![](http://www.ihsa.org/Portals/0/Photos/IHSA%20State/Historic/2016-17/Dadson.JPG)
History, some 30-plus years in the making, was made at the 2016 IHSA Cross Country State Finals at Detweiller Park in Peoria on Saturday, November 5, 2016.
![](http://www.ihsa.org/Portals/0/Photos/IHSA%20State/Historic/2016-17/Dad.jpg)
Minooka High School senior Soren Knudsen crossed the finish line first in the Class 3A race with a time of 14:02. Knudsen became the first state champion in his school’s history and second in his family, as he joined his father Jim among the list of all-time IHSA winners.
Running for Lockport High School, Jim claimed the Class AA state title at Detweiller in the fall of 1981 with a time of 14:22.
The younger Knudsen’s victory marked the first time in state history that a father and son had each won individual cross country state titles in Illinois, and the pair showed off their respective medals afterward
(above). A photo and brief description of Jim was published in the 1981 IHSA State Final program
race preview
(right).