OAKWOOD HIGH SCHOOL STANDOUT JON DAVIS NAMED
GATORADE ILLINOIS BOYS CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE YEAR
CHICAGO (January 22, 2016) - In its 31st year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, today announced Jon Davis of Oakwood High School as its 2015-16 Gatorade Illinois Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year. Davis is the first Gatorade Illinois Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year to be chosen from Oakwood High School.The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the racecourse, distinguishes Davis as Illinois's best high school boys cross country runner. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year award to be announced in January, Davis joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including Ryan Hall (1999-00, 2000-01, Big Bear HS, Calif.), Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Kevin Garnett (1992-93, Maudlin HS, S.C.), Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy, N.Y.) and Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.).
The 5-foot-11, 146-pound senior raced to his third consecutive Class 1A individual state championship this past season with a time of 13:59.3. One of only six runners in the country to compete in both national title races, Davis won the Foot Locker Midwest Regional championships in 14:57 and placed 13th at the national Foot Locker Cross Country Championships. He also captured first at the Nike Cross Nationals Midwest championships in 14:59.9 and finished 22nd at the NXN Final.
Davis has maintained a 3.24 GPA in the classroom. Also a talented musician, he has participated in multiple community service initiatives as a member of his school's Student Council.
"Jon is the type of runner a coach dreams of," said Oakwood coach Damon Ehrett. "He shows up every day with a positive attitude, an unmatched will to train, and the determination of a champion."
Davis has signed a National Letter of Intent to run on an athletic scholarship at the University of Illinois beginning this fall.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade high school sports leadership team in partnership with USA TODAY High School Sports, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.
Davis joins Gatorade Illinois Boys Cross Country Runners of the Year Jesse Reiser (2014-15 & 2013-14, McHenry Community High School), Jack Keelan (2012-13, St. Ignatius College Prep.), Michael Clevenger (2011-12, MacArthur High School), Lukas Verzbicas (2010-11 & 2009-10, Carl Sandburg High School), Steve Sulkin (2008-09, York High School), and Chris Derrick (2007-08, Neuqua Valley High School) as athletes who have won the cross country award since its inception in 2007.
