By Michael Newman

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There were actually four runners that I considered for 3A Boys Runner of the Year. At the end, it came down to two runners.

Zach Dale (Conant HS, Hoffman Estates) had a great cross country season. As a sophomore, he failed to qualify for the state meet finishing 20^th at the Schaumburg Sectional. He showed his potential in track by running 9:12 in the 3200 Meter Run and 4:17 in the 1600 Meter Run. He built off of those successes this fall winning invitational races at Lyons Township, Minooka, Bartlett, the Mid Suburban League Championship, and the Hoffman Estates Regional. He set two course records in his wins at Minooka (Chris Derrick) and Bartlett (Evan Jager). He had an early season loss to Steven Salvano (Buffalo Grove HS) at an early season dual meet and finished third at the Wauconda Invitational behind Jesse Reiser and Nolan McKenna (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS). He faced Reiser again at the Schaumburg Sectional where he finished second. He earned all-state honors by finishing fourth in the 3A Boys State Meet. He ended his season finishing 11^th at the Nike Midwest Regionals.

Zack Smith (North HS, Downers Grove) built off of his strong junior year where he placed 11^th in the 3A Boys State Meet and 3^rd last May in the 1600 Meter Run. Zack had a strong cross country season winning invitational races at the Leavey Invitational, the Locktoberfest Invitational, the West Suburban Silver Conference Meet, the Lyons Township Regional, and the Hinsdale Central Sectional. The only blemish that Zack had during the regular season was his fourth place finish at the First to the Finish Invitational 3A Race. He raced stride for stride with Jesse Reiser in the 3A State Race where he finished third. He had a strong post season where he qualified for the NXN Nationals by finishing fifth in the Midwest Regionals. He just missed qualifying for the Foot Locker Nationals when he finished eleventh at the Midwest Regional Race. He missed tenth by an eyelash. Zack finished 30^th at the NXN National Race in Portland.

Both Patrick Perrier (O’Fallon HS) and Jesse Reiser (McHenry HS) had great seasons. Perrier was undefeated in the five races that he competed in during the regular season including wins over strong fields at the Forest Park Festival and the Richard Spring Invitational. Perrier set a course record at the Southwest Conference Meet, then at the Edwardsville Sectional where he won by an incredible 44 seconds.

Reiser also had a strong regular season. He won races at the Peoria Invitational where he edged Zach Hird by one second, the Wauconda Invitational, the Fox Valley Conference Championship, the Palatine Regional, and the Schaumburg Sectional. His only blemish before the state meet was a second place finish at the Palatine Invitational. At state, Perrier took control of the race at the half way point, then held off a on rush by Reiser and Smith in the last 200 meters to win the 3A Boys State Championship.

Reiser’s star started to shine in the post-season qualifying for both the Nike Cross Nationals and the Foot Locker Nationals. He finished 2^nd at the NXN Midwest Regionals and then 3^rd at the Foot Locker Midwest Regionals. He then finished 13^th at Portland. The next week at San Diego, Reiser finished 33^rd.

Perrier’s fate in the post season was changed when he came down with an ankle injury the day after the state meet. Perrier was forced to drop out at Terre Haute because of the injury. He finished sixth at the Midwest Regionals and qualified for the Foot Locker Nationals. He finished 37^th in that race. He stated after the Foot Locker Race that his ankle was not a problem in that race. It was obvious that he was not 100% for the post season.

In deciding who the 3A Boys Runner of the Year is, we have to look at a few things. Do we base who the runner of the year is based on a couple of post season races or their regular season races. Reiser’s post season was impressive qualifying for post-season national races and earning a 13^th place finish at Nike. At the same time, you cannot penalize an athlete if he gets injured during that period. This was the instance that Perrier went through.

I went through the same debate in 2012. Jack Keelan looked invincible during the regular season winning the 3A Boys State Meet. Quentin Shaffer ran great in the post-season with a 12^th place finish at NXN Nationals. Keelan finished 26^th in that race. Because of that great run in the post-season, should I have made Shaffer the #1 runner in Illinois? I went off of all of the season races to make my decision.

In this case, Perrier had a limited schedule of racing during the season. In those races, he was dominant. Don’t use the excuse that he ran in southern portion of the state and his races were not as strong as what Reiser was in. When he ran, it was all Perrier. Reiser had a great season. In 2014, he will be one of the top runners in the country. He had close calls at Peoria and Schaumburg during the regular season and the loss at Palatine. When looking at the complete resume, it made my decision easier.

We congratulate Patrick Perrier of O'Fallon HS as the DyeStat Illinois 2013 3A Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.