EDWARDSVILLE - Jacob Grandone this year emerged as an important runner on the boys cross country team at Edwardsville High School, setting personal records in his meets, and becoming a dependable runner who can score points for the Tigers. In the recent IHSA regional meet in Granite City, Grandone had a time of 15:57.35, helping the Tigers win the regional, then in the sectional at Normal Community, Grandone had a time of 16:23.82 in helping Edwardsville finish third at the meet.
For those accomplishments during the season, Grandone has been selected as the Riverbender.com male Athlete of the Month at the school for November 2020.
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Grandone, who runs for head coach George Patrylak, has been running both track and cross country since his middle school days, and feels right at home with his teammates and the close-knit atmosphere they have.
"I have been running cross country since eighth grade, but track since sixth grade," Grandone said. "I really like how our team truly supports every runner, and how we feel connected to each other. I also really like how every runner can show progress during their time on the team. We celebrate improvements for each person, whether they are the best runner on the team or not."
Grandone thanked his parents and family, friends and teammates for their support and encouragement along the way.
"I would like to thank my parents, who have supported me in anything I want to do," Grandone said. "They do all the basic things, like getting me to practice and meets, but also run around at all my meets to cheer me on. I have a lot of extended family and friends who cheer me on and encourage me also. My teammates are incredible! Not only are they great runners, but they help to push me to become a better runner."
Grandone also extended special thanks to the Tigers' coaching staff for their help.
"My coaches are George Patrylak, Dustin Davis and Maggie Dust," Grandone said. "They are really the best coaches anyone could have! Especially this year, with all the restrictions because of COVID, they had to give up even more of their time to work around all the changes in training. They support and encourage every runner, and try to boost everyone's confidence. They try to make practice fun, and they recognize everyone's accomplishments."
Grandone credited his hard work for achieving the award, and was honored to have received this month's recognition.
"I feel like a lot of hard work, a ton of training and dedication to my sport and team have led to this award," Grandone said. "I am really honored you chose me for it."
The hard work and dedication to cross country, and sports in general, has helped Grandone in many ways.
"My involvement in sports has shown me how to be disciplined, to set goals and try to achieve them," Grandone said. "that hard work can really pay off, and sports have helped me build my confidence."
Grandone has also achieved in the classroom, having made the high honor roll in every semester since middle school, and is also a member of both the Tigers' boys swimming and track teams. He would like to continue running in college, but has not yet decided on where he'd like to go to school. Grandone, who also enjoys playing both video games such as Super Mario, and TCG games such as Magic The Gathering, hopes to major in either computer engineering or video game design, and is also interested in both mathematics and chemistry.
Riverbender.com's Athlete of the Month program is made possible by the generosity of our sponsors and the cooperation of our area high schools. This is a great accomplishment and one to be very proud of. Please join us in congratulating this young athlete. We at Riverbender.com wish you continued success in your future!
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