Delavan’s LaFary, Pekin’s Kemp win CSM Fall Athletes of the Week

A pair of Tazewell County stars continued their great seasons and collected CSM Fall Athlete of the Week honors for their mighty efforts.

Delavan cross country runner Annabelle LaFary used one of her top finishes of the season to help her team win its home invite while Pein golfer Colin Kemp finished his year near the top of the leaderboard at the Class 3A state finals. 

Read more about our winners and get to know them in Q and A’s below.

LaFary won CSM Girls Athlete of the Week after receiving 47 percent of the votes in the girls poll. The Panthers’ senior helped her team win the Delavan Panther Invitational on Oct. 11 with a time of 17:40.17, placing second overall and tops among all area runners. LaFary’s time was a personal-best for a 2.96-mile course and she was one of three Delavan runners to finish in the top 10 of the event. So far this season, LaFary has four top-6 finishes.

Get to know LaFary in a Q and A here: 

What’s been your favorite memory of your high school career so far? 

“My favorite memory so far is getting 7th as a team in the 4x800 [relay] at state.

If you had to be stranded on an island with a teammate, who would it be and why?

“I would want to be stranded on an island with Elyse [Brinkmeyer]. We work well together and she was to be an architect so she could build us a boat to get off the island.”

Favorite music artist?

“Lainey Wilson.”

Favorite food?

“Pasta.”

Do you have any pregame routines/rituals?

“I write in a journal the night before before races and read a chapter out of the book ‘The Champions Mind’.”

What’s one thing that’s on your bucket list?

“I want to go to Greece.”

Who’s your role model and why?

“My dad is my role model. He pushes me to be my best and has coached me through everything. He inspired me to start running and it has become a big part of my life.”

Kemp won CSM Boys Athlete of the Week after receiving 43 percent of the votes in the boys poll. The Pekin star sophomore finished fourth at the highly-competitive Class 3A state finals held on Oct. 10-11 at The Den at Fox Creek in Bloomington with a two-under 142 across 36 holes. Kemp shot a four-under 68 in his first round, highlighted by seven birdies. He finished strong with three birdies on the back nine in the second round to card a two-over 74. This season, Kemp finished T9 at the Class 3A Lockport Sectional, won the Class 3A Pekin Regional and was the Mid-Illini Conference champion. 

Get to know Kemp in a Q and A here: 

What’s been your favorite memory of your high school career so far? 

“Getting 4th in state with family, friends and my teammates there watching.”

If you had to be stranded on an island with a teammate, who would it be and why?

“I would want to be stranded with Lakin Flynn because we would always have something to keep us busy.”

Favorite music artist?

“Tyler Childers.”

Favorite food?

“Wings.”

Do you have any pregame routines/rituals?

“Get to the golf course an hour early and make sure I have plenty of snacks and water for the round.”

What’s one thing that’s on your bucket list?

“Play college golf.”

Who’s your role model and why?

“My role model is my dad because he works really hard in everything he does and he always makes time to help me with my golf game and anything else I need.”