(Seeing these Illinois runners compete in St. Louis last May was one of my favorite memories. Mike Newman photo)

 

By Michael Newman

[email protected]

 

It has been quite a year for Illinois athletes making it towards the top in many events during track and then during the cross-country season. I made it to 73 meets in the past year. That was more than I planned. Then again, I never plan which meets I go to. If it is intriguing to me, I’m there.

I kept a journal of each of the meets that I was at. Instead of boring you of every detail of those meets that I was at, let me give me some of the meets that I had the strongest feelings for. I am not going to give you a top 10 list.

Thank you all for the support you have given me for the past year and before that. The e-mails that I receive and the words of encouragement that I receive at every meet that I am at are priceless and will always stay in my heart.

 

March 5

(Charger Classic Recap)

I had not been to the University of Illinois Armory for a track meet since I had competed for North Central College in the 1980’s. There had always been a reason why I had not been back to this fabled facility. There was a scheduling conflict in which I had chosen another meet instead of a meet in Champaign. I always tried to change up my coverage schedule every year. This year I was determined to make it to Champaign at least once.

The meet that I chose was the Champaign Centennial Charger Classic. It gave me a chance to watch Galesburg’s Josh Eiker compete for the first time of the season. There were some good distance races at this meet as Jon Davis (Oakwood HS, Fithian) and Heath Warren (Springfield HS) made their seasonal debuts. Davis termed his race a “rust buster” as he pulled away from future U of I teammate Alex Keeble (Mahomet-Seymour HS) in the final 400 to win the 3200 Meter Run. Warren was never in trouble as he ran 4:25.02 to win the 1600 Meter Run.

The races that caught my eye were the sprints. Travis Anderson (Edwardsville HS) got off to a great start and held off Tyler Kirkwood (Waubonsie Valley HS, Aurora) to win the 60 Meter Hurdles by two hundredths of a second. It was then Eiker’s turn on the track. He started off by winning the 60 Meter Dash (6.90) over a state class field including Cary Lockhart (Bloomington HS). The two athletes would face off against each other in the 200 Meter Dash. When they settled into the blocks, Eiker was on the inside in Lane 4 while Lockhart was ahead in the next lane on the outside. The gun went off and Eiker took off. He made up the stagger on Lockhart in the first 50 meters. He stormed around the curve and headed for home. Eiker’s time of 21.57 was the fastest high school time ever run at the Armory and the third fastest ever on that track. Lockhart’s time of 22.21 was a good one and in second. But it seemed like he was light years behind that of what Eiker had run.

As I was driving back to the Chicago area for the Rolling Meadows Pole Vault Summit, my phone started buzzing with messages. It was from a coach who was at the Southern Illinois Boys High School Invitational. “I glanced at the text while I was driving (I know…a no-no). “Did you hear that Darryl Sullivan just cleared 7-3 in the High Jump” was the message that appeared on my phone. I almost drove off the road. I immediately started texting to the coach for more information. I also made arrangements to get the video of what was the best clearance in the event so far this season nationally. I tweeted the info and got back on the road.

The rest of the drive was thinking of what I needed to do once I got home from the Pole Vault Summit. When I got home close to 8 PM, it was a matter of multi-tasking. This was breaking news so you don’t sit there trying to make up your mind deciding what to do. The front page was changed with a pic of Daryl. I also made arrangements with his coach Eli Baker on when I could talk to Darryl. By 2 AM, I was exhausted but I had a list of results in as well as every video from the Champaign meet.

March 17

(DVC Girls Recap)

I talked to Naperville North Coach Dan Iverson at the ITCCCA Clinic about his star pupil Judy Pendergast. I wanted to know when her season would start since her cross country season finished at the beginning of January after being named for the US Junior team to run in Scotland. The plan was to run minimally indoors and concentrate on the outdoor season. When I saw Dan at the beginning of March at the NCC Cardinal Classic, he told me that Judy was under the weather and was hoping to race at that meet. He moved the start of her season back one week to the Batavia Distance Madness meet. She ran a 4:49.30 opener in the 1600 showing that she was ready for the 2016 track season.

