Beating his previous personal record time by over half a minute, junior Evan Parker placed 14th at the Boys Cross Country State championship on Nov. 4 at Detwiller Park in Peoria, IL. Running the three-mile race in 14 minutes and 38 seconds, Parker earned his first All-State title.
Parker’s accomplishment occurred after missing State qualification by 0.88 seconds last year. A big disappointment, but Parker got straight to work.
“It was very miserable,” Parker said. “But right after sectionals, I went to my coach and I was like, ‘Well, that was bad, but I need to just start training again. I need to focus on working towards next year.’ This race that I had [Saturday] was a year in the making. I was building up for this for so long that the race itself was just going through the motions.”
After another season of hard work and dedication, Parker was able to advance past sectionals. Just during the summer pre-season, he ran 763 miles. In season, he attended practice six days a week and even ran around eight miles every Sunday on his own time.
“I’d say [Evan’s] dedication and how serious he is about running [really impacts me],” Parker’s teammate Eyden Agicic said. “I feel like every time I see Evan running in the rain or running really fast, like his splits when we do workouts, it kind of makes me think about how much I can improve as a runner.”
Parker was actually projected to place 76th based on his time at Sectionals compared to other runners at State. It’s a rare feat for a runner who placed 15th in their sectional to surpass as many other runners as he did.
Head Boys Cross Country coach David Shafron supported him at the race, weaving through the course as Parker ran. Parker wasn’t visible for most of the race, starting closer to the middle of the pack. Shafron didn’t expect Parker to appear in 21st place just before mile two.
“And by that point, [the runners] spread out a little bit and I counted 21 runners and all of a sudden, there he is,” Shafron said. “So at that point, whoa. Then I started getting, you know, a little excited about it because Evan is never known to race irresponsibly.”
Parker continued to gain speed, through the finish.
“You just don’t think much about the pain,” Parker said. “After the race, I was definitely like, ‘Dang, I’m exhausted,’ but during the race, I was just in a state of euphoria where I’m pushing myself. [I’m] going as hard as I can, and it feels great.”
Shafron recalls emotionally calling his wife after Parker’s race.
“I just started crying and I couldn’t even stop and you know, it was really hard for me to keep myself composed. Because it was just such a big accomplishment and so it exceeded so many expectations.”
Parker will continue to train throughout the year, as he participates in indoor and outdoor distance track.
