1 Mile run 5-28-1977 State Meet Finals
1st Place 4:08.6 Bob Hicks
Bob Hahn
(class of 1981)
Welcome once again to “Great Sandburg Races”. This is the 6th addition of the classic Sandburg races and it focuses on the amazing Eagle runner Bob Hicks. He had many outstanding races in his Sandburg career including finishing 13th in Cross Country and 2nd in the mile as a Junior, 12th in Cross Country as a Senior (14:30) and 1st in State in the mile as a Senior (4:08.6).
Part of the dynamic duo of Hicks and Graves, “Hickory” as he was known by his teammates was one of the greats in Illinois running history. His greatest race, the mile run in May of 1977, was an exclamation point on a storied high school career. Nearly breaking the Illinois record that day, it may have only been the heat that stopped him from being the fastest miler ever in Illinois up to that point. And he still remains only a hand full of seconds off the State Meet record.
It was May 28th, 1977 and the first heat wave of the early summer was in full swing as seems to happen often on the storied Charleston, IL track. With temperatures reaching into the 90’s by noon and rising, part of the athlete’s strategies that day involved making sure the heat didn’t ruin their chances at finishing strong and preventing them from taking their place in Illinois track history.
While Tom and Coach Gene Kowert where at the track preparing for the 2 mile run, Bob and Coach Dean Carlson stayed back at the hotel and relaxed in the air conditioned comfort. As Coach Carson recalled, “I had one job that day, and that was to get Hickory to the meet on time. My biggest fear was that the car was going to break down on the way and we wouldn’t make it to the track! But all went well and we pulled into the north parking lot by the fieldhouse and were able to see the second half of Tom’s 2 mile run from the fence along the back stretch. One thing I remember was that every time Gravey would pass the crowd, they would rise in the grandstands as he went by and from the backstretch it took the form of ‘the wave’. The site of that pumped Bob up so much!” To see his teammate and best friend win the race handily over the great Jim Spivey of Bensenville in a blistering 8:51.87 was all Bob needed to prepare for his race in a few hours.
Coach Kowert was extremely close to Bob. He was going to do everything he could to help show that Hickory took his rightful place among the great Illinois runners in history. It seemed that Bob had recovered fully from a bout with mono the previous summer. But he was not happy with his performance at Detweiller, knowing that he could easily have finished among the top 5 finishers, and nothing was going to stop him from claiming his first title. Coach Carlson recalled, “Gene knew that Bob was hurting. And he knew that Bob was hungry to show that he was better than his 12th and 13th place finishes in Cross Country. He didn’t want to be only known for middle distance.” Between Cross Country and track seasons in ’76, Coach Kowert secured plane tickets from the local chamber of commerce to take Bob to the west coast to race against some of the best runners in the nation. “They headed out west and relaxed on the sunny beaches,” Carlson recalled. “I can’t remember if he won that race or not, but I do remember he ran great. It really helped him get mentally prepared for his final track season.”
In his Senior track season, Hicks won his sectional in the mile and helped qualify the 2 mile relay team as they finished first as well. “But our feeling was that we couldn’t win that race at state” said Carlson, “and we would score more points with Bob in the mile and make sure he had his best chance to win.” They substituted a young sophomore, Mike Choffin, into the relay line up along with Joey Golden, Forrest Sebold and Bob Hardek. They didn’t quite qualify for the final that day but ran well. (Young Choffin would go on to capture 7thas a Junior and 3rd as a senior in the mile at state) So the stage was set…Bob would join his teammate Tom Graves in the mile to try to make history as the first teammates to go 1-2 in the mile run in Illinois.
Coach Carlson recalls, “Bob ran a near perfect race. He went out fast, I think he came through the half under 2 minutes.” He left the field behind coming through the ¾ mile close to 3 flat. “Tom was working things out among the pack that was following, the 2 mile may have taken its toll on him with the heat.” But as Hicks was cruising to victory, Gravey was hell bent on making sure that Sandburg would finish 1-2. With a tremendous kick in the last 440, Tom moved all the way up to 2nd place and had a tremendous amount of momentum crossing the finish line. Bob recalled recently, “Great memories. It was a great day for Sandburg track! No team points heading into the last day and we ended up in 3rd. Thanks to Tom’s great double!”. Bob pointed out that he was glad the race wasn’t any longer or maybe Tom would have passed him. Graves said, “Shoot…not in a hundred years could I have caught you! You ran a perfect race that allowed us to go 1-2. Best distance program in the state and everyone knew it! Especially Papa Joe Newton. I know it burned his goat and that is what Bob and I enjoyed most!” Well, maybe in track for a few years Tom was right. The great Dukes of York had to take a back seat to the 2 Sandburg distance legends as they scorched the individual distance events between 1976 and 1978.
