2013 Meet The Team Mahomet-Seymour Boys Cross Country

As a freshman, Mason came in with great experience from the junior high level. Mason ran 6th, 7th, and 8th grade cross country. He was a part of the 8th grade team that placed 4th in State. He ran over 250 miles in the summer and joined our team's 250 mile club. He ran well in his first high school meet. At the Charleston Invitational he earned a medal by placing 11th in the open race. He ran a 18:49 which earned him a spot on our team's fastest freshman times list for the Charleston Invite. He also earned a spot on the News-Gazette prep cross country leaders list in September. Mason ran an excellent 2nd race and placed 21st at the Springfield Invitational. This helped his team win the freshman team championship trophy. He ran an 11:58 which was fast enough to earn him a spot on our fastest freshman list for the Springfield Invitational. He earned enough letter points to earn his first varsity letter. Mason ran a great race and ran a lifetime best at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational. He ran a 18:42 and looked very strong. Mason ran a lifetime best at the East Peoria Invitational where he ran a 18:18. He ran the 17th fastest freshman time that we have had on that course. At our 1 team Mahomet-Seymour invitational, Mason ran a 18:57 on our tough course. This earned him a spot on our top 25 times on our home course for freshman. Mason broke into the 17's at the Metamora Invitational. He ran a lifetime best of 17:45 to earn the 12th fastest time any MS freshman has ever run on this course. He also earned a spot on the News Gazette Prep Cross Country Leaders List in October. Mason had one of the best races of the day at the Conference meet where he ran a lifetime 3 mile best on a slow and wet course. He ran a 18:08 to place 19th in the open race.
As a sophomore, Mason ran over 250 miles in the summer again. He joined our 250 mile club. Mason looked physically stronger in our team's early workouts. However, I believe his greatest improvement in a year came from a big gain in mental toughness. Mason ran with the top group on numerous occasions in the early season workouts. Mason opened up his season with a solid time of 18:14 at the Charleston Invite. This was a 35 second improvement in just one year from last year's Charleston Invite time. His time was fast enough to earn him a spot on our team's Fastest Top 15 Sophomore times list for the Charleston Invite. Mason had a big improvement at the Springfield Invitational. He ran a lifetime personal best of 17:32. This time was high enough to place him on our top sophomore list for the Springfield invite. He placed 9th which earned him a medal. He helped lead his team to win the open race team championship. His place is one of the highest we have ever had at the Springfield Invitational. Mason ran a lifetime personal best at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational. He ran a 17:18 which earned him the 17th fastest sophomore spot on our top times list for the PND Invite. Mason helped his team place the highest any Mahomet team has in the fresh/soph race at this invite. Mason went on to run a 17:26 at the East Peoria Invitational. This earned him the 17th fastest East Peoria sophomore time for a Mahomet runner. Mason made his way onto the News-Gazette's prep cross country leaders list in October. Mason broke 5 minutes in the mile in practice to earn himself a spot in our old dog club. Mason earned his way onto the News-Gazette's prep cross country leaders list in November. Mason earned the most improved fresh/soph runner award for the 2013 season.