The 3200 Meter Run at the DuPage Valley Conference Championships at North Central College was a memorable one. She was not racing the rest of the field in this race. She was racing against the clock. The goal was to run between 10:10 to 10:15 according to Iverson. All she did was lap the field once in the first 8 laps of the race and almost passed the runners a second time on her way to running the best 3200 / 2 Mile ever by an Illinois Girls’ athlete indoor (10:11.56).

“I was aiming for 10:10 to 10:15 today. I was hoping for that time but I wasn’t sure how running 4:49 would differ this week in the 2 mile,” Pendergast said. “It was good when I crossed the line and I heard 10:11. I was really happy with that.” It also showed that she had more in the tank for some fast times outdoors.

April 8

(Belleville West Recap)

In watching Ja’Mari Ward compete for the last four years, nothing he did ever surprised me. The Belleville West Invitational  would be the first time that he would be competing in four events that he hoped to compete in at the IHSA State Track Meet. The weather the week before at the Mobile Meet of Champions was not the best as it was cool and rainy. Ward had suffered groin injuries in that meet and had not practiced that week. “We are going to see what he is going to do today after he warms up,” Cahokia Coach Leroy Milsap said. “If he bombs them in his run through for the jumps, we will let him go ahead.”

Ward got 2 safe jumps in the Long Jump with his best being 24-9 on his second attempt. He moved to the track to get into the blocks for the 100 Meter Dash. Derrius Rodgers (Lockport Township HS) got off to a great start, but Ward found a way to catch him in the last 20 meters. Ward crossed the line in 10.64 but was in pain as the injuries were flaring up. He was helped over to the Triple Jump were the event had started. He did not get a chance to do any run throughs. He made a safe jump landing with his feet together in the pit instead of landing in and flying out of that pit. His “safe” jump was only 49-1 one of the best in the nation so far this year. His 200 that he ran showed that he could fight through what he was struggling with. He made up the stagger on the field on the curve of the race. Ward went on to run 21.05.

“I told you that he was going to do some amazing things,” Milsap said to me as his star pupil approached him after the 200. Even though the temperatures were near 45 degrees on that day, Ward put up an amazing quadruple. I could not wait and see what he could do in warmer weather. I did get some comments from some coaches on why I was wearing shorts on such a “cold day”. I was rebelling against the cold hoping for Spring to come. The sun was out any way. It made it feel like it was 47 degrees outside instead of 45.

April 22-23

(Bob Cohoon Recap | Sue Pariseau Recap | Distance Night in Palatine Recap)

I kept asking myself why I was on top of the press box at Downers Grove South with temperatures near 40 degrees, a strong wind in my face, and my fingers losing their feeling. There are times you have to do the impossible to get the right video, the right story. This was one of those times as I watched and videotaped the Bob Cohoon Invitational.

Josh Eiker put on another great performance considering the frigid conditions. His 10.48 winning time in the 100 Meter Dash had the help of a 20 mph wind (3.5) behind him. The wind had died down a little by the time he got into the blocks for the 200 Meter Dash. He surged giving everything he had coming down the stretch towards the finish line. The time was 20.83. The question was if the race was wind legal? Looking down from my perch towards the track, the Galesburg coaches surrounding the wind gauge gave a thumps up signifying that the wind was legal. It was (2.0) but just barely enough to give Ward the state record for the fastest time ever in that event.

As I drove home, I wondered if anything could top what I saw at that meet.

Saturday’s 2 meets did just that. My first meet at Glenbard West was the Sue Pariseau Invitational and great display of some distance races. Hinsdale Central ran 9:18.61 to win the 3200 Meter Relay. Then was probably one of the best Girls 3200 Meter Run races that I had ever seen. Judy Pendergast went out near 5:00 for the first mile of the race. Dan Iverson was hoping for a controlled 3200 and then see what she could do in the 1600. She was under control in the last mile crossing the line in 10:07.18. It was the third fastest time ever for an Illinois Girls runner in the event. Seven runners were under 11 minutes in that race. Lindsay Payne ran 10:29 to finish second with one of the fastest 3200 times that we have seen in a long time running a huge personal best. Fans cheered all the runners in that race. The race was just that good.

