DIXON – For the second half of Saturday’s Class 2A Kaneland Regional, Cadyn Grafton was getting lonesome, and he loved it.

The Dixon senior turned in a personal-best time of 15 minutes, 38.51 seconds over the 3-mile Kaneland course to nab top honors by nearly 12 seconds. It was a product of pounding the pavement in the offseason.

All winter, spring and summer, usually early in the morning, Grafton would run, be it with current teammates or former Dukes such as Aidan Johnson, Logan Griswold and Collin Grady. A typical run was 7 or 8 miles at a leisurely pace. There were a couple of interval runs at a quicker tempo, with one long run of about 13 miles thrown in.

When the Dukes had time trials in the preseason to see where they were at, Grafton posted a blistering mile time of 4:25, seven seconds faster than he had run before the 2019 season.

“This was definitely the best training that we’ve ever had for the summer,” Grafton said. “We were all in the best shape of our lives. I believe six of the seven boys that ran all got PRs that day.”

Dixon head coach Simon Thorpe, a four-time state qualifier in cross country, can attest to the work Grafton put in.

“It’s waking up every day in the summer and winter and during track and putting in those monotonous miles,” Thorpe said. “Running can be a boring sport, and it takes a little bit of a grind mentality to get through it. He’s really cherished that and understands what the work is.”

Grafton has spent a good chunk of his prep career chasing teammate and fellow senior Brock Drengenberg, who finished fourth at state last year. Between the Big Northern Meet on Oct. 16 and the Kaneland Regional, however, Drengenberg became ill, and his season came to an end.

“Having him there to push me, and I know how much work he put in during the summer and during the season as well, it gave me the motivation to push myself and run faster,” said Grafton, who placed 33rd at state last year.

Without Drengenberg and two other regulars, Brayden Bock and Jack Johnson, in the lineup, Dixon did not advance as a team from the Kaneland Regional. Grafton will go it alone for the Dukes when he lines up Saturday for the Lakes Sectional.

It will mark the final cross country race of Grafton’s high school career, but more years of running lie ahead in college. An aspiring engineer, he plans to run at a yet-to-be-determined college next fall.

A top student, Grafton recently had a perfect score on the math portion of the SAT. Those smarts come in handy when it comes to running.

“I think the main factor in being a good student is hard work, dedication and perseverance, which I think coincides with running as well,” Grafton said. “As much as you put in, that’s how good you’re going to be. That’s the same with academics as well.”