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2014 DyeStat IL XC Post Season Awards – Boys Most Improved

Published by
DyeStatIL.com   Dec 19th 2014, 6:01pm
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By Michael Newman

[email protected]

 

 

Here are the awards for the most improved Boys runners in each classification for the 2014 Cross Country season in Illinois. Congratulations to all the winners and to the runners that were considered.

 

 

3A Boys – Chris Buechner, Glen Ellyn Glenbard West HS

 

This is one of the most wide-open categories out of all of the DyeStat Illinois post season awards. There were so many runners that showed great improvement. The list was narrowed down to four runners. They are listed in alphabetical order.

 

Brady Bobbitt (Marmion Academy, Aurora) finished 76th in the 2013 3A State Meet running 15:28. His 2014 Track season was not eye popping as he ran 4:28 in the 1600 after running 4:27.73 indoors at the Illinois Top Times Championships. He ended his track campaign placing 7th at the 3A Bartlett Sectional.  He was among the top runners in the meets that he competed in this cross country season including wins at the Suburban Catholic Conference and the 3A West Chicago Regional. He qualified for the 3A state meet by finishing 5th at the 3A St. Charles East Sectional. He earned all-state honors by finishing 20th at the 3A Boys State Meet.

 

Chris Buechner (Glenbard West HS, Glen Ellyn) was one of the main reasons why his school finished 5th at the 3A Boys State Meet. He was one of the top runners on his team as a junior as he finished 37th at the 3A Lake Park Sectional. His individual performances during the track season were good as he ran 4:26 for the 1600. He was part of his school’s 4x800 Meter Relay team that ran 7:50 to finish 10th at the 2014 3A State Track Meet. Buechner emerged at the end of this cross country season placing 2nd at the 3A Lake Park Regional, 3rd at the 3A Niles West Sectional, and was the first runner for his team at the 3A State Meet running 14:48 to finish 19th.

 

Irwin Loud (Oak Park-River Forest HS) showed promise at the end of his freshman year in track when he ran 9:34.08 to finish 3rd at the 3A St. Ignatius Sectional. He only ran in two varsity races before the state series as he was run in the lower level races. He ran 15:23 to finish 34th at the Richard Spring Invitational. His last three races of this year were great when he finished 3rd at the 3A Lake Park Regional and 9th at the Niles West Sectional. He was among the race leaders at 2 miles in the 3A State Meet. He ran 14:39 to finish 11th in that race.

 

Dhruvil Patel (Niles North HS, Skokie) had a good 2013 cross country season but an even better one in 2014. His 2013 season ended with a 23rd place finish at the Lake Park Sectional. He ran 4:30.94 to finish 6th at the Loyola Sectional 1600 Meter Run. He was not mentioned as one of the top runners at the beginning of this cross country season but he showed he belonged near the front at the end of the year. He finished 2nd at the Central Suburban League Championships and 5th at the Loyola Regional. He qualified individually for the state meet by placing 9th at the Niles West Sectional. He missed all-state honors by one place as he finished 26th in the 3A State Meet.

 

It was a close choice that came down to Chris Buechner and Dhruvil Patel. Both runners came on strong at the end of the year. Buechner gets the very slight edge with his races at the end of the year.

 

Congratulations to Chris Buechner as the 2014 DyeStat Illinois 3A Boys Most Improved Runner of the Year.

 

 

2A Boys – Charlie Nodus, Darien Hinsdale South HS

 

It came down to three runners that we considered. Just like in Class 3A, there were so many runners that showed great improvement.

 

Ashton Hyatt (Central HS, Champaign) stepped up to the big stage on the 2A level this past season. In his sophomore year in 2013, he finished 3rd at the Big 12 Conference Meet and then 22nd at the 2A Decatur MacArthur Sectional. He emerged at the end of the year finishing 2nd at the Big 12 Conference Meet, 5th in the 2A Decatur MacArthur Sectional, and then 12th in the 2A State Meet.

 

Charlie Nodus (Hinsdale South HS, Darien) had a breakout year this past season. He showed that he could be one of the better runners in 2A by running 9:54 in the 3200 and 4:32 in the 1600 as a sophomore during the 2014 track season. He came on strong at the end of the year winning the WSC-Gold Meet, the 2A Rosary Regional, and finishing 2nd at the 2A Wheaton Academy Sectional. He ran 15:52 at the Richard Spring Invitational in September. At the 2A state meet, he dropped his time down 59 seconds to 14:53 to place 8th.

 

Walmer Saavedra (Lindblom College Prep, Chicago) presence in the front of races started to show during the 2014 track season when he finished 10th in the 2A State finals when he ran 9:45.77 in the 3200 Meter Run. He started this cross country season winning the Chicago XC Festival. He finished 2nd at the Chicago Public League Championships and the Chicago University Regional. He came up strong winning the 2A Fenton Sectional. He ran 14:58 to finish 15th in the 2A State Finals.

 

The decision came down to Charlie Nodus. He was not one of the runners to watch at the beginning of the season. When we look next August, he will be one of the runners that will be a favorite to chase after the 2A state championship.

 

Congratulations to Charlie Nodus as the 2014 DyeStat Illinois 2A Boys Most Improved Runner of the Year.

 

 

1A Boys – Hunter Cobbley, El Paso-Gridley HS

 

Again, it was another difficult decision on who was the deserving of this award. We had to narrow it down to three runners.

 

Hunter Cobbley (El-Paso-Gridley HS) was a member of the 2013 team that qualified for the state meet. He ran 16:51 to finish 118th in the 1A State Meet. He qualified in the 3200 Meter Run for the 1A State Meet. He ran 10:04.62 to finish 13th in the finals. He came on strong at the end of the year placing 2nd at the Elmwood Sectional, then placing 16th as the first runner for his team in the 1A State Meet.

 

Ross McCormick (Seneca HS) qualified for the 1A state meet in 2013 running 16:22 to place 77th at Detweiller Park. McCormick qualified in track for the 1A State Meet in the 800 & 3200. He ran 10:04.18 to finish 12th in the 3200 Meter Finals. He showed that he would be one of the top 1A runners this season when he finished 4th at the First to the Finish Invitational at the beginning of September. He ran 15:23 to place 15th in the 1A State Meet.

 

Brandon Wilkerson (Tri-Point HS, Cullom) was close to McCormick at the 2013 1A State Meet finishing 79th and running the same time 16:22. He ran 10:16 to finish 16th in the 1A State Meet in the 3200 Meter Run. He finished behind McCormick when he finished 2nd in the 1A Lisle Sectional, but ran 15:21 to place 14th in the 1A State Meet.

 

It was hard to separate McCormick and Wilkerson as their performances over the past season are similar. The one runner that made the big step was Hunter Cobbley as he dropped his time down almost 90 seconds in the same time period. That was the difference in the choice for Cobbley.

 

Congratulations to Hunter Cobbley as the 2014 DyeStat Illinois 1A Boys Most Improved Runner of the Year.

 

 

 

 

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