The 1600 was just as exciting. Pendergast took the lead early and never looked back. Consider that two hours earlier that she ran 10:07 for 3200. The 4:51.99 that she ran to win the race was just even more impressive. It was one of the best doubles that I had seen and was looking forward to the state meet a month from this meet. Reilly Revord (Hinsdale Central HS) just missed going under 5 minutes running 5:00.02 to finish second. Payne’s double was also impressive as she finished third running 5:02.

I drove up to Palatine after the meet at Glenbard West was over thinking how could the inaugural Distance Night in Palatine top that? The meet was the brainchild of Palatine Coach Chris Quick. Why not get the best Illinois distance runners to one spot to race against each other? It proved to be a success and a meet I look forward to attending this meet for years to come. It was such a beautiful day watching the Glenbard meet with temperatures in the upper 50’s. The sun went down. So did the temperatures I thought as I went back to the car to grab some more sweats. The action on the track remained hot.

The Boys 3200 was great with Illiana Christian’s Collin DeYoung and his move in the final 400 gave him the win (9:13.65) as 6 runners were within three seconds of each other. Karina Liz (Aurora Central Catholic HS) ran 2:13.22 to win the 800 by a second ahead of LaSalle-Peru’s Rachel Hickey in what was a preview of the 2A state finals. Meagan Biddle (Hoffman Estates HS) ran a personal best 4:54.29 to win the 1600 three seconds ahead of Kelly O’Brien (Palatine HS). The best of the races was the anticipated 1600 Meter Run race. Sean Torpy (Sandburg HS) pushed the pace from 600 meters on to run a then personal best 4:08.64 to win by three seconds ahead of Jon Davis. It was the last time that Davis would not win a race on the high school level. He was tough to beat the next two months. How much was Davis driven? As they were turning the lights off, Davis was still doing a cool down trying to shake off the race that he had just run.

It was the best two-day period in the past few years that I had experienced I thought as I was driving home.

April 28

(St Clair County Recap)

I was about ready to get in my car when I received a message from Belleville West Coach Patton Seagraves. I was told that because of a storm heading to the St. Louis area, the St. Clair County Meet would be pushed back to Thursday afternoon. Seagraves asked me if I was still coming. “Of course,” was my reply. Anything to see Ja’Mari Ward jump just another time. I am glad I made the trip.

For the first time during the season, I ran behind schedule and got to Belleville West just as the meet had started. I grabbed my gear and ran into the stadium. “He has already jumped once but he was way behind the board,” Seagraves told me as I rushed to the jumps pits. “He only jumped 24 feet.” His second jump was almost dead on as he jumped a then season’s best 25-6 ¾ with a legal wind at his back. I had watched him over the four years and seen when he was off he was still putting up monster jumps. This day he was on. I was imagining what he could do in the Triple Jump.

His first attempt was a foul but it was a good foul. Looking back at the video I shot, he just missed the board with his toe barely over. He landed at nearly the 54-foot area. If he hit the board, what could he do? His second attempt was dead on. The first two phases of the jump were nearly perfect. As he took off on the third jump, Ward let out a huge yell trying to get the most energy from his body on the takeoff. He was out there. Boy, was he out there. Ward thought that the jump was in the 51-52-foot range. When the judge announced 53-7 ½, Ward’s teammates swamped him. There was a huge smile on his face as well as his Coach Leroy Milsap. He set a state record with that leap. He also set a national record for a jump held in a “high school only” competition.

I am glad I made the trip. A week later at the Collinsville Invitational, he injured his knee on his second attempt of the Triple Jump. It would prevent him to compete at the end of May at the IHSA State Meet in Charleston. He did compete in June at the US Junior Championships where he jumped a personal best 25-8 ¾ to win the national junior championships. He went to the World U-20 Championships in Poland in July. He finally broke the 26-foot mark going 26-1 ½ in the prelims. He finished sixth in the finals. When I talked to Leroy Milsap at the USATF Youth Championships in Edwardsville Ward’s freshman year, Milsap told me that Ward would be the best prep jumper ever in Illinois and perhaps the nation. He finished his career as the best national prep combo jumper ever.

