Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year: With quiet confidence, St. Charles East's Luke Schildmeyer made most of an uncertain season

While not actually his nickname, perhaps Luke Schildmeyer could be known as "Cool Hand Luke."

His teammates have another nickname for the St. Charles East senior, but Schildmeyer prefers simply getting called by his last name.

However he goes by, though, the speedy Schildmeyer produced an individual cross country season in Kane County that few could match.

“He exudes quiet confidence," St. Charles East coach Chris Bosworth said. "He’s not a big showboat raw-raw guy, but he’s very confident in his abilities. He’s very confident in the team’s ability. That quiet confidence, I think, is by far his best quality in terms of a runner."

Schildmeyer won the DuKane Conference meet with a record time of 14:33. He was second to teammate Micah Wilson at regionals and sectionals, leading the Saints to team title at both.

Schildmeyer later won the third division of the ShaZam Cross Country unofficial state meet, with the IHSA state meet canceled due to COVID-19. Schildmeyer (15:33:02) bested Wilson (15:33:05) by three milliseconds.

Not bad for anyone in a season where uncertainty became the norm.

“Nothing was for sure. Every race we had was an opportunity and we fully understood at any moment we could lose the season,” Bosworth said. “...To put the uniform on, lace it up and compete is something that I think he took full advantage of.”

Every race Schildmeyer had, he was super grateful “because [he] knew tomorrow our season could end.”

“He’s always trusted Bos; always done what Bos has said,” Wilson said. “It’s paid off for him, obviously, as he had an amazing season this year. I think what really helped him do it was he was confident. He was really confident after all the training he put in over the summer.”

Schildmeyer lost his track season last spring because of the pandemic. He evidently took full advantage of the opportunity in front of him, running time trials and resting his body for a full-sprint ahead.

“I was really motivated to run fast times. Really, all I cared about was running and just resting and being the best runner I could be,” Schildmeyer said. “I was all-in on running during the spring, and that paid off huge for the summer and the fall for the season.”

The DuKane Conference meet was when Schildmeyer began to reach his peak.

“Conference, I had a breakout race, really,” Schildmeyer said. “I ran a 15 second PR. I knew I could do it going into the season, but the results weren’t where I wanted them earlier in the year. To have that [was] a huge confidence-booster going into postseason. I just carried it through the rest of the season.”

The college opportunities could continue to grow for Schildmeyer, who is considering Penn State, Kansas, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech.

“I think he’s one of the most coachable kid’s that’s ever come through the program,” Bosworth said.

Kane County Chronicle All-Area Team

Isaiah Dallal, Kaneland, sr.; Noah Eng, St. Charles North, sr.; Cooper Hornstrom, St. Charles North, sr.; Kaneland; Zack Loomis, St. Charles East, sr.; Parker Malone, Kaneland, sr.; Ryan Mansour, Batavia, sr.; Robert Perry, Burlington Central, jr.; Luke Schildmeyer, St. Charles East, sr.; Anthony Standish, Marmion, sr.; Micah Wilson, St. Charles East, jr.;