By Bob Hahn
They can feel it like the crisp fall air. They can smell it like the bed of colorful leaves that line the trails of Palos Woods. They can hear it in Coach O’Malley’s urging voice as he tracks them relentlessly around the course on every Saturday. They can see it in one and others eyes. They can simply taste it! This young class of Eagle harriers has all five senses working overtime as they focus on the opportunity to make history. With all the glory and proud tradition that is Carl Sandburg High School Cross Country, from the individual state championships of Tom Graves and Lukas Verzbicas, to the storied 1981 and 2006 teams that brought home 4th place finishes at state, the Eagles still chase their first state trophy. With a dominant showing at the recent conference championship at Channahon Community Park, the Eagles now eagerly anticipate the State series. Regionals, Sectionals, State and beyond! Although we are still Sandburg High School, once the state series starts we are known as “Orland Park (Sandburg)”. Seven varsity runners will toe the line at Detweiller Park on November 9th. Seven runners will make the mad initial dash for that first hair pin turn. They will try to hit their splits at the mile mark while rushing downhill along Route 29. They will try to implement their strategies in the “Triangle” amongst the relative quiet before hitting the frenzy of rabid fans as they cross the 2 mile mark while charging up hill and around that monster oak. All seven desperately trying to maintain contact with teammates as they once again turn north along 29, being chased by a curious wave of humanity across the middle of the shrine that is Detweiller Park. One last time they lead each other around the flags, easing themselves along Detweiller Drive and ready for the last quarter. It’s time to go! Time for Armageddon! Through the last jog around the big pines and into the meat grinder. Cross country “enthusiasts” line both sides of the final stretch with decibel levels equaling commercial airliners. The finish chute is finally in sight. The din from the crowd pushes you up that last hill as you fight for every last place. Coach said don’t leave anything on the course! All right coach, here we go……..Am I sixth man or fourth? Did I hear 22nd or 32nd? Why does it burn so much? This is hell…… 3 more within reach. The “Yorkies” marching band blares……For God’s sake, my lungs…….One just got me, I’m going with him……..There’s the chute. 50 yards! This is all I got! It has to be enough…………….
The “Top Seven” have the honor to tour those 3 magnificent miles. They honor and represent the present and past. They trace the same footsteps along the trails of the Palos Woods that led them to Peoria every year since Coach O’Malley has taken over the program. Sandburg has had a storied past in Illinois cross country when it comes to individual talent. Tom Graves and Lukas Verzbicas with their two titles each. Kristen Sutherland with a title on the girl’s side. And other great individuals like Bob Hicks, Zach Dahleen, Andy Homoly and Dan Hahn. But these guys were part of great teams also. Hicks and Graves led the first ever Sandburg team to qualify for state to a 12th place finish in 1976. Graves, Mike Choffin, Mike Keane, Tom Smith and Jim Hahn ran the second fastest 5 man composite time in school history while finishing 8th in 1977. These were great teams. And arguably one of the best teams in Sandburg history never made it to state in 1978 as the 5th ranked Eagles somehow stumbled at the Lockport sectional after dominant conference and district meets. Oh what might have been for Mike Keane, Mike Choffin, Scott Crowhurst, Jim Sunta, Bob Hahn and Jeff Parker. They finished 6th in that sectional, a huge disappointment, but perhaps laid the ground work for the 1981 4th place finish that included one of the best top three’s in Sandburg history. An all-stater in ’81, Steve Kaye was a freshman in ‘78 when the Eagles coughed it up. “That was truly one of the great teams that Sandburg ever fielded. I’ll never forget the shock that I felt when I heard they didn’t make it. I couldn’t be there that day but I had all my plans made for Peoria the next week to watch them make history. I’ll never forget my disbelief. And for Mike Keane, one of the finest runners in the state, to finish 6th. It was unfathomable.” (Keane, one of the top five runners in the state that year, inspired the “Mike Keane” rule, in which any individual runner in the top ten at sectionals shall qualify for state) Led by eventual state champion Mike Sokolewicz of Thornton High School, and a super tough field, all 5 runners ahead of Keane were individuals leaving him on the outside looking in. “That day inspired me so much. When I got my chance, I would will myself to make it happen!”
That chance came in 1980, and then again in ’81 when Kaye, along with George Close and Dan Hahn formed a terrifying top 3 that dominated the regular season all the way through sectionals. They regularly finished in the top 5 in any invitational with any one of them finishing ahead of the other. And with Mike Murphy and Jeff Curtis as their 4-5, they hovered around the top ten in team rankings that year. “We had no idea how good we could be as a team,” said Dan Hahn. “We were hoping for a top ten finish. A trophy was never on our radar. We knew we had a great top 3, but we just weren’t sure how far Mike and Jeff could push us up the ladder.” Steve, Dan and George knew they had good races going at State and really finished strong. “I went out flying, and believe me it was tough. I never saw Dan and George the whole time and had no idea I was All-State until after I finished,” said Kaye. Hahn added, “I can’t speak for George, but I can’t remember seeing either one of those guys the entire race either. I could not believe we finished within an 8 second split and didn’t know it! That’s how crazy that race can be!” Kaye in 24th in 15:02, Hahn 31st in 15:06 and Close in 38th in 15:10. 14 guys in 8 seconds! No wonder it is so tough to be All State. But the 4th place finish was made by Murphy and Curtis. They crushed it. Both had PR’s at the perfect time, on the perfect day! “There was no electronic scoring, no one knew what just happened. We knew we did OK. We were happy. Top ten looked good,” said Kaye. Hahn added, “So we get to the gym at Peoria High where they used to hold the award ceremonies, like 3 hours later, and still nobody knows what happened, who finished where. They start counting them down, top 15. We get to 10 and still don’t hear our name. Nine, eight, seven. Nothing. Now we are going nuts every time they announce another name and it is not us! 6th, 5th. We’re gonna get a damn trophy.” Kaye will never forget what happened next. “ ‘And in fourth place……….Orland Park, Sandburg.’ You never heard such a moan in your life!” They were happy, but crushed at the same time. “It was a great team effort. I know the 2006 team had over a minute on us and finished with 60 less points,” Kaye added. “But you have to remember that we had 10 total guys on the roster! I looked around me at the alumni meet this year, 60, 70 boys on the team. I am so impressed at the way Sandburg cross country has evolved. Coach O’Malley has done an amazing job of building. But now get your 5 scorers out of 60 kids! You’ve GOT to be strong, right? Man, what we would have done if we had 60 to get 5! That’s what made our ‘81 team so great.”