I don’t know if 2 teammates could have been any closer. These guys loved each other. Bob chose to go to Auburn where he had a great college career, and Tom soon followed after completing a sweep of the 2 mile and 1 mile in his senior year. Coach Carlson stated, “Tom could have gone anywhere in the nation to run. He chose Auburn because his brother was there. Bob Hicks.” Gravey (a 6 time state champion) stated recently, “My greatest achievement came in my second place mile finish. It made possible the only 1-2 finish by teammates in Illinois distance history. Bob got his state championship and Sandburg had its best state meet place ever by finishing 3rd. AND, Coach Kowert was named Distance Coach of the Year! It doesn’t get any better than that…”
(class of 1981)
Welcome once again to “Great Sandburg Races”. This is the 6th addition of the classic Sandburg races and it focuses on the amazing Eagle runner Bob Hicks. He had many outstanding races in his Sandburg career including finishing 13th in Cross Country and 2nd in the mile as a Junior, 12th in Cross Country as a Senior (14:30) and 1st in State in the mile as a Senior (4:08.6).
Part of the dynamic duo of Hicks and Graves, “Hickory” as he was known by his teammates was one of the greats in Illinois running history. His greatest race, the mile run in May of 1977, was an exclamation point on a storied high school career. Nearly breaking the Illinois record that day, it may have only been the heat that stopped him from being the fastest miler ever in Illinois up to that point. And he still remains only a hand full of seconds off the State Meet record.
It was May 28th, 1977 and the first heat wave of the early summer was in full swing as seems to happen often on the storied Charleston, IL track. With temperatures reaching into the 90’s by noon and rising, part of the athlete’s strategies that day involved making sure the heat didn’t ruin their chances at finishing strong and preventing them from taking their place in Illinois track history.
While Tom and Coach Gene Kowert where at the track preparing for the 2 mile run, Bob and Coach Dean Carlson stayed back at the hotel and relaxed in the air conditioned comfort. As Coach Carson recalled, “I had one job that day, and that was to get Hickory to the meet on time. My biggest fear was that the car was going to break down on the way and we wouldn’t make it to the track! But all went well and we pulled into the north parking lot by the fieldhouse and were able to see the second half of Tom’s 2 mile run from the fence along the back stretch. One thing I remember was that every time Gravey would pass the crowd, they would rise in the grandstands as he went by and from the backstretch it took the form of ‘the wave’. The site of that pumped Bob up so much!” To see his teammate and best friend win the race handily over the great Jim Spivey of Bensenville in a blistering 8:51.87 was all Bob needed to prepare for his race in a few hours.
Coach Kowert was extremely close to Bob. He was going to do everything he could to help show that Hickory took his rightful place among the great Illinois runners in history. It seemed that Bob had recovered fully from a bout with mono the previous summer. But he was not happy with his performance at Detweiller, knowing that he could easily have finished among the top 5 finishers, and nothing was going to stop him from claiming his first title. Coach Carlson recalled, “Gene knew that Bob was hurting. And he knew that Bob was hungry to show that he was better than his 12th and 13th place finishes in Cross Country. He didn’t want to be only known for middle distance.” Between Cross Country and track seasons in ’76, Coach Kowert secured plane tickets from the local chamber of commerce to take Bob to the west coast to race against some of the best runners in the nation. “They headed out west and relaxed on the sunny beaches,” Carlson recalled. “I can’t remember if he won that race or not, but I do remember he ran great. It really helped him get mentally prepared for his final track season.”
In his Senior track season, Hicks won his sectional in the mile and helped qualify the 2 mile relay team as they finished first as well. “But our feeling was that we couldn’t win that race at state” said Carlson, “and we would score more points with Bob in the mile and make sure he had his best chance to win.” They substituted a young sophomore, Mike Choffin, into the relay line up along with Joey Golden, Forrest Sebold and Bob Hardek. They didn’t quite qualify for the final that day but ran well. (Young Choffin would go on to capture 7thas a Junior and 3rd as a senior in the mile at state) So the stage was set…Bob would join his teammate Tom Graves in the mile to try to make history as the first teammates to go 1-2 in the mile run in Illinois.
