By Michael Newman

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Daniel Occhipinti of Kaneland had a solid junior season stepping into the shoes of graduated state champion Matt Richtman as his team’s top runner. He finished 66^th as a sophomore at state. Occhipinti finished in the top five in every race before state. His time of 15:06 placed him ninth overall this past November.

Ethan Breen from Chicago’s Lake View High School stepped into the 2A spotlight in a big way. Breen finished 88^th as a junior. His senior year was special as he finished fourth in the Chicago City Championships, won his regional and sectional races, and finished 23^rd in the 2A State Meet.

It was a good junior season in 2017 for Connor Riss of Grayslake North until he just missed qualifying for the state meet finishing 15^th at the Kaneland Sectional. Riss seemed like he was on a mission this fall finishing in the top five in six races including fourth in his sectional race. He took advantage of the opportunity to run in the state meet by finishing 12^th in the 2A race with a 15:09 personal best time. He improved by 41 seconds in the past 12 months.

Congratulations to Connor Riss of Grayslake North High School in Grayslake as the 2018 ILXCTF.com 2A Boys XC Most Improved Runner of the Year.

Photo Credit – © 2018 Laura Duffy