I am glad I went the distance to watch Ward jump the times that I did. It was a privilege to cover his achievements.

May 12

(IHSA 3A Ottawa Girls Sectional Recap)

The week before at the DuPage Valley Girls Conference Meet, Judy Pendergast was a late scratch due to an injury to her foot. Her Coach Dan Iverson said that he was just being cautious but she would run the following week at the IHSA 3A Ottawa Regional Girls Meet. The following Thursday, I made the trip west on I-80 to see her run.

She was not the same runner that I had watched over the past year in the 3200 Meter Run. Pendergast went out hard to distance herself from the rest of the pack. It was evident that her foot was bothering her. It did not help that there was a wind that was hitting the runners on the home straight away. She was exerting more energy compounded by the injury. The lead stopped growing as the runners behind her closed the gap. Pendergast finished fourth in the race qualifying for the state meet. That did not matter. The Naperville North was in tears as she was helped back to the team area. She was scratched from the 1600 Meter Run.

The following Saturday at the IHSA Girls State Meet just before the start of the 3200 Meter Run, Iverson was standing near the check-in tent where he had just scratched Pendergast from the race. She had tried to warm up but still was in pain with every step she took. “I did want to put her in that situation with so many people watching her,” Iverson said. “There were many tears shed at that moment. I told her she had nothing left to prove.”

Pendergast had accomplished so many things on and off the track. She would graduate from Naperville North and head to Harvard University. After Lindsey Payne, had won the 3A 3200 Meter Run, Pendergast found Payne to congratulate her. Judy was a class act on and off the track. It is something that will carry her to great things in her life. Iverson was right. She had nothing left to prove.

May 26-May 28

(IHSA 1A State Recap | 2A State Recap | 3A State Recap)

You expect to see so many great performances at the state meet. The 2016 meet was no exception. Edwardsville’s AJ Epenesa concluded a fantastic junior season setting a new IHSA State Meet Record in the Discus. It was neat that former record holder Dan Block was there for that moment. Sandburg finished third behind East St. Louis-Senior and Edwardsville in the 3A title hunt behind some great distance performances. Sean and Chris Torpy were part of Sandburg’s 3A state record in the 3200 Meter Relay. Chris came back to destroy a great field to win the 800 Meter Run. Sean pulled away in the final 400 to capture the 1600 in a tactical race. Cahokia was without Ja’Mari Ward but still had the athletes to win their sixth straight 2A state championship.

Two things hit me hard at this meet. It was again the unexplainable reasoning that the IHSA was using to run this meet. All field events (except the Discus) were moved indoors because of the threat of bad weather for the prelims. There was bad weather at the end of the 3A prelims Friday afternoon, but those events were way over. The Shot Put was moved indoors but no one had brought indoor shots for the competition. There were four indoor implements that every athlete had to share. The weight coaches were not happy. Neither were some of the athletes.

It rained during the opening ceremonies of the finals on Saturday morning. It was decided that the meet schedule would move away from the time schedule and moved on a rolling schedule. It did not rain the rest of the day. For coaches that did not follow Twitter, they were not able to get the message of the schedule. IHSA officials made it clear that it was the Coaches and athletes responsibility to know the schedule change. Shouldn’t the IHSA officials be made responsible for making a decision based on a knee-jerk reaction? The news did not get to Jon Davis. The runners for the 1A 3200 Meter Run but there was no Davis at the starting line. He found out what was happening and rushed to the tent. At first officials in the tent would not allow Davis to run. That was not going to stop the senior. Officials at the starting line waited while Davis sprinted to the line in his training flats. His anger showed in the first mile as he roared through in 4:26. He had nothing left in the final mile but still captured his eighth state title. He came back in the 1600. He was sick earlier in the week and that was not helping him in this race. He moved away from the pack to win his ninth and final state championship. He received a standing ovation at the end from the crowd at Charleston’s O’Brien Stadium. He deserved that moment.

