Koon won six of his seven races in 2022, including the Southern Showcase and another state title, and had three performances under 15 minutes. Just as he was peaking and preparing for a postseason run, injury struck.

"I had a lower back injury that was ultimately caused by a tightness in my hamstrings and muscle imbalance," Koon said. "I thought I had a stress fracture in my sacrum. However, I am fortunate I did not. I didn't know the root cause of my pain until two weeks after Foot Locker South. I was upset to not run Foot Locker (CHAMPS Sports), especially when my workouts had been going so well, but quickly put that disappointment behind me to focus on track."

Koon bounced back on the track with personal bests of 8:44.95 at the Arcadia Invitational and 4:14.09 at FHSAA Outdoor State Finals. His 8:44.95 broke the state record held by current Oregon Duck Rheinhardt Harrison. That success motivated him to have lofty goals in the fall including getting back to San Diego this season.

"I was motivated due to the fact that this is my final cross country season as a high schooler," he noted. "I really wanted to represent Leon, my coach, and myself well this season."

His 37th-place finish in 2021 also added fuel to the fire.

"I was also in large part motivated from my disappointment two years ago," he said. "I know that performance wasn't indicative of what I am capable of.

Senior Send Off

 

Koon and his coach Andrew Wills have intentionally tried to keep his senior season simple and low-key, win that third state title, and then peak for the postseason.

"Patrick had a great season leading up to the postseason meets," Wills said. "We tried to keep the big effort races to a minimum. Unfortunately, Patrick became sick before the regional meet. At this point, winning his third straight state title seemed like it could be in jeopardy along with an undefeated season. Patrick was still able to pull it off with a lot of rest and an adjustment to his training routine."

Koon admits it wasn't easy to win state this year given that he came down with mononucleosis eight days prior to the race. He barely ran the week leading up to state and was focused on recovery all week long. So focused, that he didn't even know he tested positive until after the race.

"My mom didn't want to tell me before so I didn't psych myself out," he explained. "I was relieved when I had the strength to pull away late in the race to win a third straight title. To join elite company such as Rheinhardt (Harrison) and Matt Mizereck is unbelievable. Those are guys I've always looked up to and it's crazy to think I'm in the same elite company as them.

Road To 2023 Foot Locker Nationals

 

The Foot Locker South regional was only one week after the FHSAA meet, leaving less than ideal training conditions and time to prepare as he battled with the end of his bout of mono. His schedule consisted of a 7x800 workout (Monday), 5.75 miles (Tuesday), off (Wednesday), three miles (Thursday), three miles (Friday), and then it was time to run.

"Heading into the race I was simply looking forward to qualifying because I had no idea how my body would perform given my circumstances," Koon said. "I was relieved to find that my residual fitness allowed me to run well, and I felt remarkable making a move at two miles. It feels great knowing that I was able to win a race against top runners from the South in less than ideal conditions, and it gives me confidence that I'll be even more ready for nationals given extra time to recover from mono."

Wills knew heading into the meet that if he was having a good day, Koon had a chance to win. That is exactly what he did, beating his nearest competitor, Riku Sugie of Kentucky, by more than six seconds, and recording the fastest time of any Foot Locker Regional, 14:48.61.

 

Koon flew out to the West Coast on Wednesday, spending the day exploring San Diego with his dad and granddad before dialing it in Thursday and Friday with the runners for the race. He's experienced Balboa Park in 2021 and knows that it requires an amazing day to do well on the extremely tough course. He has watched former Leon and FSU standout Matt Mizereck's race from 2009 where he finished 10th his senior year.

"Coach Wills has always iterated that you can't win the race in the first half mile, but you can certainly lose it," Koon said. "Patience is required at Balboa Park, and I hope to utilize this come race day. All my best performances have occurred when I stayed patient, and let the race come to me."

 

What makes Koon such a fantastic runner and one of the favorites to win Foot Locker?

"What makes Patrick so successful is his work ethic, determination, self-motivation and desire to be great," Wills said. "There are plenty of talented runners in the sport, Patrick has the talent and is willing to work consistently to reach his goals."

Being a previous qualifier and running Foot Locker nationals in 2021 was a great experience for Koon, and definitely helped him know what to expect.

"Learning from experience is probably the best educational tool," Wills added. "Patrick learned the difficulty of the course first and foremost. You can watch race videos from as many previous years as you want to, nothing replaces actually racing the course.  At this point it’s basically just go do it. There may be some specific strategy for poor course conditions or inclement weather if that arises. Other than that, Patrick is well prepared and has plenty of big race experience to rely on."

Wills is confident in his pupil's abilities. The training has gone well and he is optimistic that he will have a great race like he usually does.  

"I've been working for this race ever since my freshman year of high school and I look forward to leaving it all out there at Balboa Park and seeing how I stack up against studs from all across the nation," Koon said.