Announcement
2010 Senior Male Athlete of the Year Award: Cooper Eben
On Friday, June 4, 2010, Northside Head Track Coach Jon Gordon received a fantastic email at approximately 5:30 am from the Northside administration informing him that the winner of the 2010 Senior Male Athlete of the Year Award was Cooper Eben, and that Coach Gordon would have the honor of presenting the award at the Senior Awards luncheon at noon, on Wednesday, June 9, 2010 at La Villa Banquet Hall.
The Senior Male Athlete award is given annually at Graduation to the best Athlete in the Senior Class. It is the highest honor an athlete can receive at graduation.
For only the second time in Northside history, a member of the Northside Track Team won the award, Senior Captain Cooper Eben.
Every great Team has a leader, someone who will do it everyday, no matter what, and that leader for the Northside Track & Field Team is Cooper Eben.
Cooper Eben is one of the greatest athletes to ever wear the uniform. Cooper Eben scored the most points by a Senior on the entire Track & Field Team, and ran the third fastest 3200m run time (9:55) in the history of Northside. Cooper Eben has earned SIX Varsity letters at Northside (3 in Cross Country, 3 in Track).
In Cross Country, Cooper Eben ran over 1500 miles during the summer for the Mustangs from Sophomore to Senior Year. In his Junior year, he helped the Mustangs to their first ever IHSA Regional Title in any Mens sport. In his Senior year, he also helped the Mustangs to their first ever Chicago Public League Title, and came within less than 9 seconds of qualifying for the IHSA State Championships.
In Track & Field, he won numerous races, including the Bloom Invitational, and helped break two school records (4x800m Relay and 4x1600m Relay), won the Mustang Award, and the Northside Academic Achievement Award. Northside Captain Cooper Eben also had the highest GPA (5.18) out of 35,000 Chicago Public School student-athletes. Cooper Eben will be attending Duke next year, and will be majoring in Bio-Medical Engineering.
It’s not the records that he holds, the regional titles, and city titles, that makes him a champion, but the path that he took to get there that makes him a Champion.
As a Freshman, Cooper Eben made the Mustangs prestigiuous Top 12 on the Northside Cross Country Team, but there were still 11 guys on that Team ranked ahead of him. Northside Senior Cooper Eben ran 18 minutes for three miles as a Freshman, and ended his high school cross country career with a personal best time of 15:50 for three miles! A time drop of over two minutes! His first 3200m PR in Track was only a 13:20. Through pure hard work, running over 1500 miles in the summer, and again in the winter, endless hours in the weight room, Cooper Eben passed everyone of those guys times from Freshman year in Cross Country, and also dropped 3 MINUTES and 25 seconds in the 3200m run in Track, during his high school career for a personal best 3200m run time of 9:55! Cooper Eben's work ethic and dedication is second to none.
At the end of every Track meet, Cooper Eben leads the Team huddle, and honors each member of the Team. Cooper Eben is one of the greatest leaders, athletes, and individuals in the history of Northside College Prep.
