Kankakee Valley High School

Kankakee Valley High School boys' cross country team placed 11th out of 23 teams at the Lafayette Harrison Invitational on Saturday, September 6, 2025. Their performance include 8 of 10 runners setting new PRs on the historically fast course. Senior Matt Hoffman produced the third fastest time of his career (16:05) for a 10th place medal finish. Senior Owen Sharp started the string of KV bests by running a full minute faster than last year, running 17:00 to finish 39th in out of 210 runners. "We knew that this time was within Owen's ability," stated Coach Adams. "We adjusted his training paces a bit this week, and he delivered." Sharp's step up was just one of signs that Adams was looking for at the beginning of the season as a gauge of what the year might bring. The other signs became evident on the day as two more vets joined the PR parade. Markus Terborg (17:25) and Luke Ehrhardt (17:47) set new marks by :15 and :30 respectively. "Things did not come together fully for Markus today, yet being the seasoned competitor, he held it together and showed improvement. Luke has really taken his running to another level this year; he has shown great growth in mental fortitude and pushing back when others challenge him." The final factor for Adams at the start of the year was knowing who would fill out the top seven...and how their efforts would serve the Kougars. Cue the curtain for three rookies: freshmen Milo Herz and Noah Knoerzer, and junior Trent Hooper. "Milo has been our number 4 or 5 guy right from the beginning, setting a huge PR today. His 17:41 ranks him as only the third freshman for us in the last decade to break the 18:00 mark." Other runners for the red and white: Garrett Boer, 20:58 (PR); Chase Vander Meer, 21:11 (PR); and Grant Duttlinger, 24:05 (PR). "We put five guys across the finish line today with a combined time faster than any squad in the last 18 years. Add to that, our veterans chopped off nearly 3 and a half minutes over the 2024 performances, and collectively 8 guys knocked off almost 4 and half minutes from their previous best marks. We got things rolling. The next 4 weeks of training will show me, though, the true colors of this group." KV runs next Saturday at Lowell's Bob Thomas Invite on their newly-constituted course.