Minooka senior cross country runner Joey Santillo knows the ropes of running. He knows when there is slack and when it needs to go taut.

After years of dedication to the sport, Santillo's reward was a personal-best time in his final high school race ever and a second consecutive All-State recognition. The PR came down at the state final meet (14:41) in Detweiller Park in Peoria.

Still, even in the aftermath of a very good high school career, Santillo is left seeing room for improvement. Those improvements will come at the next level after graduating MCHS.