I drove the first hour of my trip home with my left hand on the steering wheel and my right hand clenched. I was angry from the state final and what a coach had told me after the meet was over. I have been stabbed in the back a couple of times on things but nothing like what I was told from a coach that I truly trust. I could have jumped into the gutter to retaliate. As I passed the Champaign exit north on I-57, my right hand relaxed. Bad actions would not change who I was or how I would handle things. I said a prayer and moved on with a smile on my face. Life is just like that.

June 2-3

(Festival of Miles Recap | Magis Miles Recap)

Five days later after the state meet, I was back on the road to St. Louis for the Festival of Miles featuring some of the top distance runners in the Midwest. This meet was now part of my “routine”. The year before, I got to see high schooler Grant Fisher run a sub-4-minute mile. This year would not be the same but I would get to see some great Illinois athletes in action. Here again, it was worth the drive down to the St. Louis area.

I got to see York’s Charlie Kern finish 2^nd in the Boys Developmental Mile running a personal best 4:15 in the race. He was eighth with a lap to go. It was a good bounce back for him after he helped his team finish 5^th in the 3200 Relay at state and finished 10^th in the 1600. He ran his best race of the year two weeks later at the New Balance Nationals as he ran a 4:10 1600 anchor leg helping his team finish 2^nd in the Distance Medley.

I wanted to see Jon Davis race one more time. He won the developmental race the year before. He approached me after the Boys elite race knowing in his mind that he could have won that. It looked tough for him through the first 1000 meters of the race as Connor Lundy (Fordham Prep NY) and Brody Smith (Cody WY) pushed the pace. Davis took off in the final 400 and would not be passed. He crossed the line in 4:05.29 with the win. It was a great day for Illinois runners in that race as five runners were 4:12.5 or faster. As Jack Aho crossed the line in third, he let out a loud yell “ILLINOIS” showing how excited he was for his fellow Illinois athletes.

I was waiting on the infield for Davis to finish his cool-down. His dad came up to me. “Jon was a little down before this meet,” he said. “He told me that this would be the last time that I would talk to Mike after a race.” I wish I was not told that. I am sure that I would I would see him again like I did a couple of times this fall. The first time I interviewed him was his sophomore year when he won his first state championship. I like how he dissected his races afterwards. It was very similar to how I reacted while I was running trying to find a way to improve. Davis was always looking for a way to become better. He left the Illinois prep ranks as one of the best Illinois distance runners ever. Talking to him just made me a better person.

After a drive home in the middle of the night, I made it to the campus of St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago for the Magis Miles Friday night. There were two races that made an impact on me. Former Wheaton-Warrenville South Great Hope Schmelze ran 4:43.96 to win the Women’s Elite Mile. Palatine’s state champion Kelly O’Brien finished 4^th running a big personal best (4:48.01) and one of the best Girls prep times ever in the event. Geneva’s McKenzie Altmayer also ran a big personal best finishing sixth (4:53.18).

The Men’s Elite race was the one that I wanted to see. Sean Torpy finished fourth overall in the race but ran the fastest mile time of the season for an Illinois runner (4:05.10). His brother Chris was right behind also achieving a new personal best (4:07.13). Both collapsed to the track after the race showing that they had left everything that they had on the track. It is always something that I love to see.

June 11

(Midwest Distance Classic Recap)

It is now called the Midwest Distance Classic. It is one of my favorite meets to end the year. I think you can all understand why.

Sean and Chris Torpy were going to use the 800 in this meet as a tune-up for the following week’s Brooks PR Invitational. At the end of the race, it was more than that. Chris Torpy pushed the pace for the 600 meters. With 100 meters to go, Sean took charge. I looked at my watch as he crossed the finish line. It couldn’t be I thought. The scoreboard did confirm my thought. Sean Torpy ran the fastest 800 time ever in the state of Illinois (1:47.95). His brother Chris also dipped under 1:50 as he ran 1:49.80 to finish second. Five runners were under 1:51 with Maine East’s Torrain Haughton running a personal best 1:50.56 to finish fourth.

