Awards Night Link

 KXC Families,

Below is the link to our Awards Night, set for Wednesday at 6:30pm. Please come ready to make history as the first ever KXC Awards Show goes online. Come in your pajamas if you like. Wear a costume if you need to. You can even tune in to us while you're having your family dinner. 

We only ask that you're present as we roll through the classes, starting with freshmen and ending with the seniors. Step in and out of the meeting as you see fit. This will be our boys team only on Wednesday, in order to keep the Zoom minutes to a minimum.

See you on Wednesday at 6:30pm, at this link....

KXC AWARDS NIGHT ZOOM LINK

Kaneland PutsThe Scare in CLC, Takes Second in Sectional on Halloween

 

As Crystal Lake Central may have had the best runners in the field, it was the Knights of Kaneland who took the field by storm and nearly flipped the script on the Tigers. CLC had not won a Sectional title since 1996, and for a long-storied program with many successes, it was their turn to hold the plaque. We gave everything we had and wound up showing the field that we are indeed True Champions.

The format of three flights was new history for us as well. Not running in our usual pack made it very challenging to do what we do so well. Our goals of having small points in the last flight and the fastest fifth runner were achieved, even when on paper that was not to be the case.

In the first flight of the day, Christian Phillips didn’t wait long to move out to the front of the pack and take over the race. Brady Babka wisely hung in with the chase pack and eventually broke loose. Each ran their race plans to perfection, with Christian pacing the gator that was filming him, all the way to a 16:36 effort on the hilly course. Babka clocked in at 16:56, again with a big Sub 17 effort. On this day, it would be huge. Phillips finished the day in 22nd place, and Babka was 37th overall.

The second race featured some very gutsy efforts by our seniors. With strong power from CLC’s 3-4-5, they were heavy favorites coming into the race to use that power and win big. All three, on paper, were to defeat our #3 scorer. Aaron Lodwig stuck himself right in the mix at the front of the pack through two miles, and heading to the second surge point felt confident in taking the lead. With about a half mile to go, a CLC-led pack started moving forward. They took a 40m advantage on the field at 400m to go. Parker Malone found an extra gear, going uphill, and incredibly wiped out that advantage in 300m.

On the final turn of the race, Parker had caught the lead runners and was preparing for another blistering finish like those he uses on Isaiah in practices. At the turn, his shoulder caught the white PVC pipe flag and his 1-2-3 strides were 1-2-3 seconds on the ground as he was flung to the turf. Courageously, Malone gathered himself and completed his race with honor and grit, clocking in at 16:32 as our #2 runner, good for 18th place.

Not lost in the mix, Lodwig and Logan Cunz continued to battle and grind to the finish chute. Aaron grabbed 27th overall in the meet (16:46), with Cunz right behind in 28th at 16:51. All three were ahead of CLC’s #5 runner.

In the final race of the season, Isaiah Dallal and Nolan Allen had the toughest job of all. Neither had teammates to key off for the run. This unique format for racing is contradictory to how our team competes and achieves.

Dallal had the goal of running with the pack of elite Top 10 runners and score some small points. Seeded 10th on Regional efforts, Isaiah rose to 7th in the standings. He was the first finisher from our Regional in the field. His time of 16:03 was just two seconds off of CLC’s #1.

Allen had put himself in great position with the other 1-2s of the field at the half mile mark and held on to finish at 16:54, which also surpassed CLC’s #5 scorer. Nolan had the hardest job of the day in not having any other Knights to support him, and he battled valiantly throughout the run.

We took second by a score of 92-100. On the day, we could not be more proud of our boys who left all they had on the course. You are True Champions, and have made history again.

HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF:

Our Three Seniors: Isaiah Dallal, Parker Malone, and Aaron Lodwig:  These boys clearly showed that “seniors get the job done.” Dallal put himself right in the mix with other All State caliber runners and moved up to seventh in a deep field of performers. Lodwig set the tone for our squad in the second flight, working right up into the lead pack, and bringing his chasing teammates into the race. Malone had arguably one of the greatest kicks in KXC history going 7th to 3rd, and eyes on a win before the post altered his day. No doubt the HUNGER these boys exhibited was “the strength of wolves.”

STATE QUALIFIERS:  While the IHSA could not put together an IHSA State Finals experience for the schools this year, due to COVID-19, our team’s placement at second would have earned
another trip to Peoria.

This would have been the 22nd State Qualifying team to advance to the Finals. While we will never know the final placement of this squad, in a “normal” year, it would be very hard not to see this group be a Top 10 program, and possibly a school record holder for pack split.

 

Knights In White Outrun Regional Field, Claim Third Consecutive Plaque

 This was a tale of two races, blended into one great team finish. COVID-19 forced us to make history in winning the first ever Regional team title in two flights. There were strong teams at Kaneland, but none stronger than the  “Pack in White.”

Dallal, Allen, and Malone entered the first flight against some of the better individuals in Northern Illinois. Dallal, meshed within the top pack of four and broke away from the rest of the field to net third place and  a course PR time of 15:54. The course was a little slower and soft today, and the flags were waving in the wind.

Nolan Allen had his hands full all through the race, seeing the solid 1’s and 2’s from multiple programs. He battled hard throughout and earned 11th overall, giving solid points to start with in team scoring.

Parker Malone pushed up toward the front with a steady start in the first mile. He finished 14th overall in the first flight, getting ahead of important scorers from other teams. Parker’s big kick at the end helped keep other scorers at bay. His time of 16:41 would contribute to a strong start in team scoring where we were in third place after the first flight.

All season long, our team strength, coming in many different combinations, has been the scoring split between our second to fifth (and sixth, and seventh) runners. Today it would prove incredibly valuable.

In the second flight that included 4, 5, 6, and 7 runners from all programs, our team of white jerseys competitively surged toward the front of the pack in the first mile. By the time the group had rounded the water tower on the second lap,  Christian Phillips had taken control of the lead. Phillips was relentless on his surges and never relinquished the lead, on his way to a career PR of 16:33. He pushed himself up to 14th overall in the team scoring and gave us a quick leg up on the field. We weren’t done with PR races, either. At the front of this competitive flight, we saw important teams that we locked onto and used to seal victory.

Brady Babka held close to important colors all the way to a fourth place finish in the flight, and earned a new career PR of 16:39. Brady ran fearlessly and with great hunger, making a huge splash in his first post season of high school cross country. Logan Cunz also  rose to the occasion and finished on Babka’s heels with a nearly identical time to Malone’s from the first heat. Even when they don’t race together, they still produce similar results. Logan’s time was the fifth fastest in the heat and the 18th in final results. Logan and Parker were in a virtual dead heat at 16:41.40 and 16:41.43. With six Knights in the Top 19 finishers, we totaled out 63 points to win by 15 over Burlington Central.

Aaron Lodwig beat the fifth runner of every team in the meet, pushing important totals and running 16:51. Our total pack split from 1-7 was :57.  While we brought home our third Regional title in as many years, the difficulty in the task is extraordinary. It seems routine at the moment, winning team titles. The truth is that it is entirely challenging to do such things. This year’s strength is in the power of the pack. We have one more week to keep this excellence moving forward, even in weird flight formats. Let’s group up as best we can in our flights and put a big exclamation point on the season.

HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF:

Christain Phillips took over a race that could have been anyone’s to have. Phillips used his experience on the course, and thrived at the front of the pack, expanding his lead throughout the final mile. His surges were crisp and intentional.

Brady Babka rose to the occasion to take a scoring position on the roster. He continued moving up through the field, utilizing his proximity to teammates and the race plan to gain position at the head of the pack in the second flight. It’s exciting to see the future while savoring the present.