By Michael Newman

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Jon Davis – Fithian Oakwood HS

It was not a question this season if Davis would win his second straight 1A Boys State Championship. It would be if this junior would get close to the Jeremy Stevens state record. He prepared himself for that chase by changing up his schedule to run against some of the top runners in the state. At the Richard Spring Invitational, he finished 4^th in a race where Zach Dale, David Rodriguez, and Alex Keeble finished ahead of him. The following week at the Palatine Invitational he was under the weather but still finished 6^th in a race featuring Jesse Reiser and Jake Hoffert.

Those races helped in the state meet where he pulled away from Eric Ponder (Tuscola HS) heading into the triangle. He closed in 2:08 for the last half to finish in 14:20. It was the 3^rd fastest time ever in the state meet in the 1A race. That performance tied for the 12^th all-time junior runner in the IHSA State Meet.

Davis was not intimated by the surroundings at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional when he finished 8^th to qualify for the national meet in San Diego. Even though he finished 37^th in the finals, that experience could drive him to bigger and better things this track season.

Congratulations to Jon Davis as the 2014 DyeStat Illinois 1A Boys XC Runner of the Year.