Coach Carlson recalls, “Bob ran a near perfect race. He went out fast, I think he came through the half under 2 minutes.” He left the field behind coming through the ¾ mile close to 3 flat. “Tom was working things out among the pack that was following, the 2 mile may have taken its toll on him with the heat.” But as Hicks was cruising to victory, Gravey was hell bent on making sure that Sandburg would finish 1-2. With a tremendous kick in the last 440, Tom moved all the way up to 2nd place and had a tremendous amount of momentum crossing the finish line. Bob recalled recently, “Great memories. It was a great day for Sandburg track! No team points heading into the last day and we ended up in 3rd. Thanks to Tom’s great double!”. Bob pointed out that he was glad the race wasn’t any longer or maybe Tom would have passed him. Graves said, “Shoot…not in a hundred years could I have caught you! You ran a perfect race that allowed us to go 1-2. Best distance program in the state and everyone knew it! Especially Papa Joe Newton. I know it burned his goat and that is what Bob and I enjoyed most!” Well, maybe in track for a few years Tom was right. The great Dukes of York had to take a back seat to the 2 Sandburg distance legends as they scorched the individual distance events between 1976 and 1978.
I don’t know if 2 teammates could have been any closer. These guys loved each other. Bob chose to go to Auburn where he had a great college career, and Tom soon followed after completing a sweep of the 2 mile and 1 mile in his senior year. Coach Carlson stated, “Tom could have gone anywhere in the nation to run. He chose Auburn because his brother was there. Bob Hicks.” Gravey (a 6 time state champion) stated recently, “My greatest achievement came in my second place mile finish. It made possible the only 1-2 finish by teammates in Illinois distance history. Bob got his state championship and Sandburg had its best state meet place ever by finishing 3rd. AND, Coach Kowert was named Distance Coach of the Year! It doesn’t get any better than that…”
Bob Hicks - 1 mile State champ - 4:08.6
It’s been 46 years since the IHSA State Track Meet in 1977, but some of the memories of that weekend are as clear now as they were then. Some others, maybe not so much. I will try to give my thoughts on the day and especially on the mile run final where Tom and I were able to go 1-2 and secure a third place team finish for Sandburg.
Spring of 1977 was the end of my senior year and my last chance to win an individual championship. I had always run well in Charleston, but I hadn’t exactly been tearing it up in the few weeks before that. I had finished second in the mile final the year before but had really underperformed in the state cross-country meet the two previous fall seasons. I was headed to Charleston knowing that this was my last chance.
Getting through the semi’s on Friday was pretty easy and both Tom and I were ready for the finals the next day. Tom was also going to run the two-mile final on Saturday morning, of which he was the favorite. Coaches Kowert, Carlson and I had made the decision to not run me in the 4 x 800 so that I had a greater chance at a championship and more potential points for the team.
Coach Carlson and I stayed back at the hotel Saturday morning and planned to show up just before Tom ran. Coach Carlson had one job- to get me to the meet in the best frame of mind as possible. We arrived shortly before the two-mile final and were able to see Tom win easily. Great start to the day.
I remember warming up in the field house and running a little bit outside; it was a really hot day so it was pretty easy to get loose. Tom and I hung out mostly inside until they called us to get ready for the race. Shortly before the start, Coach Kowert motioned me over to the fence by the starting line, looked at me and calmly said “four years of hard work, you’re ready, go do it.” Coach knew exactly what I needed and always made me feel that he had confidence in me.
It was a staggered start and I think I was in lane 3-4. Knowing this was my final chance, I knew I had to get out on the first turn and avoid being boxed. Once the gun went off, I felt very comfortable getting out and my form felt pretty decent. As we came onto the straightaway and I cut in, I expected to get some pressure, but no one was there.
As we came up on the end of the first lap, I was still alone. I now realized why as they called out “:57” for the first quarter split. It didn’t feel that fast and I still felt really comfortable. Still, no one had come up on me yet. So I just kept it going.
I was in my own rhythm now and really feeling good. I think that my 880 split was 1:58 and my ¾ split was 3:01. I may be a second or two off on those, but I think they are correct. Still, no one had come up on me. I knew I had one lap to go.
As I headed down the back stretch, I started to realize that this was mine to win or lose. When I started into the last curve, a guy on the inside of the track said “you got a big lead, looking good!” As I came onto the last straightaway, a huge sense of relief came over me and I enjoyed every second until the end of the race. Just after I had crossed the finish line, Tom came flying past. Where in the heck did he come from?
