For the third year in a row, the Boys Cross Country Team competed at the IHSA 3A State Championship meet.  At the beginning of this 2017 season, the team was not ranked in the top 25 and was not expected to qualify for state. After, winning city, winning regionals, and taking fourth at sectionals, the team led by Coach Billy Poole-Harris proved people wrong and advanced to the state meet. At the state meet, Clayton Mendez, ‘18 took second place overall with a blazing time of 14 minutes, 22 seconds.  Charlie Nevins, ‘19 also secured an All-State spot by earning 25th place.  The next Whitney runner, Sam Rivera, ‘19 came in 69th place.  He was followed by Luke Lasley ‘19 who came in 174th.  The next three runners were Justin Villasenor ‘20, Keaton Schwartz ‘19, and Spencer Nelson ‘19 respectively.  Overall, the team finished in 14th place with two All-Staters.  Luke Lasley had this to say about the stellar performance, “It was likely one of the most competitive environments we may ever experience. We trained hard, and our work payed off.”  The team is looking strong for next year with six returning runners out of seven. We all wish Clayton Mendez the best next year!