Peoria Invitational, Olympia Fresh/Soph Invitational, & Mahomet-Seymour Invitational.  John ran a lifetime 3 mile best of 16:25 which he ran at Conference.  John earned all-conference status by placing 6th in conference.  John placed 5th in the Regional meet.  He was recognized as honorable mention  in the News Gazette's high school athlete of the week on October 18.

Zach Rausch - Sophomore:  Zach is a first year cross country runner at the high school level. 
    As a sophomore, Zach instantly came out and quickly adjusted to the training.  He has a great amount of talent and should be one of the leaders of the fresh/soph team right away. Zach earned a medal at the Charleston Invitational by placing 11th in the open race.  He was our fastest runner in the open race at the Springfield Invitational.  He medaled at the Eureka Fresh/Soph Invitational.  He earned a medal in the fresh/soph race at the Olympia Invitational by placing 16th.  He earned a medal at the Mahomet-Seymour invitational by placing 3rd in the open.  Zach worked his way onto the News-Gazette Prep Cross Country Leader list in September and October.  He earned a spot in our all time sophomore list at the Springfield Invitational, Eureka Fresh/Soph Invitational, & Peoria Notre Dame Invitational, East Peoria Invitational, Olympia Fresh/Soph Invitational, U-High Invitational, & Mahomet-Seymour Invitational.  Zach ran a personal best at the Mahomet-Seymour Invitational with a time of 18:00.  He had the fastest sophomore time this year.
 
Steve Roberts - Senior:  Steve is a forth year high school cross country runner. 
     He has brought with him a lot of experience.  As a freshman, he has stepped right up to the varsity level and ran in our top 7 runners.  He has an amazing amount of talent and will continue to impress us with his running accomplishments.
    As a sophomore, Steve continues to be a leader on the team and runs in the top 5 runners.  During his sophomore year, Steve earned a medal at the Charleston Invitational by placing 24th.  Steve is one of the top sophomore area runners and continues to be in the top 7 on our Varsity squad. Steve medaled at the Eureka Fresh/Soph Invitational by placing 4th and being our team's top finisher. Steve medaled at the Olympia Fresh/Soph Invitational by placing 11th.
    As a junior Steve continues to be a leader on the team.  He ran throughout the winter and summer to get in shape.  He medaled at the Charleston Invitational.   Steve won his 3rd year varsity letter as a junior.  Steve ran a sub 5 minute mile to get into our old dog club.  Steve ran 5th for the team at sectionals.
    As a senior, Steve is still a physical and verbal leader on the team.  He stepped right in the top 7 for the 4th year in a row.  He is one of the handful of runners I have ever had that can have this as a bragging right. Steve earned a spot in our fastest top 20 seniors on our home course.  He earned a medal at the Mahomet-Seymour invitational by placing 37th.  Steve worked his way onto the News-Gazette Prep Cross Country Leader list in September and October.  He earned a spot in our all time senior list at the Springfield Invitational, Peoria Notre Dame Invitational, East Peoria Invitational, & U-High Invitational.  Steve improved his time by  47 seconds from his junior to senior year.  Steve ran a lifetime best at Conference where he ran a 17:16 and placed 4th for the team.

Brian Statler - Junior:  Brian is a first year cross country runner at the high school level. 
    As a junior, Brian transferred to our school from Missouri.  He came out for cross country at the last minute.  Since he wasn't planning on coming out until he was recruited, he came to us with no summer running under his belt.  Despite, not being in running shape, Brian showed one of the greatest amounts of desire and determination our team has seen in years.  Brian's team spirit and devotion to the team is unbelievable.  Brian ran with an injured foot at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational and ran a personal best by almost 3 minutes.  Brian ran another personal best at the East Peoria Invitational.  He worked his way onto the News-Gazette Prep Cross Country Leader list in October.  Brian ran a lifetime personal best at the East Peoria Invitational where he ran a time of 21:52.
  
Thomas Thoren - Senior:  Thomas is a forth year high school cross country runner. 
    He showed great determination during his freshman year and improved his time drastically.  He was the only runner his freshman year to earn the prized award of excellent effort award.  He earned this through showing above and beyond the call of duty determination in practice.  Thomas is an excellent student/athlete. 
    As a sophomore, Thomas has carried his same great attitude and work ethic with him.  He often takes on the hardest workout and is improving as a result.
    As a junior Thomas ran continually all winter, spring and summer.  Thomas leads our team in the award of running the most consecutive days.  Thomas ran at least 1 mile a day for 91 days.  Thomas ran through the worst winter weather to accomplish this streak.  Thomas has drastically improved as a result of his hard work.  He is a great example to the team of how hard work pays off. Thomas medaled at the Olympia Invitational in the open race by placing 16th.  Thomas ran a personal best of 21:32 this year.  He improved 1 minute and 11 seconds from last year.  He is a first year varsity letter winner as a junior.
    As a senior, Thomas led his team in off-season training.  He ran one streak of 63 days in a row and another that started the season with over 280 days in a row that is ongoing.  Thomas is one of the pace setters on the team as far as raising the bar for his current teammates and for our future runners.  Thomas was the first one to have a running streak of over 90 days and that is were our team has set the standard.  He of course since then drastically raised the bar.  Thomas also ran over 400 miles in the summer before his senior year and earned the title of captain of his team.  He started the season in time trials as high as 8th on the team.  Thomas battled an injury most of the beginning of the season.  He started racing again at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational as he represented the Varsity top 7 runners.  Thomas was only 5 runners on our team to run a personal best at the East Peoria Invitational.  He earned a spot in our all time senior list at the Olympia Invitational.  He earned a medal in the open race at the Olympia Invitational by placing.  Thomas was one of only 3 runners to run a personal best at the U-High Invitational.  He worked his way onto the News-Gazette Prep Cross Country Leader list in October.  Thomas ran a lifetime personal best at conference with a time of 20:53.  Thomas' first 3 mile time his freshman year was a 27:20.  Most of his races were 26 and 27 minutes.  He improved 6 minutes and 27 seconds from his first race to his last race.
  
Alex Williams - Sophomore:  Alex is a second year high school cross country runner. 
    As a freshman, he joined us with experience as he ran at St. Matthews which had a very successful team.  Alex was dedicated to his running this summer and led the team by example.  He has great team spirit and is always positive.  Alex was one of only four of our runners to run a personal best at the Peoria Invitational.   Alex ran a personal best in most of his last meets.  He ended up running a personal best of 20:38 as a freshman.  Alex earned his first varsity letter as a freshman.
    As a sophomore, Alex came out physically stronger and more determined.  He is one of the vocal leaders and encouragers of the team. Alex earned a medal at the Charleston Invitational by placing 15th in the open race.  Alex continues to drastically improve.  During the first half of the season he ran a personal best most meets by cutting off 30 seconds a meet.  By the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational he was already running life time bests. Alex ran in the top 5 for our team at the Fresh/Soph East Peoria Invitational. He earned a spot in our all time sophomore list at the East Peoria Invitational.  Alex worked his way onto the News-Gazette Prep Cross Country Leader list in September and October.  Alex was one of only 3 runners to run a personal best at the U-High Invitational.  Alex ran a lifetime best at the conference meet again this year with a time of 19:41. He improved another 57 seconds this year over his last year's time.
 
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