12/13/07 

Neuqua Valley senior Chris Derrick, who just completed one of the best cross country seasons any Illinois runner's ever had, announced on Tuesday he will commit to Stanford to run track and cross country.

The Cardinal will get a runner who finished second in Saturday's Foot Locker Nationals, a week after Derrick won the overall title at the Nike Team Nationals, simultaneously leading his fellow Neuqua Valley runners to the team championship.

At the NTN Midwest regional in Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 10, Derrick set a course record of 14 minutes, 54 seconds over the 5-kilometer layout.

His time of 13:52 in this fall's IHSA Class 3A cross country meet was the second-fastest ever at Peoria's Detweiller Park, following only the 13:50.6 of Lebanon's Craig Virgin in 1972.