Nov 05, 2009
HANSEN LEAVES HIS MARK ON OAK LAWN RECORD BOOK

The boys cross country team at Oak Lawn Community High school is getting used to racing to success. This year is no different with five top-three finishes out of ten invitational meets, a third-place finish at the South Suburban Conference Red meet, a second-place finish at the regional meet, and a 13th-place finish at sectionals this past weekend in Lockport. However, one Spartan stepped to the forefront and shined the brightest for Oak Lawn, and that runner was senior Tom Hansen.
Hansen is completing a fantastic senior campaign where he was the conference and regional champion, but that was just the beginning. The true accomplishments came this past weekend as he placed ninth at the sectional meet and earned all-sectional honors. He is only the second runner to accomplish this feat in school history. In doing so, he qualified for the Illinois State Cross Country Finals in Peoria, Ill. to be held this weekend. He is only the third Spartan to accomplish this. There is no doubt his name will live on in Oak Lawn history for many years. In fact, Hansen holds the second fastest three-mile time in school history at 15 minutes and 25 seconds.
Tom has an amazing passion for running, head coach Chris Repa said. He is one of the strongest runners our school has ever seen and has been an outstanding role model for our younger runners throughout his career.
Hansen plans on running cross country and track & field in college with an academic interest in studying gaming system design.