Flowers recognized as Edward Jones Jersey Athlete of Month

JERSEYVILLE - Jersey’s Ben Flowers is one of those runners who come around in limited fashion on a high school cross-country team.

In fitting fashion, Steve Medford recognized Flowers with the first Edward Jones Athlete of the Month. Medford is an Edward Jones rep in Jerseyville.

Flowers had significant accomplishments in September, capturing first place individually in the Granite City Invitational, Edwardsville Invitational, Alton Invitational and the JCHS Havens Invitational. He placed high in the First to the Finish Invitational in Peoria on Sept. 10 and is running again at Peoria this weekend.

Flowers, a senior, is a runner any coach would love to have, and not just for his cross-country skills.

“Ben is not only a great runner but also a great person,” his coach Harold Landon said. “I have not once since Ben was a freshman heard someone say anything bad about him.”

Landon said Flowers works as hard and is as dedicated as any runner Landon has ever had on his Jersey team.

“He had a great summer of running, he put in some weightlifting and he is even doing some yoga,” Landon said. “He doesn’t want to have any regrets about this season. He really pushed Jack Aho of Grays Lake Central in the Peoria meet and he will be running against two who have beaten Aho this weekend in Peoria. It should be a big test this weekend.”

Landon said Flowers is focusing on finishing long runs with strong kicks at the end in training sessions.

“Ben is maturing more and growing into his body,” Landon said. “He is getting stronger all the time.”

Flowers is being recruited by several schools, Landon said, and the coach added that he expects the Jersey youth to continue to improve as he moves ahead.

Recently, Flowers met one of his childhood idols, Craig Virgin, at the Granite City Invitational, a complete surprise. Virgin is a legendary distance runner originally from Lebanon, IL, who had huge national and international success in his era in the 1970s.

“It was a complete honor to meet Craig Virgin,” Landon said. “He came out to watch Ben. I have talked about Craig Virgin a lot in practice, so it was a thrill for Ben and the kids to meet him and have a picture taken with him.”

Flowers said meeting Virgin was quite a thrill for him.

“He is a big idol of mine,” Flowers said.

Flowers has a simple philosophy about racing and in these parts, he is usually way in front of any other runners by the end of a competition.

“I always try to p.r. and push myself,” he said. “What matters most will be the races at the end of the season.”

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