Runner of the Year - Fiker Rosen - QHS (So.)
The goals that were put into motion this fall were established last November in Peoria at the IHSA State Championship. Fiker learned a lot about racing a loaded 3A field and what it would take to make his own mark on the sport at the high school level. He immediately had a chip on his shoulder that would make him a new runner in the fall of 2019. After a Track season that was cut short due to injury. The main focus of the summer was to get stronger, with mileage taking a backseat to strength training. He showed the plan worked.
Fiker knew he wouldn’t have to win every meet to be able to be ready for the State Championship in November. This new mindset allowed him to focus on the little things that make him great. He could work on race tactics and strategies to put him in the right spots at certain meets. Throughout the regular season, Fiker won 4 races and only finished outside the top ten in two. “The postseason was always the goal, so winning regular season meets was never considered,” said QHS coach Matt McClelland. First up on the postseason was the Western Big Six Conference Championship. Being hosted at QHS’s home course at Bob Mays Park allowed Fiker to use the course to his advantage and bury the field to win the individual title in back to back seasons. Next up was the IHSA 3A Quincy Regional. Using his home course to his advantage again, he was able to run with the field until the last 1200 meters where he blew the race wide open. “Knowing he would have to sustain a longer final kick at the state meet to be at the front when it counts was important to practice early,” said McClelland. “We mimicked State meet race strategy early to make it routine.” The IHSA Sectional was hosted at Maxwell Park in Normal, a place Rosen knew well, as he won back to back IESA State Championships in Junior High. He raced well and finished 5th, making sure the goal of getting back to the State Championship in Peoria was accomplished. Next up, was what he had been waiting for the past 12 months. Race strategy included being to the first turn in the top 5, going through the mile in the top 20 and starting his kick with over 1200 meters to go, which was no small feat for a sophomore in a race dominated by seniors. Physically he was ready, and on race day his mental attitude was ready as well. He finished the 3-mile race in 14:44, earning him 20th place. He is only the second boy at QHS to ever earn All-State honors, and he is just a sophomore. For his season accomplishments, Fiker Rosen is named the Tri-State Coaches All-Area Runner of the Year.
All-Area First Team
Eli Newton - Illini West (Jr.)
As a sophomore, Eli found himself on the honorable mention list. As a junior, he put together a season that moved him into all-area honors. Eli took first place at Porta in a time of 16:47. Add in 9 other top ten finishes, all-conference honors and a sectional qualification, and Eli put together a great season. Eli developed well during the season and ended up having the fourth best sectional time of any Illini West boy runner in school history.
Tim Burns - Keokuk (Sr.)
This was Tim’s first year of running for Keokuk and he made the most of it. Tim brought light to a program that had been in the shadows for many years. Medaling in all but two meets, Tim won at Central Lee with a time of 18:04 and was an all-conference performer taking 5th place out of 71 runners.
Trenton Griffith - Bowling Green (Fr.)
Trenton started off the year as most freshmen typically do, with times a little slower then the competition and places they probably aren’t happy with. But Trenton was able to make big strides through the season and finished a 5th place finish at conference to earn first team honors and then secured the second to last individual qualifying spot for state at districts. Trenton finished the season as the number one runner for a good and young Bowling Green team.
Colton Hearn - Bowling Green (So.)
Colton finished as Bowling Green’s number one runner in seven of the nine meets they competed in. After finishing last year on the all-area honorable mention team, Colton improved and worked his way onto the first team as a sophomore. Colton finished in the top 20 in every meet except one that he ran this year and earned first team all-conference honors along the way. Colton set a new PR on his home course of Bowling Green running 17:33.3.
Nathan Frazee - Clark County (Sr.)
Nathan’s career has been highlighted with lots of success over four years. He is a four-time, all-area member and the first runner to accomplish that goal. Nathan ended his cross country career as a four-time state medalist taking 13th this season. Nathan played a very important role in the success of the Clark County program. Nathan finished in the top 3 in 6 separate meets during the season.
Corbyn Harper - Clark County (Sr.)
Corbyn is making his third straight appearance on the all-area team. Corbyn has been a four-time state qualifier for Clark County and had five top ten finishes this season. Corbyn earned all-conference honors by taking 4th place in the NCMC Conference meet this season. 2019 was a great season for Corbyn as he set new PRs in both the 3 mile and 5K, and ran a personal best time at each meet from the previous years.
Miles Sheppard - West Hancock (So.)
He’s only a sophomore and already you can say there’s not a whole lot that Miles Sheppard hasn’t accomplished. Already a two-time conference champion and a two-time all-stater, Miles kept improving this season. Miles saved his best for the end after taking second place at both regionals and sectionals to Noah McIntyre of Athens. Miles set a new PR running 14:53.7 and beat McIntyre to take 3rd place at state, an improvement on his 7th place finish as a freshman.
Stan Melkumian - Macomb (Jr.)
Stan makes a repeat appearance on the all-area team after being named to it last year as a sophomore. Stan earned all-conference honors taking second behind Sheppard of West Hancock. Running in tough fields all season long, Stan finished in the top 20 in 7 of his races. In the end, Melkumian was able to advance to state after missing the opportunity as a sophomore.
Devin Hermsmeier - QHS (Jr.)
Devin makes his first appearance on the all-area team in his first season of cross country. A soccer player turned runner, Devin went out for the team to be a better 800m runner in track, but he may have found his niche as a runner of longer distances as well. Devin earned 2nd Team All-Conference honors and had a season best time of 16:50 at the Quincy Regional.
Cannen Wolf - Liberty (So.)
Wolf had a great season with 4 top 5 finishes in the regular season. But it will be the end of the season that Cannen will think most about. Finishing the Elmwood Sectional in 15th place in a time of 16:27, Wolf missed going to state by one spot. He was the first individual not to qualify. Although disappointing, Cannen will build off of the strong sophomore year and come back ready to compete next season. This was Cannen’s second year on the all-area team as well and was also an all-conference member finishing in 3rd place.
All-Area Honorable Mention
Bowling Green - Cody Wilkinson (Sr.), Evan Meyer (Jr.),
Liberty - Luke Obert (So.), Vinny Wagner (Fr.)
Macomb - Kerem Tasdam (Sr.), Amir Oden-Shabazz (So.), Noah LaPrad (Jr.)
Mark Twain - Will Owen (So.), Brandon Fullenwider (So.)
Pittsfield - Brayden Veile (Fr.)
QHS - Aden Triplett (So.), Eric McClelland (Fr.)
QND - Sam Schlegel (Sr.)
Rushville - Nick Seaver (Jr.)
West Hancock - Noah Stout (So.)