Justin Smith was a member of the 2006 team that finished in 4th place in state.
Most Anticipated Moment - I remember gearing up the entire summer, working hard at the trails, running close to 100 mile weeks in anticipation of what we hoped would be at least a trophy season but all of our eyes were set on winning the state title. We were participating in a number of early season meets but despite this, I think most of us were focused on and anticipating our Palatine Invite meet in late September, as we all knew that this was going to be when we would first face off against York, and we knew that if we had any chance at winning State, the Palatine Invite would be a great way to compare ourselves to York and see where we stood. I remember that I fully expected us to be able to meet them and I know that all of us believed we were the best team in the state. I remember showing up at the meet and warming up, and when we went to the start line we realized the Palatine meet director had given us the worst start box imaginable on the far left hand-side of a down-sloping start-line. This ticked us off but at the same time fired us up for the race. I remember getting off to a slow start (probably not even in the top 50) to start the race, and I remember all of us trying to move forward the entire race due to our bad start but we didn't quite make up all the ground we wanted to. We ended up finishing 3rd behind Palatine and York. I think we were all a bit bummed that we did not beat York that day, but even a little more shocked we didn't beat Palatine. I think it brought us down to Earth a little bit and motivated us to keep up the hard training in practice in the coming weeks, as there was still well over a month until the state meet.
What man was I on the day of the state meet? - 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/running side by side. For example at the prior year state meet, I had been the #1 finisher in the 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. Tom ended up being our 2nd finisher at State, which was a great example of our mentality that anyone could be any # guy on any day. This definitely helped alleviate some of the pressures on the date of the state meet, knowing that we all believed in ourselves.
I remember the Sectional meet at Lockport was wet, raining, and none of us felt that great. When I passed the finish line I thought we had gotten killed by LWE or Neuqua Valley, but it turned out we won. This definitely motivated me because I knew we won a sectional meet on a day when none of us felt that great. It made us think we were really going to rock at state.
The state meet day was definitely a big day for us. It's hard to describe four years of anticipation in a few sentences. Our team bonded together so closely over the years and we were all looking forward to the state meet our senior year knowing this would be our big day. We were definitely happy to have finished 4th place, but immediately following the race we were all a little bit more than disappointed due to our high expectations. Looking back on it, a 4th place finish was spectacular and tied for the best finish in Sandburg history, however, we all definitely wanted to go home with the state trophy that day. The best thing we can all say though is that we ran that race with no regrets. Everyone gave 100% effort that day and knowing that we all gave it the best effort we possibly could, there is no reason to be disappointed with a 4th place finish. The one thing I remember about the state meet is that getting off to the perfect start is crucial. You definitely don't want to be starting from behind and trying to move up the entire race, because there are so many fast runners, that is difficult to do. I remember probably starting out a little bit slow during the state meet that year and feeling a little bit disengaged around the 1.5 mile mark because I wasn't exactly where I wanted to be. However, I didn't let this bother me and if anyone else felt like this, it definitely didn't bother them either. We just kept plugging along. Immediately after the race, I wasn't sure exactly what place we finished, but I was in a celebratory mood when I found at that Mouse took All-State, as he deserved that medal more than anyone I know. I remember O'Malley counting up the scores and trying to figure out on the back of an envelope what place we took after somehow counting the runners as they crossed the finish line while still having the time to cheer us on on the final stretch. The suspense waiting for the scores was unreal because it seemd like people were saying we took anywhere from 2nd to 4th, and we all just really wanted that trophy. It seemed like forever between the point when we finished the race and the point when we found out we took 4th. A bunch of the seniors did a final lap around Detweiller and a final cooldown.
The best thing about the team is that all of us still talk and hang out every week, and that wouldn't have changed whether we finished 1st, 4th, or didn't qualify for state. During the years we spent together including the 4th place finish in 06, we laid the foundation for a tight knit group that would last for years.
Justin Smith, Class of ‘07