Back in August when the official season started there were thousands… no maybe hundreds of young men who thought they had a chance to compete in what has been the most prestigious honor for a cross country runner- The Footlocker National Championship. But as fate would have it there are only 40 slots available for the trip to sunny San Diego. McHenry junior Jesse Reiser and O’Fallon senior Patrick Perrier earned their trips via the ultra-tough Midwest Regional in Kenosha, WI.
Jesse’s Profile: The stakes were high for Mr. Reiser as he entered the 2013-14 school year as a marked man. He concluded a wonderful spring season of track as one of the fastest sophomores in the country after motoring 9:05.40 for 3200m. The progression to the cross country season paid off very well for the emerging national star; he lost just two races during the Illinois season. The best was yet to come though as Reiser ran revengeful after finishing second in the state. He qualified for Nike Cross Nationals and earned All-American honors with a fine 13th place finish.
Jesse’s comments: I had a lot of goals for this cross season and I like to set them high. Probably the biggest goal I had was to win state, which unfortunately didn't happen but I'm still content with second. Also we wanted to try and win conference as a team and individually. For post season goals that I had was to qualify for at least one national meet and I've been so blessed to achieve that by qualifying for both. As far as placing at nationals I never really thought about it. My main concern was just getting out to Oregon and California and getting experience for my senior year. As the season progressed and how I did at both regional meets, I knew I had a chance to become an All-American. Those were my goals for this season.
Jesse’s key season stats:
3miles-
14:22.00 2013-11-09 IHSA Cross Country State Championship»
15:03.24 2013-11-02 3A Sectional - Schaumburg»
14:55.00 2013-10-26 3A Regional - Palatine»
15:30.50 2013-10-19 Fox Valley Conference Championship»
14:34.00 2013-10-05 Peoria Invitational»
14:44.90 2013-09-28 Palatine Invitational»
14:46.72 2013-09-14 Wauconda Invitational»
15:33.90 2013-08-31 McHenry County Invitational
5k-
15:20.00 2013-12-06 Nike Cross Nationals»
15:11.00 2013-11-30 Foot Locker Midwest Regional»
16:11.10 2013-11-17 Nike Cross Nationals Midwest Regional»
16:34.30 2013-09-07 Crystal Lake South Invitational
Patrick’s profile: The state’s pre-season #1 runner lived up to all the hype bestowed upon him with an undefeated stateside campaign that culminated with a lifelong mission to win the state championship. Although Perrier won the title fairly easy, there were doubts about him being a dominant runner down the stretch. That point came to light a week later at the NXN Regional meet in which he had to drop out due to an ankle injury. That of course opened up the chatter about Perrier not being the caliber of runner that it takes to be on the national forefront. However, he would rebound at FLMW and easily qualify for his second trip to San Diego. Perrier intends on exacting his revenge, his resurrection, his whatever on the fabled Balboa course on Saturday morning. The 19th place finish from a year ago is something that everyone will agree is definitely needed as a resume upgrade. Good luck Patrick!
Patrick Perrier quotes:
I have actually really liked not being under the spotlight. In terms of my goals, I have the ultimate goal of winning the race and being the national champion. I have worked all year for this one race, and I am really excited to take my one last stab at glory. Throughout out my high school career I have put a lot of pressure on myself to go out and to be the best. When I was a sophomore first starting out, I never thought that I would ever get to the level that I am at now.
At that point, I had just given up soccer, and I didn't really know how to train. I kept putting in a lot of hard work, and that is how I have had as much success as I have had.
When I look back at this season, I have been really happy with what I have accomplished, but I am excited to get back to my old self. During state, I was running scared because I had that fear of losing after having an expectation to win. At Nike, I had the injury and I had to drop out. Then at Foot Locker, I had the pressure of being a previous qualifier trying to repeat. Now, there is no more pressure or issues. I am back to being under the radar, and I am really excited. I am going to run a gutsy race on Saturday because in reality, it is my last race as a high school cross country runner. If I don't win the national title, then I don't care how I finish, but I want to say that I did everything in my power to try and win. I'm excited for this weekend, and I think that a lot of people are going to be surprised when they see the results. Good luck to everyone!
Patrick’s key season stats:
3miles-
14:21.00 2013-11-09 IHSA Cross Country State Championship»
14:45.43 2013-10-18 Southwestern Conference Championship»
14:24.00 2013-09-21 Richard Spring Invitational»
14:15.00 2012-11-03 Illinois State Cross Country Championships
5k-
15:15.00 2013-11-30 Foot Locker Midwest Regional»
15:11.92 2013-11-02 3A Sectional - Edwardsville»
15:03.00 2013-09-14 Forest Park XC Festival
Championship race outlook: Perrier and Reiser will be underdogs in a big pound but that doesn’t mean they cannot accomplish their goals. Perrier indicated that his goal is coming back home a national champion. He will have his hands full with the likes of Aaron Templeton (Sr., Hardin Valley Academy; Knoxville, TN) and Matthew Maton (Jr., Summit, OR) as two of America’s best harriers. Shoot even the Midwest Regional winner Grant Fisher (Jr., Grand Blanc, MI) is a dangerous barrier to be concerned with. However, Reiser has proved throughout this post-season that anything is possible on any given day. With respect to this year’s field but there is no Edward Cheresek-type runner among the lot. So be prepared and ready to see an upset or two on Saturday.