Regional Help Needed From KXC Families

This weekend we host the IHSA Regional at Kaneland. We have many positions available on the link found here. Please come join us for a great morning of racing. The field will be tough and the opportunity to advance is key. Please come help us show why the IHSA likes to have Kaneland host these events. We need ya!
LINK TO VOLUNTEER

ZOMBIE RUN DATE CHANGED!

We will run our Zombie Run at Kaneland High School on Monday, October 14th. We have changed the date due to the deteriorating forecast, coupled with team health. Please plan on all the same events and times, with volunteer roles too, being held on Monday evening of this Columbus Day weekend.

Zombie Volunteers Unite!

Zombie Run Is HERE! Let's Get Some Runners

Use the LINKS ON THE RIGHT to get connected with this annual event!

Varsity Escapes with Rock River Run Title, Malone Surges to Seal Win

They thought they had us. The Foxes wanted it badly, after we stole the final NIBXII  crown last fall. Our pair of aces held firm, and the team picked up the “W” in a new way.

Adams defeated the 1A individual favorite to earn individual honors at 15:33. Occhipinti took fourth overall at 15:52 on the muddy course. Dallal was next to the line in 8th with a :48 course PR. Walker was running across next at 16:19, good for 10th.

While completing “Peak Week” our team looked banged up and  worn down. Surging through the final mile to catch other #5s, Parker Malone took on a new role for the team. We beat Yorkville 48-51.

Nolan Allen pushed for 35th overall at 17:07. Nosek outleaned Durbala at 17:14, with Ethan Neal coming in :06 later. Lodwig was the tenth Knight in the top 48 runners overall, with a :07 course best.

Fountain splashed through the puddles en route to 87th (18:39), with Marcus Ramos posting a new career best time of 18:55. Johnson was under the weather but refused to let it stop him from running a course best 20:26. Evans was next to finish with a career best (:17) mark.

Johnston kept chugging through three surges and pushed past pain for a huge course best race at 21:50. Lindow did exactly the same, and put up a career best 22:14. Brazee, another runner who could have sat out but suited up and raced his best for Kaneland finished the day at 23:28.

On the Frosh Soph side, our team was missing a couple ingredients, but still stepped up with solid efforts and some career best times. Considering we had a fast day in Peoria a few weeks ago, this was nice to see! Cunz equaled his Eddington time and earned the 24th medal. Trevor Neal ran a PR in 39th. Bruhl moved up the depth chart to be the third scorer, with a :48 career PR. Smith also snipped :19 off his previous best for 19:24. Fiedler finished the scoring at 20:23 with a :53 course best.

Lechocki was next up to the line in 20:32, passing many through the final two miles. Hwang set a course best at 21:27, with Nick Allen doing the same at 22:31. Casey Walters ran a new career best by 1:44, showing he LOVES the muddiest days best. Gannon had an inspiring kick to the finish, completing our unusual and historic day, at 25:52. Let’s get healthy and faster!

50th Annual Eddington Invite: Varsity 3rd, Frosh Soph 6th

Despite the threat of storms, our KXC Families helped us pull off a memorable and fun (yet soggy) Eddington Invitational. This being the 50th running of the event, it was particularly important to try and get the full slate of races completed.

Our Open Dogs kicked off the day with some great PR races on the wet course. Getting the best conditions of the day, Brady Johnson wasted no time earning his first ribbon of the season by placing 33rd overall in a PR time of 19:46. Evans also got the best of the day by running a new :25 PR at 21:05.

Senior Alex Johnston a career best :35 improvement for three miles at 21:34.  A minute later, Brazee clocked in at 22:30, with Lindow chasing the diamond jersey ahead of him for a huge PR. Lindow finished the day in 22:34. Matt Conley bettered his results from Peoria by :09 for a PR, and his brother Andy completed the day at 25:55.

In Varsity, Senior Daniel Occhipinti turned in another Top 5 finish at home, on a sloppy day that led us to a second consecutive third place finish at the Eddington Invite. His pack followed closely behind, putting our 1-4 on the day at :22 apart. That’s lethal!

Dallal continued to surge with Walker on his hip, and Durbala driving forward to complete an effort of 4 in the Top 16. Isaiah ran a 1:17 course best. Walker was :07 faster than 2018. Durbala put up a new career best at home, and finished the day in 16:22, and ahead of 2A #2 ranked Benet’s second runner.

Without some familiar faces in the lineup, we needed a different #5 to step up and complete the scoring. Lodwig filled that vacancy, and ran a course best PR of :31 to finish 49th in 17:11. Nosek stood tall in the mud and rallied for a 17:31 finish, and was a huge asset to Parker Malone’s career best 17:34 finish.

Fountain also ran a career best when he crossed the line in 92nd place at 18:02. Ramos got his first taste of a true 3 mile course, and ran a 19:00; ready to smash that next week.

