Illinois Prep Harrier Cross Country Awards – Boys 3A Runner of the Year

Keelan dominance in races results in 3A Runner of the Year

Jack Keelan of St. Ignatius on his way to a win in the 3A state race.

Jack Keelan of St. Ignatius had unfinished business when he started this cross country season. What pushed him through the track season was that he did not get the opportunity to race in the 2011 state meet. The two all state performances that achieved in track in the 3200 and 1600 meter runs gave him the confidence to be able to go after the one thing he wanted in the fall: a state championship.

The question would be who would push him at state. The one runner that surprised many in 3A was Quentin Shaffer of Prospect. He opened eyes at the Peoria Central Invitational running 14:28. He opened more at the Nike Cross Country Nationals where he placed 12^th in Portland.

The O’Fallon duo of Patrick Perrier and Alex Riba would also push. Perrier had a great season just getting outkicked by Garrett Lee of Belvidere North at the Richard Spring Invitational. The 14:28 that he ran in mid-September showed that he was able to go faster at state. Riba had a viral infection that hampered his training and racing during mid season. He came back strong at the Regional and Sectional meets. The race after the state meet, the Nike Regional meet, may have been his best as he sat back and won on a blistering last quarter kick.

All eyes would be on Keelan. He was undefeated against 3A runners during the regular season. It seemed that he was trying different strategies getting himself ready for Peoria. He did have one set back at the Palatine Invitational (we will talk about that at in the Overall ROY article). Before state at the Niles West Sectional, York’s Scott Milling pushed Keelan for the first 2 ½ miles before the St. Ignatius senior broke away for an easy win. Milling seemed to peak at the right time this year with a 6^th place state finish along with qualifying for both NXN and Footlocker. He finished 27^th in both of those races.

The state meet race was a battle of wills. Riba pushed the pace to try to break Keelan. The thing was Keelan was not going anywhere. He made a move with about 900 meters to go that broke the race open for his state championship. His time of 14:05 makes him one of the ten fastest runners in state meet history at Detweiller Park. He came back the following week to finish 5^th at the Nike Regionals.

His dominance during the season was strong enough that he was the one runner qualified for this award.

I am pleased to congratulate Jack Keelan as the Illinois Prep Harrier Boys 3A runner of the year.