By Michael Newman

Today is the first day of summer. However, there are few stories from the track season that need to be told. With that, let’s look at some of the stories that may have slipped by the average eye.

He gets his wish

One of the biggest things that will give a meet director an ulcer is when an athlete may not run in your meet. I knew Jack Keelan (St. Ignatius HS, Chicago) was going to run at the Midwest Distance Festival. At one of the meets before state meet, I asked his coach Ed Ernst if Jack was planning on running in the MDF. Ed replied that he was but he wanted Connor Mora (Cedar Springs MI) in the race as well. At the Midwest Distance Festival in 2012, Mora passed Keelan in the final straightaway to take second place.

Mora passed on the Festival this year. He had a tough end of season running in the Dream Mile in New York City at the end of May then his state meet the following week. He needed the rest and I understood that.

Keelan won the mile at this year’s Midwest Distance Festival. He did have to wait a week to get one more shot at Mora, that being at the New Balance Nationals in North Carolina. Henry Wynne had the race won as he moved with 250 meters to go. Mora passed Keelan on the back straight. It looked like deja-vous. Keelan has worked on his finish kick all year and it showed in the final 150 meters when Keelan passed Mora to take second.

Not in the cards

There were some fans that were scratching their heads at the York Girls Sectional in May when the 2012 3A 4x8 champs Wheaton-Warrenville South decided not to run their top squad in the 4x8 in the 2013 state meet instead concentrating on individual events. The plan was to run that relay at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals.

The Lady Tigers decided to run two races last weekend at North Carolina: the championship 4 x 8 relay on Saturday night, then the Emerging Elites Distance Medley the next morning.

The team from Wheaton ran a season best of 9:15 that placed them ninth overall in the event. It was not what they expected but they moved on to the Distance Medley the next morning. It was a good thing that they did. Their time of 12:03 won the race thus giving the senior quartet of McKenna Kiple, Helen Majer, Erin Herrmann, and Hope Schmelzle a nice way to end their career. I really think if they were in the fast section later on that day, this team would have placed in the top 5.

“For as bad as they ran last night (so they said), they ran with ultimate confidence and purpose this morning,” said Wheaton-Warrenville South coach Rob Harvey. “I was so proud of them today. Maybe the DMR was our event all along.”

A relay to watch in 2014

With Nathaniel Kucera winning the Midwest Distance Festival in 1:51.33 two weeks ago, Kaneland coach Eric Baron will have a 4 x 8 team that may be one of the best next year in the country. The Knights won the 2A 4 x 800 Meter Relay at the 2013 state meet. All four runners from that team return. With Kyle Carter running 1:54 this spring along with Conor Johnson & Luis Acosta that ran near 2:00 and capable of running faster in 2014, this is a team that could be under 7:40. Only time will tell. We could see them at the Penn Relays next April.

Finally…

Hanson Stadium in Chicago has been a 440 yard track since the beginning of time. In the last couple of weeks, the track was redone with the big thing news being that the track now is 400 meters.

Welcome to the 21^st century Hanson Stadium.

Transfer news

I have already begun to look at the 2013 cross country season and figuring who will be some of the top teams in the state. Naperville North, the defending 3A champs, will return the bulk of their squad this fall. They will also add Jenny Gibson, a sophomore, who moved into Naperville last winter from Pennsylvania. In her freshman cross country season in Pennsylvania, Gibson was an all-state runner finishing in the top 25 at her state meet.

Glenbard West will challenge them and will be a little bit stronger. Madeline Perez and Lisa Luczak will be the front runners for the Lady Hilltoppers. They will be a little stronger with the transfer of Lindsay Graham from Glenbard East.

“There have been many tears as I absolutely adore my track coach (Joe Latala),” Graham told me in April. “My family was too big for my house in Lombard. It went on the market and sold in exactly one day. The house that had everything my parents wanted was in Glenbard West territory.” It made her track season somewhat bittersweet as she was all-state for Glenbard East knowing that she would not be there in the fall.

Boys State Meet Part 2

I said what I wanted to say about what happened in the Boys state meet in May. I have received a number of letters from coaches telling me their horror stories of disqualifications.

I also said what I needed to say in the last Monday Morning Finish Line of the season.

The advisory committee will meet in September. Here is the link to the coaches / administrators that are on that committee. I would encourage all the Illinois High school coaches to e-mail their thoughts about the running of this year’s state meet.

And finally…

It is one of those things that I have wanted to write about. But with it being as hecic as it was at the end of the season, I wanted to make sure that I did not rush what you will read. So I apologize for the lateness of this.

In Memoriam – Len Kisellus 1924-2013

Len Kisellus, the former coach of Deerfield High School, passed away on May 1^st. The one person that informed about this was former Deerfield runner Mark McCallister who was a member of the Deerfield state championship teams of 1976 & 1977.

The Deerfield cross country team of 1977 is considered as one of the top teams of all time. Yes, the York team of 1999 had a better team time than the Deerfield team. I’m familiar with both teams since I ran for York in the late 70’s and I was able to see the Deerfield team first hand. That Deerfield team dealt with injuries, sickness, and overwhelming pressure during that year.  Before the state meet, Kisellus was quoted as saying, “Deerfield again has an outstanding group of runners, however, this year’s squad has caused me all kinds of worries. The defending state and national champs have been beset by numerous injuries and sickness. Despite the adversities, the team has managed to perform superbly under the pressure of living to its #1 ranking week in and week out.” (Illinois Track & Field News, 11-12-77). They also ran with Mark McCallister who had to drop out of the state race at the mile due to an injury that occurred the week prior at their sectional race.

After Deerfield won, Kisellus informed his team and the press that the 1977 season would be his last season. “This has been the roughest season ever. Especially this week. I was so keyed up Thursday that I could not sleep. And that rubs off on my wife,” he said. “I did not want to tell the kids before the race. I didn’t want them to run with a let’s win won for the gipper attitude. They’re too good for that.”

They were. Our first outdoor track meet would always be a quad meet at the old Arlington High School and Deerfield was always there. I ran the sophomore 2 mile. I was SUPPOSED to get out of my spikes and start to cool down. I didn’t. I stood on the side of the track watching McCallister, Hampton, and Rutstein run a 2 mile making 9:13 look so easy. That all reflected back on Coach Kisellus and what he had taught his students.

“I had the great opportunity of bringing him here in 2007 when we brought back the 1977 National Champions CC team for the 30th Anniversary Celebration,” said current Deerfield Cross Country Coach Jeremy Kaufmann. “He got to see his boys one last time as we had a great time as each member and Len got to speak to our team. He gave me some pendants that he always gave to his State teams and my boys this fall all got one after the State race and they were truly understood what that meant so a piece of Len still carries on with Deerfield Distance.”

“If truth be told, on one level I am happy Coach Kisellus' will be remembered by his great teams,” said McCallister. “But I would be far better satisfied if everyone remembered what a fine man Coach Kisellus was. He was under tremendous pressure, both internal and external, during those years, but yet never strayed from standing behind his athletes in a personal way and being irrevocably in their corner.”