The seven…….Kevin Adamowski (19th, All State), Tom Sideras (31st), Justin Smith (55th), Brad LaRocque (56th), Mike Marbach (106th), Chuck Archer (193rd), Mike Young (207th). Kevin “Mighty Mouse” Adamowski was amazing that day clocking in at 14:43. That’s fast, people. Only guys like Hicks and Graves, Verzbicus and Dahleen have ever run faster at Detweiller. Marbach remembers Tom Sideras’ race that day. “Tom's performance....talk about a battle! Tom had given it everything he had and came up a few places short of all-state, but he laid everything out there.” Third man in ’06 was Justin Smith, but just the year before he was #1 and an all-stater himself finishing 19th. Justin said of his team, “The best thing about our team was that we didn't necessarily distinguish ourselves as guys 1-7. I think everyone in our top 5 knew we could finish in any order from 1-5 on our team, and this was what definitely the best part of our team dynamic. I think everyone knew that Mouse was our true #1 guy, with Brad being #2, and Tom, Bach and I #3-4-5 depending on the given day, but that didn't stop any of us from pushing ahead of one another during races and motivating one another while running side by side. For example at the prior years’ state meet, I had been the #1 finisher in that particular race, but at Regionals during the ‘06 season, I was #4, at Sectionals #2, and at state I ended up finishing neck and neck with Brad for 3-4 on our team, so I don't think any of us really distinguished ourselves by what ‘man’ we were.” Brad LaRocque and Smith indeed finished neck and neck running the exact same time at 15:08.4. That had to be a special feeling crossing the line together. Mike Marbach finished 5th for the team in 106th. He remembers, “14 points away from 3rd place as a team. That was a heart break. And while we all laid everything out there, you start playing that ‘what if’ game...’What if I went out a little faster, what if I caught just one more guy, what if...’ I think the math came out to where all of us needed to get one more place individually and we would have gotten 3rd (or even 2nd), but that's the way it goes sometimes.” Marbach was the poster child for the perfect progression as a high school runner. As a soph on the 2005 team, he finished as 5th man running 15:58. Junior year he was again 5th man but trimmed the time down to 15:29. The self-described 5th man for his first two years at state became #1 man in his senior year clocking in at 15:02 and finishing 33rd and nearly all-state. That is true consistency in both racing and improvement.
Well, “ever” may be right around the corner. This current group looks hungry. And young. And confident. They are not afraid to talk of making school history by being the group to grab the first trophy at state. Or to once again go after a state championship like the 2006 team did. “Yes, this young team won't be denied. They are going to be special,” coach added. The excitement stems from finishes like they showed down in Peoria earlier this season. The sophomores finished with 48 points placing 4,5,7,15, and 17th. They crushed New Trier and York who tallied 117 and 129 respectively. And the real scary part is that they had 2 more sophomores running on the 5th place varsity team that day! But like the 2006 team, you can see the passion that they have for one another. Coach O’Malley has so much to do with this. After every race he gathers the whole team around and opens the floor to anybody who has a comment about that day’s race. Everyone has a voice. Everyone gets a round of applause after speaking. Everybody feels good about themselves. Teenagers talking openly and emotionally about their feelings for one another? Who is that kid, and what have you done with my child. Right?
ready to run with the big boys as he pushed the pace in the lead pack before eventually relinquishing the lead and finishing third with a strong kick. The rest of the boys packed it up and scored a stingy 22 points for the team championship. And they did it while wearing the vintage CSHS jerseys that Coach O’Malley has brought back honoring the alumni from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.
So, over the course of the next few weeks, 12 guys are going to battle to be the 7 that get to represent their teammates, coaches, alumni, parents and family. They will represent Sandburg High School. They are Sandburg cross country. Yes, the younger guys might be excited about the future, but I guarantee that this team in 2013 has their own dreams. They are focused on their own chance to show what they are all about. The latest rankings have the Eagles at 4th. Sound familiar? Members from both 4th place finishing teams all agree: Getting 4th place was great. It was such a proud moment to be the best in Sandburg history among so many proud alumni. But they will also agree that as a program, maybe we have under achieved a little bit. I think I can speak for all the alumni when I say go ahead and crush our individual and team records! Go ahead and get 3 guys in the top 25. Go ahead and grab that first trophy! Make history boys!!