TUSCOLA (WCIA) — Jackson Barrett is the WCIA3 Athlete of the Week. The Tuscola cross country runner set the meet record at the SJO Spartan Classic over the weekend, finishing with a time of 14 minutes, 12.45 seconds. That’s currently the second fastest 3-mile time in the state of Illinois, regardless of class. The senior’s performance led the Warriors to the title in the 23-team event at SJO.

Barrett also won the Peoria First to the Finish race earlier this month, crossing the finish line before several hundred runners at Detweiller Park, the home of the state meet in November. On top of it all, Jackson is a 4.0 student and ranked number one in his graduating class.

“It’s a really big confidence booster to have that fast of a time going into state and it really does give me confidence and the rest of the team confidence to perform well at that big of a venue,” Barrett said.

Barrett is now eligible for a $1,000 scholarship we’ll give to one boy and one girl this summer. If you know a deserving high school student who should be our next weekly winner, fill out the nomination form here: https://www.wcia.com/athlete-of-the-week/#//