Leon's Patrick Koon named Gatorade Florida Boys Cross Country Player of the Year

Jack Williams, Tallahassee Democrat
·2 min read
Florida high school athletes from Classes 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A compete in the cross country state championships at Apalachee Regional Park on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022.
Florida high school athletes from Classes 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A compete in the cross country state championships at Apalachee Regional Park on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022.

The awards keep coming in for Leon junior cross-country runner Patrick Koon, picking up national player of the year honors.

Koon was named 2022-23 Gatorade Florida Boys Cross Country Player of the Year and is the third runner to win the award from Leon. He is now a finalist for the national Player of the Year award, which will be announced in February.

Koon ran the second-fastest 5K in state history at the Southern Showcase to open the season, clocking a 14:43.09 personal best. He'd later run set boy high school meet record at the FSU Invite finishing with a time of 14:50.00. Despite running with the flu in the postseason, Koon won the state meet for the second straight season, finishing with a time of 14:56.70, setting a state meet record.

More:'I'm shooting to win': Leon's Patrick Koon making history in junior year cross country campaign

His dynamic junior season earned him Florida Dairy Farmers Boys Runner of the Year honors and All-Big Bend Boys Runner of the Year honors for the second straight year. He held a season average of 15:09.93, which was 42 seconds ahead of Chiles Wyatt Townsend. Leon was also the only team at the state meet to win both the boys' and girls' individual titles in their classification as senior Lillee Tang won the girls' title.

In the classroom, Koon holds a 4.36 GPA. He has volunteered at the School of Arts and Sciences Summer Camp and has fundraised on behalf of the Strides for Seizures program.

Expect to see Koon in the Leon red and white soon as he will be defending his 3200 state title this spring. He clocked a 9:11.50 time to win last season's individual state title and set a PR of 8:58.30 at the FSU Relays. Koon was named to the All-Big Bend boys' track and field first team, and led the area's distance runners.

Jack Williams covers prep sports for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @jackgwilliams. 

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Patrick Koon named Gatorade Florida Boys Cross Country Player of the Year