Why he was selected: Gray won the UEC River Cross Country Meet individually and helped the North Stars to the team title collectively on Saturday with his all-time PR time of 15:13. The finish was a pleasant surprise to Gray, who ran the same course – LeRoy Oakes – about 15 seconds slower two weeks earlier. Gray, the St. Charles Bank & Trust-Kane County Chronicle Athlete of the Week, touched base with Chronicle sports editor Jay Schwab about his big race. The following is an edited transcript:

How would you characterize the run you turned in on Saturday?
It was a pretty good run for me. It was my [personal record] for the season, so I was pretty happy with that.

How big of an achievement was it to you to win the River side of the conference?
It means a lot to me because last year my friend, Zach Heuer, from North, he won it, so it just kind of feels like I'm living up to his shoes.