6-3-2016
St. Ignatius High School
Chicago, IL
On a beautiful Friday night in Chicago, four of our runners took to the track at St. Ignatius High School to race the mile.
In the Elite High School race, Dylan Jacobs and Brandon Lukas went head-to-head with some of the best high school runners in Illinois. Both runners raced well, with Jacobs bringing home third place behind two Lyons Township runners in 4:17.2 for the full mile (4:15.8 for 1600 meters). Brandon Lukas placed 6th with a mile time of 4:18.5 (4:16.9 for the 1600). Dylan's time was a new Sandburg frosh/soph record for 1600 meters.
Here is a video of the Elite HS race.
In the Elite Men's race, Sean Torpy and Chris Torpy raced against collegiate or post-collegiate runners. Running against some older, more accomplished runners, Sean and Chris tucked into the pack and let the others do the pacing. Both of them went thru the half in 2:01, trailing Div. III national champion Jake Campbell of St. Olaf. Holding their own against the competition, both the Torpy's charged down the finish stretch. Sean crossed the finish line in 4th place in 4:05.10 for the full mile (4:03.42 for the 1600). Chris was next in 5th in 4:07.13 for the mile (4:05.40 for 1600 meters). Sean's 1600 meter time was a new Sandburg Varsity record.
Here is a recap from the Magis Mile website
Here are the results of all the mile heats.
MileSplit interview with Sean & Chris.
DyeStatIL interview with Sean & Chris.
6-11-2016
Benedictine University
Lisle, IL
The following week, Sean and Chris took to the track at Benedictine University to test themselves against some of the best 800 meter runners in the Midwest.
Chris took charge early, running right behind the pacer with an opening 200 of 25.6 seconds. He crossed the line for the 400 in 52.3 as the pacer dropped out. Sean bided his time in 3rd place at the bell. Down the backstretch, Chris opened up a sizable gap and Sean moved up to second place. As they came off the last turn, Sean found another gear and just motored past Chris and exploded across the line in 1:47.95 - the fastest time ever by an Illinois high schooler! Chris held on for second place in 1:49.80.
Here's a story on the race.
And another one here.
Here is a video of the race.
6-18-2016
Renton Memorial Stadium
Seattle, WA
After a long, extended track season, Sean and Chris Torpy wrapped things up at the Brooks PR Invitational on June 18th in Seattle.
First up was Chris Torpy in the 800 meter race. Coming thru the first lap in the middle of the pack in about 52.5, Chris looked good. With 200 meters to go, he began to make a move to the front. As they came thru the turn, the leader stumbled and fell, causing Chris to break stride and hurdle over the pile. Although he managed to stay on his feet, Chris lost all his momentum and got passed down the stretch. He finished in 7th place with a time of 1:53.88.
Here is a video of the 800 meter race.
Sean Torpy's final High School race was the Brooks PR Mile. Taking the lead on lap number 2, Sean raced thru the half in 2:03. He opened a nice gap on the backstretch of lap 3, but as they approached the bell lap, he started to labor and Jon Davis went past him. On the last lap, the long season got the best of him and Sean ran out of gas. His final time of 4:16.52 was good for a 7th place finish.
Here is video of the Mile race.
Here is a story on the race.