A letdown, I mean.
The Illinois State cross country meet is the biggie. It's the one that's etched in the record books with a long list of past champions. Teams expend intense amounts of effort to get there and then, if they win, it's a fantastic feeling. And a natural opportunity for a letdown. The Nike NXR Midwest regional follows only one week later - and this year it was less meaningful with the Nike National meet having been cancelled. With the top teams from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Missouri competing for the Regional Championship, things could definitely be challenging.
So how did the Sandburg Eagles respond? By running their best race of the season, of course!
While the earlier races went along, the boys kept warm either in the van, or around a little portable heater in the tent. Wearing layers, with hats, gloves, jackets, pants, etc., the teams were introduced and completed their warmup routines. After ditching all the warm clothes, the Eagles took to the starting line to wait for the gun.
The first mile, with the long starting stretch, is a little brutal. And with the course conditions, the pace was predictably pedestrian. But the Sandburg boys passed the first mile marker in great shape. Declan Tunney was with the front pack of 5 to 8 runners. Brock Rice and Grant Giblin were basically side-by-side close behind, with Sean Marquardt and Trent Anderson following that duo.
Over the second mile, Declan held steady with the lead pack. Sean Marquardt made a strong move to join Brock and then continued forward. Grant Giblin drifted back a little bit and Trent maintained a solid position.
Completing the long finish stretch, Declan Tunney powered to a 7th place finish in 16:07. Sean Marquardt blasted thru with his best race of the year to finish in 11th place in 16:17. Brock Rice was close behind in 16:23, good for 16th place. Trent Anderson slid past Grant Giblin to grab 30th place (16:36) with Grant right behind in 31st (16:36). Twenty-nine second split 1 thru 5 - not bad!!!
Ibrahim Tineh finished in 17:33 (121st place) and Evan Deimling wrapped up the day in 18:06 (153rd place).
Final Results:
63 Sandburg XC Club - IL (Sandburg)
84 Black Robe Running Club - IN (Brebeuf Jesuit)
123 Downers Grove North XC Club - IL (Downers Grove North)
129 The Dale - IL (Hinsdale Central)
204 lzxc - IL (Lake Zurich)
This group of Eagles completed their season undefeated. With all the challenges along the way this year, wow, what an amazing accomplishment. Congratulations guys!
Here's a link to the official race video.
Link to the awards ceremony.
Also, a link to the Sandburg team's post race interview.