Our frosh soph team finished the day closing in on a Top 5 finish. Placing two in the Top 8, we had a good start to scoring. Nolan Allen ran a course PR at 17:21 to earn 5th overall. Phillips was next in, :15 later for a course PR and 8th. Cunz dropped 1:14 on his career best to step up for 27th overall at 18:18. Freshmen Adam Smith (19:43) and Aidan Bruhl (19:59) each ran career best times for 3 miles, to complete scoring and landed us in 6th.

Fiedler clocked a :44 career PR for 3 miles at 20:17, with Lechocki on his heels a second later, again at PR pace. Neal suffered a setback mid-race, and finished the day in the top 100. Farmer leaped past his previous PR by :10, and Hwang crossed six seconds later at 21:44.

Nicholas Allen smashed his PR by 1:37 with a huge run testing his toughness. Scherden continues to settle back in, racing to 22:30. Gannon bettered his best by :27 for 23:44, while Casey knocked off a huge chunk of time from his KHS course best to end at 26:30.

Following awards and clean up, the Thorguard system detected lightning as the last stakes and flags were deposited under the press box. What a blessing this day turned out to be. Thank you to all who made this day possible, special, and memorable.

Knights Run First to the Finish... For First Time Ever

We returned to the State course with a bit of a chip on our shoulders, it appeared. Pairing up and racing to terrific times on a dusty and warm day, our team demonstrated why we might be one of the elite teams in 2A this fall. Our pair of aces up front used friendly competition with a rival to stay in contact with the top 5. Austin Adams ran a career PR on the day with a 15:05 finish in third place. Occhipinti held down a finish in the top 5 as well, running fifth with a:06 meet PR under far warmer conditions than 2018.

Our 3-5 runners helped us secure the first of two times we hit our milestone when they finished :14 apart. Dallal ran a career PR of 15:53 to net 15th overall, and 1:24 faster than 2018 in this race. Walker started a bit faster this time, and the results were equivalent of his career PR from State last fall. Ethan ran 15:57, and finished 20th overall as our #4. Durbala, in just his second race of his career, ran 1:39 faster than last week for a new PR of 16:06 when he crossed the finish line in 28th overall. Pushers were Neal (:03 meet PR) at 73rd/16:41 and Nolan Allen, who ran a :50 career PR on the State course.

The varsity race included ten runners, and those who ran in the diamonds were equally awesome. Seth Nosek gave us a program best 8 runners in the Sub 17 Club when he crossed in the top 100 at 16:57. He also happens to have some good jokes to keep it light in the huddle. Phillips ran a 1:04 meet PR, and :41 career best time of 17:01 (114th). Lodwig also had a career best day when he capped our day with a 17:06 effort, finishing 127th out of more than 500.

Our open runners put up some great stats of their own, with many racing the regular 3.0 mile distance for the first time. Mile paces looked great, and we will get to focus on those particular stats later this week in interval training. Our results were kicked off by Parker Malone, who ran a 1:04 meet PR, and career best split at 136th overall. Fountain was next to the finish line, a gritty run coming back from injury to be just :07 off his best at 18:32. Trevor Neal notched a new PR at 19:34, and starting another 3-5 split near :20. He was then followed by Smith to the chute at 19:51. Brady Johnson took major time off his previous race to finish in 19:57. That split was :23 from 3-5, which is still exceptional. Bruhl was right on Brady’s heels, at 19:59, at 475th overall in a race that included more than 1200 runners.

Lechocki was next to complete the course in record time, running 20:17, and about six seconds ahead of Jack Holder. Huber was next to cross, just under 21 minutes (20:59). Fiedler knocked :14 off his previous Detweiller Park best, and tied his career PR (21:01). Scherden took a modified race plan, simply to get a good run in on the State course and cranked out a 21:16. Evan was next to cross the finish with a big PR, running nearly 4:00 faster than last week, at 21:30. Farmer’s first three-mile effort was a great one, when he broke 22, to run 21:49.

Nick Allen led a new string of PR races, using the big crowd of races to help himself to a new 3-mile best of 24:02. He was chased to the finish by Finn Gannon at 24:11. Andy Conley led a pack of Knights to the line next, running 24:57, and followed by senior teammate Andrew Lindow at 25:00. Matt Conley used his GPS watch to his advantage and had it beeping ahead of pace the whole way, en route to a new best of 25:07. Casey Walters put up another career PR, racing a full 1:32 better than his previous career PR.

Since the start of the season, with all the rankings and positive projections for our team, we have carried the mantle well. What is critical for this team to see is that our work is not even close to complete. We have a lot of work left to do. Our best isn’t yet good enough to be worthy of November hardware. We must keep our focus on being tough in our workouts, relentless in pursuing our teammates in races, taking advantage of opportunities to recover in the right ways, while maintaining a highly-positive mindset in the process. It’s a long season, and we need to be doing the little things that make the big differences: better diet, more hydration, championship sleep with screens out of the bedroom, and icing all that aches. Every bit is critical.

Be prepared to continue that excellence which is required to sustain this day's efforts.