October 1

September had proven to be a rotten weather month with rain making some of the courses around the state a muddy mess including Detweiller Park. St. James Farm in Warrenville was in the same position especially after the Wheaton North Falcon Classic. The heavens opened during the sixth flight of the meet. I ran to my car to get all my equipment out of the rain. My camera survived but my phone did not.

One of my favorite moments of the meet was talking to Glenbard West’s Lindsey Payne after she won the 2^nd flight. She talked about getting ready for her race when she had a problem. “I went to one of the porta-potties before my race and my phone fell in,” she said as her parents and coaches stood around her. She went into detail as we all started to laugh. I won’t go into the %$*&$ details.

As I got out of my wet clothes when I got home, I let my kids know that my phone was down and they could reach me on Facebook. Two seconds later, I received an e-mail from my daughter who was also at the meet. “Can you come pick me up? Our bus is stuck in the mud and I need a ride home,” she told me.

It was just one of those days.

October 15

The Upstate Eight Conference Meet is not one of the big meets of the conference meets. I would have liked to see all the action at the WSC-Silver Championships. I had a good crew there to capture what happened. I was at the Stuart Sports Complex to watch my daughter Meghan run for Bartlett High School.

This was her senior year. It was a roller coaster up to this point. An illness slowed her down during the first part of the season. She was coming on strong towards the end of the year with a chance of making it into the top seven for her team. I was hoping that this was not going to be her last race. She said that she was not going to run track and not run in college. I knew the time she had to run after the Frosh/Soph and the Varsity races had been run. She gave me permission to yell at her during races her freshman year. We talked about running on many occasions. When she asked me about a workout and what I thought about it, I always told her she needed to talk to her coach. I was her dad, not her coach. When it came down to a decision, it was up to her coach.

I ran around the course finding a spot to yell encouragements to her. I waited by the finish line waiting for her to finish. I looked at my stopwatch and saw her coming in. I knew she was not going to finish ahead of the time that she needed. For the next 20 seconds before she crossed that line, I realized this was her last race. She was not happy afterwards but she accepted what she had just done. It just wasn’t her day. She had a good running career achieving things that I did not believe she could. Improving seven minutes was good to start with. She was also named one of the captains on the team like me when I was the same age. I know that the past four years of watching her run was one of the best gifts that I have ever received.

November 4-6

(State Meet Recaps: 3A Boys | 3A Girls | 2A Boys & Girls | 1A Boys & Girls)

(Newton: lessons learned)

This weekend all started back in the middle of July. I received a phone call on a Saturday night from York Head Coach Charlie Kern. He informed me that my old Coach Joe Newton had decided that this would be his final year of coaching. Charlie and I talked about the details and how the decision was made. The following night, my teammate in high school Jim Hedman who was an assistant coach at York called and asked me what I had heard. I told him that I had talked to Charlie the night before. We went on and talked for close to 90 minutes. Most of it was sentimental talking about what this man had meant to us. The following morning, I called Mr. Newton who was in Arizona. He told me the same thing that Charlie and Jim had told me. He was at ease with the decision. He mentally still had it. He physically could not do it anymore. All three told me this was off the record. I could not say anything until after the press conference. I did not. The night before the press conference and the morning before, there were stories that were floating around the internet that were not accurate. I wanted to publish something. I gave my word. I waited until afterwards to publish my thoughts.

The season went on as usual. I would receive a phone call from Mr. Newton asking how the team was doing and what was going on with the rest of the state. It was just like every other year with Mr. Newton. More and more it was hitting me that this was the finale. When I talked to him in July, I asked if he was pulling another “Michael Jordan” giving himself less than a 1% chance of returning. He told me that in 1999 yet he ended up coaching another 16 years. “No Michael,” he told me. “This is it.”

The week of the state meet is always the busiest for me. I have previews to write. On the Wednesday before state, I was at my daughter’s cross country awards ceremony. I was up until 2 in the morning hoping to finish the previews. I instead ended up in tears watching the Cubs win Game 7 of the World Series. That Wednesday was also important because Mr. Newton’s was going to be back addressing his team for one of his last meetings at York. I was scheduled to go to the last organizational meetings for the celebration that would take place on Sunday the day after the state meet. I decided to stay at the track. I am glad I did. I did video tape it. I have not watched it yet. The memories of that meeting I will always remember. It was the last time he talked to the York team. He was going to talk to the squad on Thursday. He did not feel good that Wednesday night ending up in the emergency room.

