CHRISMAN — Through friends and simply knowing the history of the program, Schlarman sophomore Jesse Hahne has heard of all of the successful runners that have been through the Hilltoppers’ cross country and track programs.

Would he like to be mentioned in the same group? Without question.

But he knows he’s still working up to that point. After all, it’s only his first year of running cross country since junior high. But so far after two races, he has begun catching the attention of those in the area.

At Saturday’s 29th Annual Cow Chip Classic, Hahne caught the eye of Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Chrisman distance runner Matt Avenatti.

As the area’s expected frontrunner in the event, Avenatti held his own at the front of the pack through roughly a mile and a half, and Hahne was nowhere to be seen.

But as Monticello’s Steve Schroeder (who finished with a course record 15:34) began to distance himself from the competition, Hahne, too, began to gain ground.

“The Schlarman kid (Hahne) has been there for awhile,” Avenatti said. “I knew he was there, but I never really thought about him — I kept him in the back of my head — until today. He ran really great.

“Around two miles is when he started bumping heads with me. I’ve known about him. He’s in track. He ran the 2-mile, and he’s a pretty decent runner. I didn’t think nothing of him until now, of course,”

Hahne (16:45) finished in seventh place just ahead of Avenatti (16:57) and St. Thomas More’s Kelley Sean (16:59). It was the first time he had defeated either runner in a cross country or track event.

Training on the hills at Kickapoo has helped Hahne, but he said his offseason coach, Brian Rohrbach, has also made a difference.

“I wasn’t expecting to do this well, especially for this race,” Hahne said. “I wasn’t feeling the best (before the race), but once I get running, that changes. I think it’s always going to be that way. It’s just right before the race, about 10 or 15 minutes before the race it hits me how well I have to do.

“Right off the start, I start getting an idea of who is going to be where in the race. I kind of stick with the mediocre kids. That’s what I classify myself as.”

After having a successful track season as a freshman, Schlarman coach Mike Chandler isn’t surprised with Hahne’s early success. Chandler also believes that Hahne’s intangibles are what might ultimately help carry him to a successful running career.

“He’s got some natural ability. He has the mental toughness and the determination, and he’s got heart. He’s a great kid,’’ Chandler said. “You tell him what you want, you give him times like in repeats, and he just does it. He does what you tell him in the training, and he always works hard. This summer after track season, he was switching sports from football to cross country, so he ran all summer. He ran a few races and he came in in pretty good shape.

“I really don’t want to put any pressure on him, but I think potentially, if he keeps running as his priority sport, potentially I think he’s in the Scotty Krapf/Kyle O’Brien caliber,” Chandler continued. “You can mention his name in that group. I don’t know if he can surpass what those two did, but he’s close. At the same level, he’s right where they were.”

Though Avenatti wasn’t pleased with his time or performance on Saturday, he is hopeful last season’s results might be an indication of what is to come.

After finishing around 17:22 at last year’s Cow Chip Classic, Avenatti went on to run a 15:57 in Peoria. And he believes that his times will soon drop as he increases his mileage.

“I didn’t run much over the summer, and that hurt me. I took off the whole month of June. I just didn’t get focused until after June.

“The rest will probably help me because I hadn’t taken rest since later into my freshman year. I had taken maybe a week. I took two weeks this winter before training started, after cross country. So this is only the real rest I’ve had.”

The instruction of GRFC coach Tom Kulbartz might not hurt either. Kulbartz has traditionally built strong and successful teams, and on Saturday was honored for his 40 years of coaching. He was surprised with a celebration following Saturday’s event, and greeted by many of his former runners.