By Michael Newman

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Kevin Salvano – SR – Buffalo Grove

This was the toughest of the six Runner of the Year awards to figure out. For most of the season, the one 3A runner that everyone was watching was Oak Park-River Forest’s Irwin Loud especially after his strong runs at the Richard Spring Invitational and then a convincing win at the West Suburban Silver Meet in mid-October. But after finishing second place behind York’s Charlie Kern Jr. at the York Regional and then collapsing 300 meters from the finish at the Lake Park Sectional, it was tough to put Loud in this position. He was considered.

Charlie Kern Jr. came on strong at the end of the year after a slow start. His wins at the York Regional, Lake Park Sectional, and then his state race where he went from 12^th to 2^nd in the final 800 puts him in consideration for this award. Kern Jr. also qualified for the NXN Nationals. Lake Zurich’s Matt Pereira had a strong end of the season finishing 5^th at the state meet then qualifying for the Foot Locker Nationals finishing 24^th in San Diego.

Kevin Salvano raced only five times in invitational meets this season racking up wins at the First to the Finish Invitational, the Locktoberfest Invitational, and the Mid Suburban League Championships. After finishing second behind Matt Pereira at the Schaumburg Sectional, Salvano came back to win the 3A State Championship holding off Kern in the final 100 meters.

Kern Jr. came back to finish fifth at the Nike Cross Nationals with Salvano placing 44^th and 41 seconds behind Kern Jr. The York sophomores was running strong at the end of the year while Salvano was almost the opposite. It made the decision for Runner of the Year a tight one. The main decider was the state meet. Salvano’s state championship was the decision maker.

Congratulations to Kevin Salvano of Buffalo Grove High School as the 2015 DyeStat Illinois 3A Boys Runner of the Year.