Kahok Cross Country Fares Well in Season Opener
After a junior year of top ten and top twenty finishes, Collinsville senior Theo Paxton recorded his first win of his senior season Saturday at O’Fallon. It was one of only a number of great performances for the Kahoks that day.
“I asked them on the bus on the way home if there were any lifetime PRs today,” said coach Darryl Frerker. “I did not anticipate as many hands going up that did.”
Paxton recorded a time of 16:17 to win the triangular with O’Fallon and Alton.
“It was only a triangular meet but when you go head-to-head with a powerhouse like O’Fallon, if we can have somebody win a race, I think that’s pretty exciting,” Frerker said.
In his third and final mile of the race he ran a 5:12 to come out on top.
“Although we know that he is going to get faster than that (race) it was an outstanding start,” said Frerker. “He had outstanding race strategy and was able to come out on top.”
Freshman Trey Peterson set a personal best as he began his high school career with a 16:45 and grabbed a top five finish.
The third Kahok to cross was Axel Muniz with a personal best of 17:14.
“He is light years ahead of where he was last year,” began Frerker. “Just the dedication that he had over the summer, the commitment he made over the summer. He wasn’t here for the summer. He was in Wisconsin with an uncle. At this time when you don’t have a whole lot of things to do or worry about, he ran!”
Senior Kevin Varela showed at 17:51 with junior Brock Cunningham just behind at 18:00 flat.
Juniors David Garcia and Evan Heinz ran a 19:20 and a 19:29 respectively. Freshman Andrew Gonski ran a 20:24.
“The team has been training well together, they have good cohesiveness and team unity,” said Frerker.
On the girls side of the ledger, senior Maggie Fitzgerald ran a 23:10 despite dealing with some early season setbacks that hindered her preseason training.
“I know that by the end of our season she will be much better than what she showed yesterday as well,” Frerker said.
Senior Hannah Pettit came in with a 27:32 while junior Colleen Zinke ran a 29:30.
