2014 Meet The Team Mahomet-Seymour Boys Cross Country

   As a freshman, Ryan came into the season with one year of junior high running experience. Ryan opened up his freshman season with a very solid time of 21:47. He really impressed his coach and teammates with his work ethic in practice. He has handled some very tough workouts with great intensity. Ryan ran in the 2 mile freshman race at the Springfield Invitational with a lifetime best of 12:53. This was over 2 minutes faster than his best time from last year. His drastic improvement in just one year shows how hard he has worked in practice. Ryan had a big break through at the Peoria ND Invitational where he made a 1:43 improvement. He ran a 20:05 for a new lifetime best. Ryan earned enough points to earn a varsity letter as a freshman. Ryan ran a lifetime best at the East Peoria Invitational with a 19:27. Ryan ran a lifetime 3 mile best at the U-high invitational with a 19:39. He followed this great effort up by running a season best of 19:08 at the Metamora Invitational. He was one of only 3 runners on our team to be able to run a season best on this tough course. Ryan ended his season by running a lifetime personal best for the 3 mile with a time of 19:35 at the Conference meet. He improved 2:12 from the start of the season.
    As a sophomore, Ryan came in older and stronger. He opened his sophomore season by running a 20:39 at the Charleston Invitational. This was a 1 minute and 8 second improvement from his time just one year earlier at the same invitational. Ryan has done a great job taking some of the new runners under his wing at practice. His leadership and willingness to take care of others has been extremely valuable to the team. I know the new runners in particular really look up to Ryan and he has earned it. Ryan made his way onto the News-Gazette prep cross country leaders in September. Ryan went on to run a season best at the Springfield Invitational with a time of 20:25. He helped his team win the open race for the second year in a row as he was in our top 7 runners in this race. Ryan ran a season best at the East Peoria Invitational with a time of 20:23. Ryan had a major improvement at the Metamora Invitational. He cracked into the 18s for the first time with an 18:46. His new lifetime personal best earned him the 12th fastest time for a sophomore on our fastest times at the Metamora Invitational list. Ryan earned enough letter points after the Metamora Invitational in order to earn his varsity letter for the second year.
    As a junior, Ryan started the season stronger than ever. He somehow managed to recover from a bad injury at the end of last season and improved his stamina and confidence. He ran 300 miles in the summer and joined our 300 mile club. Huff came out as one of the team leaders from the start. Ryan really became vocal in encouraging the runners around him and showed great team spirit. His teammates really respond to his encouragement and he really made our team improve from the early season workouts due to his leadership and initiative to cheer on his teammates. Ryan opened up at Charleston with a solid race of 21:15. His time was a great improvement from last year's Charleston Invitational time. He improved 1:52 seconds in just 1 year. Ryan improved more than any other runner on our team. Ryan drastically improved again at the Springfield Invitational where he ran a 20:21 for a 54 second improvement. He helped his team win the Springfield open race team championship. Ryan earned his way onto the News-Gazette prep cross country leaders list in September. Ryan also went on to earn his way onto the News-Gazette prep cross country leaders list in October.
    As a senior, Ryan stepped right up as a leader on the team. Ryan not only leads by example in giving a strong effort every time out, but he stands out as one of the most caring runners that I have ever had the opportunity to coach. Ryan made it a point to take any runner that was hurting in the workout under his wing. Ryan would constantly be seen in practice running stride for stride with a runner who was hurting and Ryan would be encouraging them along the way. Ryan has a passion for people and the XC team. Ryan goes out of his way to get the team recognition with Bulldog TV. As a runner, Ryan showed the most improvement in most of our early workouts. Ryan is a great example of how a senior should attack his senior year both physically and in attitude. Ryan opened his senior year with a time of 20:29 at the Charleston Invitational. This was a 46 improvement from his time just 1 year earlier and only 7 seconds off his lifetime 3 mile personal best. Ryan had an incredible race at the Springfield Invitational. He ran the best race of our team on that day to pull our team to win the team championship in the open race. Ryan had to make a 54 second improvement from his Charleston race to run a lifetime best of 19:35. Ryan ran with such intensity and through so much discomfort in his Spingfield race and it paid off. Ryan passed at least 15 runners in the last mile to secure the team title as he came across the finish line as our 5th runner. Ryan had the race of his life at the perfect time as our team would not have won the team title without his gutsy performance. Ryan earned one of the highest individual open race places that our team has ever had with a 37th place finish. Ryan continued to be a leader on his team both at practices and behind the scenes. He helps promote our team by writing the articles and producing the videos each week for Bulldog TV. His loyalty to the team is unmatched. Ryan ran a solid race in very hot conditions at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational with a 22:26. Ryan ran another season best at the East Peoria Invitational. He broke into the 19s again with a 19:32. The committment he trains and races with is such a positive example for our younger runners to witness. Ryan ran an incredible race at the Metamora Invite. He broke into the 18s for a season and lifetime best of 18:25. He just missed our fastest senior times list for this invitatational by one spot. He earned enough varsity letter points after the Metamora Invite to earn his forth varsity cross country letter. Very few athletes have the talent and discipline to be able to earn a varsity letter for four straight years. Ryan gave his heart and sole to the team and made it a better team as a result. Ryan also went on to earn his way onto the News-Gazette prep cross country leaders list in October. Ryan ended his career by running a lifetime 3 mile best at the Conference meet. He ran in the 18s with a 18:59. This was a 36 second season 3 mile best. Ryan made our team a great team in his four years on the team. Ryan ended his senior year by winning our team's team spirit award. He was chosen by his teammates who felt he best represented our team in team spirit.