By Michael Newman

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Garrett Dixon of Monticello and Christopher Collet of Seneca were the unmovable forces in this classification during the 2018 season. It came down to the final mile to decide who was the best in 1A Boys.

Dixon was perfect against 1A runners heading into the state meet. Collet had one minor blemish against 1A runners when was tripped just before two miles at the Amboy Columbus Day Invitational and never recovered. He finished second in that race while Dixon ran away with the win.

Dixon led entering the final kilometer of the state race with Collet three seconds back. Collet learned his lesson from the earlier race between the two and hung close until the final 400-meters where he pulled away for the 1A State title. Collet ran 14:45 to finish 11 seconds ahead of Dixon (14:56).

Both runners had great senior seasons. It was the finish at state that clinched this category for Collet.

Congratulations to Christopher Collet of Seneca High School as the 2018 ILXCTF.com 1A Boys XC Runner of the Year.

Photo Credit: ©2018 Laura Duffy