by Bob Hahn (class of ‘81) & Tom Novak (class of '77)
Dateline: Downers Grove, IL
Downers Grove North High School
Friday May 18, 2018
Only in Chicago can you have a rainy evening when nobody gets wet. When you looked up to the stadium lights shining down on the IHSA sectional on Friday, it seemed to be a horrible night for an important track meet. It was as if the clouds were touching the ground. By the end of the evening Sandburg’s heads were in those clouds as they crushed it, qualifying 3 individual runners and 2 relays to next week’s State Meet in Charleston.
While Coach Mark O’Neal worked his magic on Dylan Jacobs before the finals, on the training table Jacobs wondered if it wouldn’t be better to have the meet on Saturday instead. Probably just his disappointment that the 80’s and sunshine leading up to the meet suddenly disappeared giving way to cool, and frankly, depressing skies. I’m not sure what was in that mist that rolled in, but it seemed to agree with all the distance runners as 9 runners from various teams qualified for state in the 3200M and 8 in the 1600. But the Eagle distance crew had themselves a night! PR’s and season bests were being posted all over the place as Coach O’Malley’s training program worked its usual magic to give the boys their best shot at continuing their seasons for another week.
Connor Devlin got things started with the opening leg in the 4x800 meter relay, throwing the night's first PR down with a 1:57.8. He ran an outstanding leg getting out in good position after one lap, and then challenging the stacked field of #1 DGN, Hinsdale Central, Naperville Central and DGS in the third 200m. Connor’s gutsy kick down the stretch put the Eagles in good position for leg 2 as he showed a confidence in his eyes that we have not seen to this point. O’Malley knew he needed one more stud if Sandburg would challenge for another state title in the 4x8 and Devlin seems to be stepping into that role. The 2nd leg was the 1st leg of a breakout performance from Nico Calderon. Posting a 1:58.0 he also PR’d while leaving his team in perfect position at the halfway point of the race. Peter Demogerontas was responsible for setting the table for Dylan Jacobs. He performed his job flawlessly. Again, if the Eagles are to avenge last year’s 2nd place finish at State, Peter will be a key ingredient. Just as the 3rd 200m of an 800m run is the most important point of the race, so is the 3rd leg of the 4x800 relay. It is essential that the third leg hands over the baton within striking distance of the leading anchor. Friday night Peter more than delivered, handing the baton to Jacobs while taking over the lead. He also set the table for an IL #1 7:47.75 in the 4x8 this season. His move on the backstretch and his display of his exceptional 400m speed assured that his team would be in perfect position to take down the field with Foot Locker National Champ Dylan Jacobs ready to seal the deal. And he didn’t disappoint, clocking a blazing 1:52.4 and creating a huge gap on some pretty good anchors and creating a huge buzz in the Sandburg camp.
The 4x800 relay has become somewhat of a signature event for Sandburg. The Eagles' finish time was good for the top time from all 11 3A Sectionals. This was the 7th straight year that Sandburg has won the 4x800 relay at Sectionals and the 8th year in a row to qualify this event for State. The finish time puts them at number 10 on the Sandburg All-Time list.
Right before the race, I congratulated Robbie for a great career. I gave him a big hug, told him I loved him just like all his teammates and coaches. There has never been a classier runner or person come through the Eagle distance program than Robbie Sieczkowski. I gave him an even bigger hug after the race and asked him if this would be his first time to run on the “blue oval”. He said, “Coach, I’ve never even ran in a sectional!!” Now his last career race will be in Charleston and nobody deserves it more than Robbie!
At the gun. this race would belong to Dylan Jacobs. Once again, like the 3200m, the 1600 was stacked for a sectional. With DJ heading up the lead pack, the rest of the runners could be assured of a fast race. Nico fought his way through the first half of the race, testing out a pace faster then he was accustomed to, but was looking smooth doing it. Again, his 3rd 400m would make or break him. At the bell DJ was smoking the field by 30 meters, but he was dragging a frenzied pack of would-be qualifiers in his slipstream. Around the last bend, Nico was rocking it, up on his toes and ready to get it on. With the crowd on its feet bringing home Dylan to a speedy 4:12, the noise got even louder with 5 or 6 runners laying it all on the line in the last 100m. Nico looked as strong as anyone down the final stretch as he powered home to an insane 4:20 pulling a “Sieczkowski” only a little over an hour since the term was coined! There was pure joy on the infield with the Sandburg contingent going nuts. It was simply one of the finest performances for a Sandburg distance group in school history. An IL #1 in the 4x8 and a bunch of PR’s thrown in for good measure! Congratulations to coach John O’Malley for nailing the training once again and inspiring the boys like only he can do to pack the D230 bus full of blue oval qualifiers.
The other 10 3A sectionals qualified only 2 runners each. The DGN Sectional is sending an incredible 8 1600 meter runners! Dylan's 4:12 is the fastest of the Sectional times. Nico's 4:20 moved him up to 16th on the All-Time Sandburg 1600 meter list. Great job by these guys!
Marvin Agwomoh just missed in the 100 meter dash - finishing 3rd with a time of 11.13.
The 4 x 400 relay team of Ricky Kwak, Connor Devlin, Peter Demogerontas and Dylan Jacobs also came close with another 3rd place finish in a time of 3:25.68 (8th fastest time in school history).
In the high jump, Dan Pawlikowski placed 6th with a jump of 5 ft. 10 in.
In the discuss, Omar Hasan had a big PR and place 4th with a toss of 135 ft. 8 in.
Overall, the team fought hard for the points and ended up in a tie for 6th place with 46 points. Romeoville won the meet with 73.
Good luck to all next week in Charleston as the Eagles chase a few state titles and send a confident bunch down there to compete hard and, most of all, have fun. Unusual weather for sure. But the usual results for Sandburg Eagles Distance!!