On a day created for sensational cross country racing, the Kaneland Knights toed the starting line for the final time this season. Fresh off a second place finish in Woodstock the week prior, the Knights were blessed with good health and great mindsets when the gun fired to start the race.
Twenty weeks of their “comeback” season in the books, dating back to fall of 2022 when three of the Top 7 were struck with illness in the final ten days of their season. These young men were centered on the phrase: “MegaStrong,” coined on the courage and comeback spirit of young West Aurora alum Megan Sporny who passed to cancer in June. A high-caliber runner, Megan’s cancer took the opportunity to really compete again as a harrier, so she found a new path to train and compete in the wheelchair division of the IHSA State Series. A state champion and all state competitor, Megan’s example lives on and is cherished. Sporny’s connections to some of the runners on our roster were important and meaningful; still evidenced in the Cal’s Angels bands worn on the forearms of the young men.
Junior Evan Nosek was first off the line and headed right to the front, joined by the elite runners in the 2A field. Racing with his golden Cal’s Angels bands on through the first mile marker in 4:39, Evan held his ground in the Top 6 and remained in that fight all the way to the finish line. He brilliantly stuck to the race plan of not engaging with those runners who were chasing their own history of the 14:00 mark, and rode the waves of very fast times with top notch runners. Nosek’s time of 14:47 was a :10 career PR and earned him sixth place, which tied him with Matt Richtman for the most All State medals in this sport for Kaneland. Evan’s time was also the third fastest mark ever recorded for a Knight at the State Finals.
Not far behind, David Valkanov was making history of his own. The senior runner has been putting up vital points for his team scoring with single digits all season long. The heavily senior laden field of competitors pushed the pace hard on this gorgeous weather day. Valkanov ran through the mile mark at 4:46, and moved from 19th place up to 9th at the end of the three miles. Valkanov broke 15:00 also, completing the run at 14:53 (bettered his career PR by :35) to earn his first All State medal in the sport. Like Nosek, Valkanov earned All State status last spring in the 3200m. Valkanov was overswept with emotion following the race, experiencing the true joy that comes when good things happen because you sacrificed so much to attain them. David leaves his three year career at Kaneland with two appearances at the State Finals, and ranks #3 all time on our Top 50 list.
Evan Whildin’s sustained excellence did not take a break at all in his first ever State Finals appearance. The talented sophomore found himself on the heels of Valkanov for much of the season. As the first 200m of the race unfolded, a wave of runners squished a gap between himself and David. Frustrated but sticking to his instincts, he never panicked or tried to do too much in the first 800m of the race to try and find Valkanov. Rolling through the mile mark in 58th place, Whildin went to work on passing the field of important scoring runners. He moved up into the high 30s and crossed the line in 36th place, which came with a sparkling 15:16 time. Evan ran an :18 career best mark today. Most every other year, that time is good for All State (top 25) status. The heavy number of seniors competing this fall made for such a fast meet. Whildin’s 15:16 time is the sixth fastest time at the State Finals for a Knight.
Junior Zachary Murdock has been on a tremendous trajectory in the month of October, and he sustained it into the month of December. Our secret ingredient to the program potentially reaching the 2A Top 10 in Illinois, Murdock understood that his points were critical to team success. Zachary turned a corner when we went to the hills of Antioch on September 30th and has been on a roll ever since. Starting out near 100th place at the mile mark of the State Finals, Murdock progressively picked off runners ahead of him and kept climbing his way up to 80th at the finish. His 15:42 was a :36 PR effort that ranks him in the top 20, all time at the State Finals for Kaneland.
No cross country team is going to have high success without a solid performance from the fifth runner who is the final component to scoring. Junior Liam Lentz has stepped up to fulfill the role. Lentz had a career best time of 16:58 heading into the State Meet. He got out to a solid start in the large mass of 236 runners, and settled in around 145th place. He held strong throughout and kept grinding all the way to a 143rd place effort. Lentz ran a remarkable 16:16 to close our scoring at 220 points, and landing a fourth place team finish. Liam had the biggest PR of the meet for the Knights at :42. Liam’s time was also tied for the 50th best in program history.
Collin Reutimann has spent his senior year dedicating himself to getting this team down to Peoria. He ran into some injury and illness struggles, but refused to allow them to take him out of the lineup. On Saturday he was finally feeling closer to full strength and had his sights set on racing closer to Liam and that #5 slot. Reutimann stood tall through the first mile and then started pouring it on. Moving up from 176th place at the mile, he kept pushing himself closer and closer to Lentz. In the final mile he had found Liam and they were close throughout the last 1200 meters. Collin completed the day at 148th place, and set his career best time of 16:19 (an improvement of :24). Collin’s leadership and grit will be missed next fall.
Freshman Joey Schuch was our final performer in the meet. Just the fifth Kaneland freshman to ever pull on the jersey and lace up spikes for a State Finals race, Schuch embraced the opportunity with his trademark smile. Without the burden of pressure in a scoring roll, Schuch was able to traverse the course in PR time, finishing the race in 222nd, a complete three miles at 17:28. It will be great to have Joey competing with us in track this spring and bring him back for three more years in the sport.
Since 2018, the Knights have finished fourth in 2A a total of three times. This Kaneland squad, the 24th to qualify for State and the 23rd to get to race it (COVID halted the Finals in 2020) wrote a memorable finish to their chapter. The program record for total team time (cumulative time of the top five scoring runners) stood at 77:17, recorded by the 2019 State Champions. This year, these Knights bettered that mark by :20, to set a new standard of 76:57 for the Knights.
Some may consider Saturday’s finish an improbable effort from the Kaneland squad. Projected to finish 11th and 13th by analysts who understand the sport well and use data to support their work, these Knights were aggressive in their approach yet consistent in how they performed. Taking advantage of an excellent day’s weather and receiving the graces of good health, this offseason will be full of smiles and more hard work. They earned every bit of their success. We are most grateful for the blessings of the 2023 season, and appreciate the support of our Kaneland families and those who have been behind us, all year long.
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