By Michael Newman, DyeStat Illinois Editor

Chapter 15: State Week

I was up on Sunday morning. I knew I had to be at school at 11 for the optional practice. I was over to the drug store to pick up the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune. That was the only source for cross country results. I wanted to see how everyone had done. I did not want to wait for Timely Times on Tuesday.

A five minute walk back from the drug store took 15 minutes. It was a slow walk as I looked through the three area sectionals that were in our area. I could not believe that Glenbard West barely made it out of their sectional at Lockport. They were fifth. Thornridge won the team championship. Fremd, who was ranked #2 by Timely Times, was second in their sectional behind Prospect. There were thoughts going through our minds of how good these teams really were.

When I got to school, Newton was already there and had the same papers. He mentioned those two sectional results telling us that anything could happen next Saturday. That was the last time he mentioned any of those teams for the rest of the week. It was state week. His focus would be on us. It did not matter what everyone else did. That was something we could not control.

State week at York is full of beginnings and ends. Friday would be the beginning of the odyssey that was the State Cross Country Meet. All week was the end of the season. It was something that we did not want to end but it was inevitable.

It was our last race to Bullfrog Lake. We were teenagers. We wanted to get out of the parking lot inconspicuously and then let it rip down Route 83. We were lucky that Mr. Newton forgot something in his office. That was our queue to wave the green flag. I could not tell you who won that day but I think the speed limit was broken. For that moment, that speech that Newton gave us the day before to make sure that we did everything right went out the window. Our competitive nature kicked in.

It was a beautiful day at the Forest Preserve. The sun was out. The leaves had changed making the scene that we were going through beautiful. We just enjoyed an easy hour run talking as we went down the trails. The intensity from the day before was the complete opposite. We got to the end of the run and we were about ready to head towards the parking lot where Newton was waiting for us. I got to that chain that I unsuccessfully cleared a couple of weeks ago. This time I went around it. Lesson learned. “Do not say a thing,” I muttered out as I was doing this. I was just beating everyone to the punch.

There were so many banners that were all over the school on Monday. Ride the Bus to Peoria for the state meet was all over the place. Everywhere I turned, I would see a banner with us running. Fran Austria, who was a hurdler on the track team and a pretty good artist, drew a post with drawings of each of us. It was promoting everyone to go to the state meet. It was an inside joke directed to all of us. Willie was leading a line of the five seniors. It looked like he was snapping his fingers. There was a fence separating them from Henry and me. He looked like he was pushing something. There were days that Henry would push the pace on days where we did not want to. It was one of the reasons why we were where we were at. Fran drew me trying to climb over a fence. It is a picture that I have hanging in my office. You treasure things like that when you get older.

I did not get a chance to take in the week of state aura throughout the school. I went from class to class. I would get to class with just a moment to spare. A few people that would sit around me in my classes would chat about little things. I would say hello to people that would say hi to me in the hallway. Otherwise, I just wanted to go to school and deal with want I needed to take care of. It was not that I was arrogant but very much of an introvert.  I was a gawky thin guy that ran cross country. I did not hang out in the hallway between classes with the other athletes and cheerleaders. It made me uncomfortable. That is just how God made me.

Wednesday was our continual day. It was a fun day. Every song we sang during the year was sung on those three segments. It was a time where we could spend one more run together saying things and singing things that made us closer as a team. From after that state meet, it would be something that we would never be able to do again or would be the same or have the same meaning. It was a moment in time that we had to take advantage of. We just had to.

There would be people that would come to talk to us that week. George Andrews was a lawyer who then was an agent to some of the top athletes in the country. He also use to be one of Mr. Newton’s managers in the sixties. He told us about the teams in the past. He also told us that he had already figured out the state meet. All of our work would be for naught if we did not believe in ourselves.

All the special speakers were over by Thursday. That day belonged to the seniors. That meeting belonged to Newton. It was our last practice together as an entire team.

He was business like at first. He reminded us what time we needed to be in the lobby tomorrow morning before we left for Peoria. He reminded the guys who were not traveling to Peoria to make sure that we had all of their equipment turned in. If that did not happen, no letter or numerals. We also voted on who the captains were for the season and who the most valuable runner was. Only the upperclassmen could do this.

