Since 1982, the Springfield Road Runners Club (SRRC hereafter) has recognized three female and three male distance runners (based primarily on the most recently completed cross country season) during either January or February of the following calendar year. Not only does the SRRC provide awards to the 6 athletes, the club also provides a monetary gift to the respective school’s distance running programs. An ad hoc committee is formed by the SRRC and we proceed to meet and discuss the performances turned in by cross country competitors “regionally” (about a 30-40 mile circle around Springfield. Size of school is NOT considered. All of the school’s runners are eligible and we almost always have a mix of Class A as well as Class AA athletes (no Class AAA schools are currently in our eligible geographic area).
Genny Kaufmann Award (top overall female):
Becca Heitzig-Lincoln High School (Head Coach-Andrew Hite, Assistant Coach-Johnie Meisner)
Becca will graduate from Lincoln High School as one of the most decorated athletes in central Illinois history. Her outstanding varsity contributions to the Railer’s highly state-ranked volleyball and basketball teams are only eclipsed by her running credentials. She is a three-time cross country All-Stater and likely would have reached the rarified status of four-timer if her freshman year IHSA State Cross Country Championship had not been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She did win 7 races and finished second in the Olney-Richland County Sectional that freshman year. Becca ran her personal best 3 mile effort of 16:34.75 and a “race for the ages” in defeating Chicago St. Ignatius College Prep’s Annika Swan by a scant 5 one hundredths of a second to claim the State Cross Country Championship on November 4, 2023. Becca is also a standout on the oval. She is a two-time defending 800 Meter State Track Champion and Class 2A state meet record holder. She will continue her running career as a Cyclone at Iowa State University.
Ali Londrigan-Chatham-Glenwood High School (Head Coach Mike Garber, Assistant Coaches Lindsay Cook, Grant Kaiser)
Ali led her Class 2A State Cross Country Champion teammates across the finish line in 9 of the team’s 10 competitions. In addition, she finished among the top 5 overall finishers in 7 of those 10 competitions. The freshman completed her season earning All-State honors by virtue of her 7th place finish at the IHSA State Championship in 17:40 over the 3 mile Detweiller Park layout.
Ashlyn Chopra-Chatham-Glenwood High School (Head Coach Mike Garber, Assistant Coaches Lindsay Cook, Grant Kaiser)
Contributing at a high level all season as evidenced by her 7 top 10 finishes for her Glenwood team over their 10 meet season schedule, Ashlyn ran her best race of the year on the biggest day of the year. Her All-State performance saw her finish 11th in the Class 2A State Cross Country Championship in 17:43. With the upfront running of Ashlyn and her teammate Ali Londrigan, the Titans took home the State Championship for Chatham-Glenwood by a wide 41 point margin over runner up Grayslake Central.
Bob Hellweg Award (top overall male):
Owen Morgan-Taylorville High School (Coach Steve Walters)
Owen repeats as a SRRC award winner moving up to the top honor this season as the Bob Hellweg Award winner. Leading his Taylorville teammates across the finish line in every one of their 16 starts, Owen earned 9 victories leading the Tornadoes to a team berth in the IHSA State Cross Country Championship. His 15:07 at the state meet placed him 22nd and provided him a spot among the list of Class 2A All-Staters. Owen also had the distinction of breaking 15:00 on the fabled Detweiller Park course running 14:56 at the Richard Spring Invitational. For good measure, he broke 16:00 both times he raced at the challenging Lincoln Park course in Springfield. Next year, Owen will be representing the Salukis as he will compete for SIU Carbondale.
Elijah Teefey-Pleasant Plains High School (Head Coach Derek DeBarr, Assistant Coaches Jared Driskell, Joseph Higginson, Rob Havens)
In only his sophomore season, Elijah earned his first All-State honor by finishing 18th in the Class1A State Cross Country Championship in 15:20. On that same state championship course in Peoria, he finished first overall at the Rich Spring Fresh/Soph Invitational taking down 372 runners from Class 1A, 2A, and 3A. Elijah started the state series with a victory at the Petersburg PORTA Regional.
Isaac Crumrine-Riverton High School (Coach Christopher Brown)
Isaac finished second at the Petersburg PORTA Regional, only 4 seconds behind Elijah Teefey. The following week, Isaac secured his state meet berth by finishing in 9th place at the highly competitive Elmwood Sectional. Building on two early season victories, Isaac closed out his senior year with a 24th place finish in the Class 1A State Cross Country Championship in 15:22 to secure All-State honors.