It was an awesome day for Sandburg as our 1-2 finish and Tom’s two-mile victory gave us 28 points and a third place finish. I finally had a championship and Tom had a fantastic double. Tom was the toughest competitor I ever ran against and more than that, he made everyone around him better. I would never have been the runner I was if he was not there to push me.
My final time was 4:08.6 which I believe was later converted to 4:07.1 metric. It was one of those rare days when everything felt great once the race started, but I had no intention of ever going out that fast or running the whole race solo. As I thought about it later, it was probably not a bad strategy as Tom was probably a little stiff getting up to speed in the race from having run the two-mile earlier.
Coach Carlson told me later that he and Coach K thought I might get the state record that day as I was heading into the last lap. In hindsight, I think I could have pushed it more the last 220 as I don’t remember being spent, but sometimes the euphoria takes away the pain and clouds your memory. As it was, if the race had gone another 20 feet, Tom would probably have caught me.
It’s been 46 years since the IHSA State Track Meet in 1977, but some of the memories of that weekend are as clear now as they were then. Some others, maybe not so much. I will try to give my thoughts on the day and especially on the mile run final where Tom and I were able to go 1-2 and secure a third place team finish for Sandburg.
Spring of 1977 was the end of my senior year and my last chance to win an individual championship. I had always run well in Charleston, but I hadn’t exactly been tearing it up in the few weeks before that. I had finished second in the mile final the year before but had really underperformed in the state cross-country meet the two previous fall seasons. I was headed to Charleston knowing that this was my last chance.
Getting through the semi’s on Friday was pretty easy and both Tom and I were ready for the finals the next day. Tom was also going to run the two-mile final on Saturday morning, of which he was the favorite. Coaches Kowert, Carlson and I had made the decision to not run me in the 4 x 800 so that I had a greater chance at a championship and more potential points for the team.
Coach Carlson and I stayed back at the hotel Saturday morning and planned to show up just before Tom ran. Coach Carlson had one job- to get me to the meet in the best frame of mind as possible. We arrived shortly before the two-mile final and were able to see Tom win easily. Great start to the day.
I remember warming up in the field house and running a little bit outside; it was a really hot day so it was pretty easy to get loose. Tom and I hung out mostly inside until they called us to get ready for the race. Shortly before the start, Coach Kowert motioned me over to the fence by the starting line, looked at me and calmly said “four years of hard work, you’re ready, go do it.” Coach knew exactly what I needed and always made me feel that he had confidence in me.
It was a staggered start and I think I was in lane 3-4. Knowing this was my final chance, I knew I had to get out on the first turn and avoid being boxed. Once the gun went off, I felt very comfortable getting out and my form felt pretty decent. As we came onto the straightaway and I cut in, I expected to get some pressure, but no one was there.
As we came up on the end of the first lap, I was still alone. I now realized why as they called out “:57” for the first quarter split. It didn’t feel that fast and I still felt really comfortable. Still, no one had come up on me yet. So I just kept it going.
I was in my own rhythm now and really feeling good. I think that my 880 split was 1:58 and my ¾ split was 3:01. I may be a second or two off on those, but I think they are correct. Still, no one had come up on me. I knew I had one lap to go.
As I headed down the back stretch, I started to realize that this was mine to win or lose. When I started into the last curve, a guy on the inside of the track said “you got a big lead, looking good!” As I came onto the last straightaway, a huge sense of relief came over me and I enjoyed every second until the end of the race. Just after I had crossed the finish line, Tom came flying past. Where in the heck did he come from?
It was an awesome day for Sandburg as our 1-2 finish and Tom’s two-mile victory gave us 28 points and a third place finish. I finally had a championship and Tom had a fantastic double. Tom was the toughest competitor I ever ran against and more than that, he made everyone around him better. I would never have been the runner I was if he was not there to push me.
My final time was 4:08.6 which I believe was later converted to 4:07.1 metric. It was one of those rare days when everything felt great once the race started, but I had no intention of ever going out that fast or running the whole race solo. As I thought about it later, it was probably not a bad strategy as Tom was probably a little stiff getting up to speed in the race from having run the two-mile earlier.
Coach Carlson told me later that he and Coach K thought I might get the state record that day as I was heading into the last lap. In hindsight, I think I could have pushed it more the last 220 as I don’t remember being spent, but sometimes the euphoria takes away the pain and clouds your memory. As it was, if the race had gone another 20 feet, Tom would probably have caught me.