He had decided he would not go to Detweiller Park on Saturday. He did not want to be a distraction to the team but more importantly he just could not do it physically. I got to practice at York that day and was told by York assistant Matt Mimlitz that he was not there. Matt told me that Mr. Newton did want to see me at his hotel. Parents were arriving for the last day of practice. One of the parents asked me to talk to Mr. Newton and convince him that he needed to be in Peoria. “He has convinced me to do things that I never thought I could do,” I told the parent. “I am not going to convince him to go.” I went to the hotel and we talked for an hour. We talked about the upcoming state meet and then other things.

State weekend was going to be a grind. For the first time in 38 years, the 1978 state championship team that I was on was going to meet at a restaurant after the state meet. It meant changing my schedule for that weekend. Thank goodness for Daylight Savings time ending that night giving me an extra hour. I would not miss that night for the world. I had plenty of things to do that night when I got back from Peoria but those would have to wait. I finished what I needed to do by 8 AM that Sunday. I got less than an hour of sleep but I finished what I needed to. I also got to spend time with my “brothers”. Once you are on a championship team, that bond with your teammates stays with you forever.

That Saturday was memorable. Anna Sophia Keller winning her fourth straight 1A championship is something I will never forget. The one thing about the state meet is how I cover it. It would drive me crazy if I just stood by the finish line waiting for the runners to come by. At the Nike Cross Nationals, there is a big jumbotron at the finish where you can watch the webcast of the race. I could be lazy and watch there. I always want to run around points on the course. I want to look into the runner’s eyes and see what they are feeling. That will never change for me. It means I run around the course six times. The final time coming up to the finish line, I heard someone say, “Do you need us to call 911?”

I looked like crap but I knew my restraints. My knee had been killing me all year making it tough to make it from point to point. On this day, it was nagging but feeling good. I looked for the voice that was yelling that and I saw some familiar faces. Richard Brooks, Mike Durkin, and Ken Popejoy are legends in the Illinois running community. There were smiles on their faces as I looked over. They were one of many that had told me how much they appreciated what I did. They told me on the drive on that Saturday morning that were reading the previews on the way down. Their words that they told me meant the world to me.

I also got to see a special moment. Soren Knudsen crossed the finish line to win the 3A Championship. In 1981, I was at the state meet watching my brother Dan run. Jim Knudsen won that race by less than a second ahead of Ryan Stoll. Jim and I have become friends over the years. It was fun to watch his reaction after he saw his son cross the line as a state champ.

Sunday was memorable. I was dead tired but was in the moment. You find the energy to enjoy that moment. There were so many former York runners that returned to the school. There were so many faces that I had not seen in such a long time. “I remember the time you drove down us down to the state meet,” former York runner James Sheridan told me as he gave me a hug. “Thank you so much for doing that.” There were memories that were shared with each other. There were embraces that were shared. All of this was because of one man.

Mr. Newton arrived to York around noon. He told Jim Hedman who was riding in the limo with him, “I hope there are people at the school?” There were more than 3000 people there to greet the coaching legend. It took him it seemed forever to get to the fieldhouse named after him. I approached him as he entered the fieldhouse to check in. His first response was “Hey Michael, tell me about yesterday?” It felt like old times.

I was invited to a special dinner after the ceremony where we could share moments with him. It gave me a chance to talk to Ken Popejoy a little more. He coached me my last 2 years at North Central College and always is great to talk to. Close to 8:30 PM, it was finally time to end this day. I checked out with Mr. Newton. I know it was not the last. I know there will be more. My going out for Cross Country at York in the fall of 1976 was a life changer for me. It has opened doors and given me so many life lessons. As I walked out that door, I thought that this weekend was a reminder of how important men like Joe Newton, Al Carius, and Ken Popejoy have been to me and others during these years.

I was asleep 2 minutes after I got home. What a weekend that I had just experienced.