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2017 ILXCTF.com Most Improved Cross-Country Runner of the Year - Boys

Published by
ILXCTF - Mike Newman   Dec 28th 2017, 7:50pm
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Photo: Colin Yandel of Hinsdale Central HS (Laura Duffy Photo)

 

By Michael Newman

[email protected]

 

Class 3A

Colin Yandel was not one of the top runners for Hinsdale Central his junior year. He made the state meet roster for the school but did not run in any of the state series races. He did not break 16-minutes for 3-miles but did come close running 16:00.1 at the Palatine Invitational. His track season was not eye catching last spring as he ran a personal best 10:03.20 for 3200-meters.

Some demanding work over the summer transformed from a good runner to an all-state runner.

It started at the Naperville Twilight Invitational at the beginning of October when he dropped his personal best for 3-miles from 15:31 down to 14:54 to finish 11th overall.

Yandel finished third in the WSC-Silver Championships, fifth in the Hinsdale Central Sectional, and then 16th in the IHSA 3A State Championships.

He was not on anyone’s radar at the beginning of the season. Yandel showed that through hard work and believing in your goals and dreams that anything is possible.

Congratulations to Colin Yandel of Hinsdale Central High School in Hinsdale as the 2017 ILXCTF.com 3A Boys Most Improved Cross-Country Runner of the Year.

 

Class 2A

The choice in this classification was a bit tougher. Four athletes were considered for this award. Three of the athletes ran in last year’s state meet but did not finish in the top 25. The fourth runner did not even qualify for state. All four achieved all-state honors this fall.

Nick Oakley of Charleston High School finished 52nd in 2016. He finished 15th at state in November. Blake Jones of Lincoln High School finished 45th at state last year. He placed 17th this November at Detweiller Park. After finishing 39th his junior year in 2016, Brett Haffner of Hinsdale South led the first half of the 2A State Championship race. He held on to earn all-state honors by finishing 13th.

Austin Bicknell did not get a chance to run in the state meet in 2016 as he finished 34th at the Metamora Sectional. That changed this fall as he started to see his times start to improve. He ran 15:34 at the Peoria Invitational at the end of September. Five weeks later at the state meet, he was Bloomington’s top runner as he ran 15:14 to finish 19th overall.

Congratulations to Austin Bicknell of Bloomington High School as the 2017 ILXCTF.com 2A Boys Most Improved Cross-Country Runner of the Year.

 

Class 1A

There was no one athlete that jumped out at us for this award in this classification.

If you had to look at one athlete that showed the most improvement from the state meet in 2016 to last November’s 1A state race was Breese Mater Dei’s Luke Goebel. He finished 207th in the 2016 race. Goebel came back to finish 9th overall last November. Looking at his 2016 races, Goebel finished third in both his regional and sectional races that year. His state race was not his best and did not show his true fitness in that race.

2017 was not a year where there was major improvement from runners within the top 25 in the state meet. The one runner that showed the most improvement was Jack MacNabola. The runner from Francis W. Parker in Chicago finished 28th in the 2016 1A State Meet. His cross-country season this fall was stellar including fifth place finishes at the Richard Spring Invitational and the Palatine Invitational. MacNabola pushed the pace for most of the 1A State race having the lead entering the final kilometer of the race. He ended up finishing third overall.

Congratulations to Jack MacNabola of Francis W. Parker HS in Chicago as the 2017 ILXCTF.com 1A Boys Most Improved Cross-Country Runner of the Year.

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