Then, he called each of the seniors to stand up when he called their names. It was one last acknowledgement from the rest of the team and him. When the last senior’s name was called, the seniors sat down. Then Mr. Newton said these words:

“You men have given me and York High School so much over the last four years. It has been an honor to be your coach.”

He stopped for a moment to compose himself. That just was not going to happen. It was something that happened every year on the last day of practice. Boys enter York on the first day of practice and give everything that have for four years. They leave as men learning out so much about themselves and life from Mr. Newton.

By this point, he was almost in tears. He produced a handkerchief from his pocket to dispose of that salty discharge from his eyes. It was not the first time that he broke down in a meeting. When his father passed away two years before, he talked about that telling all of us to go home and tell our parents that we loved them before it was too late.

“You will always be a part of York High School. You have sacrificed so much for me, for your teammates, and this school. I will do anything for you.”

It was true. In the future if I needed a reference, I would let Mr. Newton know and he would call the person. When I was interviewing, the person that I was talking to would tell me that he had talked to your old cross country coach. Mr. Newton would make sure that his men would be taken care of.

Our last practice at the schools was 3 x 440’s with a three minute rest. We were all together running 64, 62, 60. We then headed across the street to run a final cool down. We were in groups. It was starting to get dark outside and the lights around the drive were starting to take effect. When Newton came out of the lobby to shake our hand and check us out for one final time, the groups that were running separately turned into one long green line. The seniors started clapping as we went around that circle.

“Newton is the greatest” was the chant in unison that came from every runner in that line. It went on for the last two laps. We stopped and checked out with Mr. Newton, then headed inside to the indoor track. Our track back then was a slab of concrete underneath the gym. 13 laps to the mile. For indoor track season, it was a sweatbox with so many people in there.

We were all in the bleachers there as we handed out the team awards. They were unique in a way. Some of the awards were serious like the most improved runner of the year. Newton would announce who the captain was and most valuable runners. The rest of the awards were good nature jabs at the rest of the team. The seniors would vote on these. The “Hospital Award” for example was the runner who missed the most days because of an injury. Tim Krull got that because of all the time he missed because of stress fractures and bone spurs that he had. He did end up running in the conference meet at the end of the year.

Steve Reid was the winner of the “Gold Brick” award. He was the guy that would do the least amount of work and try to get away with it. I won two awards that year. I captured the “Finger Award”. You already have an idea why I got that. The other was the “Dirty Sock” award for the guy that told the worst jokes on the team. Maybe it was the bad impersonations as well. It was a fun time. The last time that we would all be together. There was plenty of laughter throughout that indoor hole.

The most improved runner that year was a sophomore Gary Johnson. He was one guy that would give his all in every work out and meet. He ran 13:36 for two miles as a freshman. This year he dropped his time to 11:13. He truly deserved that.

Phil Williams was voted captain and most valuable on our team. He was the guy that was up there when we needed him the most. He was also the voice of reason on our team. Whenever there was an argument or if one of us came up with a stupid idea, Willie was the one to say, “Maybe that is not a good idea.”

It was close to six o’clock and my parents actually picked my brother and me up from practice. When I got home, there was spaghetti waiting for me. I knew I wanted to get to sleep at a decent time but knew I had to pack for the weekend. Thank goodness I had no homework for Friday. I think some of the teachers knew that something was happening this weekend. I had a checklist of everything that I needed. I could smell banana bread baking in the kitchen. My mom was going to send a loaf down to state with me. I would be sharing a room with Henry downstate like we did for the Peoria Invite. He asked me if mom was making the bread. He was happy once I told him.

I looked around my room to make sure I had everything. My suit was out for tomorrow morning. My bags were packed. I was tired.

It was the last time I would go through just myself in my thoughts of the race. I kept jumping ahead to the Peoria Central gymnasium where the awards would be. I told myself that I had to get through that race first. I felt every bump of that Detweiller course. I sensed how I would feel coming out of the triangle. I sensed how I would feel before getting to the chute. That is when I stopped. I felt good. I felt like I was ready to complete the odyssey that I had put myself on one year ago at this meet. I felt my eyes close.