By Ryan Molini (@molins_3)

The week following the IHSA state boys’ cross country meet on Nov. 7 at which the Knighthood of Runners (KOR) took 7th as a team, seniors Karson LeComte and Matt Cozine were notified they were admitted on Team Illinois.
With such honor, comes the opportunity to run with 12 of the top senior runners in the state of Illinois as the two travel to Kettering, OH.
“I’d say it’s a pretty big accomplishment,” Cozine said. “Because Illinois is one of the best cross country states in the [country].”
The two seniors applied towards the beginning of the season and were taken into consideration based off of their performances in IHSA events.
Both LeComte and Cozine will be closing out their season running alongside some of the top runners in the state of Illinois as they compete against 32 others from Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.
Not to be forgotten is the two’s original pack that they ran alongside this most recent season.
According to both seniors Luke Filipic and Cozine, the KOR is a close-knit group of guys that spends four seasons running together.
According to Filipic, the time he spent with the team on the bus rides and the jokes they shared are what he will remember from this years’ season.
“It feels like family,” Cozine said. “Being able to lead a great of guys like this … It’s really nice.”
Cozine and LeComte helped lead the KOR to a 2nd place finish at the sectional meet on Oct. 31 and their 7th place finish at the state meet. LeComte led the Prospect runners at state with a 32nd place finish.
Over the weekend of Nov. 15, the KOR took their journey to the Nike Cross National (NXN) Midwest Regional in Terre Haute, IN where they placed 10th as a team as LeComte finished the 5K race with a time of 16:01, fast enough to place in in 62nd place.
The KOR because of the design of the race, raced under the name of ‘Kensington Kross,’ for it was not a school-sponsored race for them.
“[NXN] was just icing on the cake,” Cozine said. “[Since] the Prospect season’s already over, it [was] just about going out there and showing who we are.”
The racing is not over yet for LeComte and Cozine. They make the five hour drive this upcoming weekend, Nov. 21. However, this last race won’t be alongside the pack that calls themselves the Knighthood of Runners.
“What I’ll remember best about the team is how well we got along with each other,” LeComte said. “We [knew] we [couldn’t] get upset with eachother and we always [had] to work together.”