By Michael Newman

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It was tough to find a most improved runner in this classification. There were plenty of runners that showed improvement this season. It is tough to narrow down that list especially when you have 22 of last year’s 25 all-state runners returning.

The one runner that caught my eye was Molly Raymond of Herscher. She improved 10 seconds in her state meet performance as a freshman in 2016 to her sophomore year when she ran 19:44 to finish 92^nd. The junior made a huge jump dropping her state time down 105 seconds to 17:59 in finishing 17^th overall.

Raymond moved up to the team’s top runner at state.

Her performances were not eye-catching last track season instead helping her team in the relays. She was part of Herscher’s 3200 Meter Relay squad that made it to the state meet. It will be interesting to see the improvement she shows the rest of her junior season and in the 2019-2020 season.

Congratulations to Molly Raymond of Herscher High School as the 2018 ILXCTF.com 1A Girls XC Most Improved Runner of the Year.

Photo Credit – © 2018 Laura Duffy