{"id":87081,"date":"2026-06-18T18:17:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T18:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/87081\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T18:17:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T18:17:12","slug":"geneva-junior-bennett-konkey-is-the-kane-county-chronicle-boys-track-and-field-athlete-of-the-year-shaw-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/87081\/","title":{"rendered":"Geneva junior Bennett Konkey is the Kane County Chronicle boys track and field Athlete of the Year \u2013 Shaw Local"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was just supposed to be a normal track meet to kick off the outdoor season for Bennett Konkey.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what the Geneva<\/a> junior was thinking when he stepped into the blocks for the 100-meter dash at a DuKane Conference triangular meet back on April 14 at Wheaton-Warrenville South. It was his first outdoor race at full strength since his freshman season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was hoping for like a 10.5, maybe 10.4 in the 100 at that meet,\u201d Konkey said. \u201cThat\u2019s where I thought I was going to be with my top speed and how fast I had been during the offseason and indoor.\u201d<\/p>\n

So when he crossed the finish line and saw a 10.25 beside his name on the scoreboard, it didn\u2019t take long for him to realize that it wasn\u2019t just a normal track meet. It was the start of something very special.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter I ran that time I remember the entire crowd going \u2018Whoa\u2019 at the exact same time and everybody going crazy,\u201d Konkey said. \u201cAnd I was just like \u2018holy crap.\u2019 That just confirmed my thinking during the offseason that I actually had a chance to win a state championship in both the 100 and 200.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sort of reaction became a consistent for Konkey as the year progressed. He finished the season winning all but one race between the 100 and 200, and would finish off his season with state titles in both events, the first in Geneva boys track and field history.<\/p>\n

Considering the accolades, Konkey has been named the 2026 Kane County Chronicle boys track and field Athlete of the Year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just an incredible year for that young man,\u201d Vikings coach Boone Thorgesen said. \u201cIt\u2019s great to see all of the hard work he put in come to fruition at the end of the year with two state titles. It was really cool to see, especially for such a tremendous kid and athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n

Konkey\u2019s emergence to the top of the sprinting world caught many across the state by surprise. Prior to the season, he entered with personal-best times of 11.02 in the 100 and 22.62 in the 200.<\/p>\n

\"Oswego's<\/p>\n

Oswego’s Dontrell Young and Geneva’s Bennett Konkey race in the Class 3A 100 meter dash during the IHSA State Track and Field championship last month in Charleston. (Scott Anderson)<\/p>\n

A lot of that was due to a hamstring injury in February 2025 that sidelined him for a majority of his sophomore track season. But after playing an entire football season with the injury still in effect, the junior decided to put all his offseason focus into resting the injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I didn\u2019t take that rest period, I don\u2019t think I\u2019d be where I am right now,\u201d Konkey said. \u201cI just had to focus on my body and let it rest. I play sports year-round and I never get time to rest. So I talked to my parents and we agreed that I just needed to stop since it was the one thing I hadn\u2019t done, and it paid off in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

But for both Konkey and Thorgesen, it was an emergence that was more so him finally showing his full potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew we had something special when he qualified for state in the 100 as a freshman,\u201d Thorgesen said. \u201cWe always knew this could be a possibility just by the way he\u2019s progressed and how he came into the school as a freshman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Konkey\u2019s 100 time would not be touched for the entire season, finishing as the best time in the state. His time of 21.00 in the 200, which he ran at the Kane County meet, was the second-fastest mark in the state.<\/p>\n

\"Geneva's<\/p>\n

DuKane Conference Boys Track and Field meet Geneva’s Bennett Konkey wins the 100m at the DuKane Conference Boys Track and Field meet last month in St Charles. (Gary E Duncan Sr for Shaw Local )<\/p>\n

His success on the track also caught the eyes of multiple NCAA Division I football programs. After entering the spring with zero offers, Konkey ended the track season with 16 D-I offers, including one from Illinois, to which he officially announced his commitment Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpeed translates from track to the football field and vice-versa,\u201d Thorgesen said. \u201cWe were waiting for something like this to happen, and we knew it was going to eventually. But the way his recruiting stock exploded so quickly was really cool to be a part of and for him to get the recognition he deserved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Konkey has said that he plans to graduate early from high school to focus on football, making his junior season his final one out on the track. <\/p>\n

\u201cEnding on a state championship, it\u2019s the best way to go out,\u201d Konkey said. \u201cThere\u2019s no better way to go out of track season. Obviously I wish I could run track next year, get another state championship, but I\u2019ve just got bigger priorities with football.\u201d<\/p>\n

But even with his time on the track cut short, there\u2019s no doubt that he\u2019s left his mark in the history books at Geneva.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatching him work and continue to better himself has just been a joy to watch and I couldn\u2019t be happier for the fastest man in Illinois,\u201d Thorgesen said. \u201cHe\u2019s obviously got our school records in both those events, and I don\u2019t think those are going to be beaten very soon, or even at all.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was just supposed to be a normal track meet to kick off the outdoor season for Bennett…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":87082,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7],"tags":[39237,65,29214,2262],"class_list":["post-87081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-geneva","tag-boys-track-and-field","tag-geneva","tag-geneva-preps","tag-premium"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116772487051070485","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}