Kankakee Valley High School

Kankakee Valley High School boys' cross country competed in the NCC Championship race, hosted by KV, before aon Saturday, October 4, 2025. On the sunny and warm morning, Kougar fans (mostly family members) cheered on KV runners as they almost ran the race they planned, tying Hanover Central, 54 to 54, but falling short on the tie-breaker. Lowell won the meet with 20 points. Munster was fourth, followed by Highland and Hobart. "We had been eyeing our chances versus Hanover Central all season, inching closer to them," explained Coach Adams. "We liked our chances and were charged up to be able to run at home but fell just a bit short." Senior Matt Hoffman vied with two Lowell runners for the entire race, ending in third place, up a spot over last year's finish, and eclipsing his best mark in four years on the KV course by 2 seconds (16:37). Fellow senior teammate Owen Sharp showed up to run, erasing a string of modest showings on his home course, finishing in 8th place with first team all-conference honors. His time of 17:18 marks his fastest at KV and his current second-best career time. He finished in 17th place in 2024. Junior Luke Ehrhardt made his presence felt for the Kougars, rising from an 18th place honorable mention finish in 2024 to a surprising 10th place finish, earning him first team all-conference recognition. Ehrhardt's 17:29 marks an 18 second PR. "On paper, Luke was 15th, but of course, that's just on paper. Luke knew what the predictions were, he decided that he wanted more, and he did all of the little things to prepare for his best race." Freshman Milo Herz posted the second highest finish by a ninth-grader on the morning, finishing in 17th place, honorable mention, in 18:08, his second fastest career time. Junior Markus Terborg rounded out the KV scoring runners, finishing in 18th place, also honorable mention, in a time of 18:09. Other KV finishes: Noah Knoerzer, 27th in the field of 97, in 18:31; Trent Hooper, 34th, in 19:10; Chase Vander Meer, 65th, 21:32; Garrett Boer, 66th, 21:48; Grant Duttlinger, 75th, 22:53 (31 second PR). Cross country competes next in two weeks in the sectional race hosted by Rensselaer Central. Freshman Noah K