One week after bringing home the second place trophy from Peoria, the Sandburg boys travelled down to Terre Haute, Indiana to run the Nike Midwest Regional meet.
For the regular-season coaches, this meet has a bit of a different feel. Since the IHSA does not allow us to continue to coach the team in the post-season, we turn the reigns over and follow the team as fans instead. Sandburg alums, Bob Hahn and Mike Keane did a great job getting the guys ready to race and handled all the logistics needed to take them on a road trip.
As for the boys themselves, they definitely channeled the disappointment of finishing second at State into the Nike race. It was clear that they were focused on getting a little revenge.
Things got started with the Boys Open race. Danny Laskero set the tone for the day by taking it out hard and destroying the field of 640 runners. His winning time of 16:01 topped the second place runner by 16 seconds and got his teammates charged up for the Championship race.
Matt Benz-Weeden was the next Sandburg runner, finishing 27th overall with a nice time of 16:38. Brady Walter followed in 39th place in 16:44. Kyle Stogin finished 293rd with a time of 17:59, Ben Cachares was 434th in 18:41 and Josh Nolan came thru in 19:32, good for 528th place.
The weather for the Championship race was on the brisk side - cold temps with a bit of a breeze. But the course was in good shape and the entire field took the starting line ready to race.
The seven boys from the Sandburg XC Club got out well from the start. It was clear that there would be no repeat of their slow start at State. At the mile mark, the entire pack looked well-positioned - right behind the lead pack with about a 4 second split from 1 to 7.
As the field started to spread out a bit, the boys hung together, jostling back and forth thru the middle of the race. The pack stayed strong and as they came around the final turn and headed towards the finish line, it was clear that things were looking good for Sandburg. Sean Torpy and Max Lehnhardt blew past me, moving up as they neared the finish. Sean nailed down 25th place in 15:43, with Max right behind in 27th in 15:44. Senior Greg Burzinski came thru next in 15:46, good for 33rd place. Chris Torpy made a mad dash down the home stretch to finish in 37th place in 15:47. Next up was the usual number one man, Tom Brennan, looking a little tired, but finishing in 15:50 for 48th place. Brandon Lukas finished in 60th place (15:55) and sophomore Martin Skucas cross the line in 77th (15:58).
Usually, these bigger meets are very difficult to guess which team might have won the race. But as the entire pack of seven crossed the line in a matter of 15 seconds (7 second split from 1 to 5), it was clear to everyone that the Sandburg boys looked like a good bet to be the winner.
When the formal awards were announced, Sandburg XC Club was indeed the champion with 111 points, easily out-distancing second place Carmel with 188 points.
Nike Midwest Regional champs! Great job guys - now it's on to Portland!!!