Rising junior Gavin Genisio has been a phenom for Benton High School since entering high school as a freshman. In his initial cross country season, Genisio took 11th in the Covid-19 produced Division 1 Shazam Championship 5000m running 16:23.
As a sophomore, Genisio continued to get better in cross country, running 14:46 for three miles and taking sixth in the Class A Championship.
On the track, Genisio parlayed his strong freshman year into a sensational sophomore campaign in which he ran 9:18.44 (3200m), 4:07.71 (1600m), and 1:53.15). He would take second in the 2A state championship for 800 and fifth in the 1600 this past spring.
2022 Summer Training log-
After a strong track and field season that stretched into the month of June, Genisio took a break to completely recharge the batteries and get ready for his junior cross country season. We began his quest for a state individual title on July 1. Genisio trained mostly in southern Illinois solo but occasionally ran with pals Isaac Teel and Dylon Nalley of Marion.
Genisio described his hard sessions around 6:15 pace and the tempos run in the 5:15 pace range.
Week 1-
-The first week back and the goal was to get the cobwebs out of the system. 41 miles for the week.
Week 2-
-Among the runs was a tempo workout for the first time. I warmed up for two miles and ran tempo for four miles at 5:15 pace. I was able to mix in recovery runs and a long run in the process. 42 miles for the week.
Week 3-
-Starting to jell as we reach the third week of training. I ran at Rend Lake for my long run for the first this summer. The temperatures are especially hot in southern Illinois during this time of the year. 45 miles for the week.
Week 4-
-Ran with team members several times; runs are beginning to become more consistent and I'm able to handle the tougher stuff better. Total mileage: 41
Week 5 addition-