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Newms Notes - December 31, 2018Published by
Thoughts from 2018
By Michael Newman
Here are a few things that crossed my mind about the past year. They might not be the biggest meets or things to happen but meant a lot to me. (Photo Credit: Nick Lundin)
A Hunch There are times where I will just put my planned day on hold to go to a meet because I feel something special will happen. I did that when I decided to drive four hours to the St. Louis area to watch Ja’Mari Ward compete in the St. Clair County Championships two years ago. He went out to jump 25-6.75 in the Long Jump and then a national record setting 53-7.5 in the Triple Jump. It was worth the drive. I had just witnessed the best Long Jump/Triple Jump performances by an individual in one meet. It was too bad that Ward was injured two weeks later and could not compete at the IHSA State Meet. The Southwest Suburban Conference announced on Monday, May 9 that their Shot Put /Discus competitions would be held on May 10 at Lockport. The throwing area at Bolingbrook would not hold the throws that Lockport’s John Meyer would be able to reach. I had a hunch. Meyer is going to be throwing on his home ring one more time. Something special was going to happen. I changed my schedule and worked later on Monday night. I was going to Lockport on Tuesday. When I arrived at Lockport, I approached the Lockport Head Coach Tom Razo. He asked me “What are you doing here?” My reply was a simple one. “I have a hunch.” Meyer’s warm-ups before the competition were good ones. His first attempt went 58-7. A rust-buster I thought. Then again, how would you like to be “off” and throw 58-7! His second throw was out there near 67-feet (66-8.5). As he approached the ring for his third throw, there was a sense in the small crowd that something was about to happen. He threw farther than any Illinois High School athlete had ever gone before – 70-6.5. It was a good hunch to go on that day. We may never see another athlete like John Meyer again in the Shot Put in this state. His senior season was spectacular in the event winning in all 13 meets that he competed in with two throws over 70 feet (He threw 70-4.25 indoors) while ending his career with three straight 3A state championships. Meyer Record Throw Article – 5/10/2018
Flying with the Eagles The first time that I saw Bloomington’s Zachery Bradford compete in the Pole Vault was in 2015 at the Edwardsville Tiger Invitational at Principia College. Here was this freshman who you could not tell that he was an athlete. His uniform was wearing him. Yet, he flew over the bar clearing 14-9. I thought it would be tough for anyone to break Luke Winder’s IHSA State Meet Record of 17-3 set in 2014. Bradford set the standards even higher in his high school career. He won the IHSA 3A State title in the Pole Vault three times. His junior year he broke Winder’s record clearing 17-4 in the state finals. He soared even higher his senior season winning his third state title clearing 17-6. He cleared a seasonal outdoor best 17-9 this year at the Belleville West Sectional. That was after he was crowned the national indoor champion clearing 18-0.5 and becoming the first Illinois High School athlete ever to clear 18-feet in the Pole Vault. He went higher than that in the post-season winning the United States Junior Title clearing a best 18-2.5. He duplicated that height when he finished second at the IAAF World U-20 Championships. He also developed into a great 400-meter runner that helped his school this year in the state meet as he anchored Bloomington to a third-place finish in the 1600 Meter Relay. What impressed me the most was his loyalty and commitment to the event and other athletes. He came out the day before the Illinois Top Times Championships last March talking to vaulters that were in his club as well as those competing in the 1A Meet. What impressed me the most about Bradford happened on March 3. He competed in the Charger Classic at the University of Illinois clearing 17-4. He did not have to travel north to Rolling Meadows to compete at the Windy City Pole Vault Summit, but he did. He gave the organizers his word that he would be there. Even though he got to the competition and looked exhausted, he still was able to win 16-6 to win the event. It was preparation for the following week for his national meet win. Backing out of a meet would be easy for others. Bradford is “old-fashioned” when it comes to values like that. That’s why, just like John Meyer, we will never see an athlete like Bradford on the Illinois High School Track & Field scene for a long time. Bradford’s State Meet Clearance
Tying your shoe Northern Illinois University Assistant Track Coach Billy Poole-Harris, formally of Whitney Young High School, told me in 2017 while I was at Detweiller in Dark that his star runner Clayton Mendez would not be running in that race to defend his title. Mendez did not have a great cross-country season in 2016 and did not want to take a chance focusing on the season ahead. “I’m telling you, there’s a curse,” Poole-Harris told me. I thought only a couple of people knew about the “Det At Dark” curse until I witnessed this year’s race. Downers Grove North’s Jack Roberts opened up a big lead in the final mile of the Boys Race. As Roberts approached the finish line, he slowed down and stopped. He bent over and tied his shoe while Meet Director Adam White is screaming “You have to cross the line!” York’s Ethan Kern slowed down as he got close to the finish line to shake Roberts’ hand. In my mind, I was asking myself what was going on? I approached Roberts after the race and sked him what happened. “Have you ever heard of the Det at Dark Curse Mr. Newman?” I started laughing. Apparently, there were more people who knew about the curse. Around the mile mark, the lead pack was still debating who would win the race. While Roberts and Kern was meeting about three meters from the finish, Naperville Central’s Thomas Shilgalis crossed the line first. When he realized what he did, he put his hands on his head not believing that he won. He did run 14:11 at Detweiller Park at the end of September. A month later at state, Shilgalis ran one-minute slower finishing 68th. While walking to the awards area, Poole-Harris kept telling me “The curse is real. The curse is real!” What I can’t wait to see this spring Shilgalis burn up some great times on the track. He earned All-American honors last June in North Carolina. I sure we will see fast times from him again before he heads to the University of Michigan. I was a little superstitious when I ran. I wore the same socks in every race. I would eat the same breakfast. I considered it more routine. Is the Detweiller at Dark curse a real thing? There are some people that believe it. We will see when the gun goes off next July.
April 21 Every year, my Christmas comes on this weekend. In a span of 32 hours, I go to see three meets. In those 32 hours, I am never disappointed in the performances that I see. This year was no exception. It usually the distance races that catch my eye at the Bob Cohoon Invitational, the Sue Pariseau Invitational, and Distance Night at Palatine. It was a cold night at Downers Grove South as Miles Christiansen of Downers Grove North ran 9:03.79 to win the 3200 Meter Run, Brendan Lockerby of Downers Grove North ran 1:57.03 to easily win the 800 Meter Run, and Sandburg’s Dylan Jacobs ran 4:15.5 in winning the 1600 Meter Run. 10 runners in that race ran 4:24 or faster. In those conditions, those times were impressive. The next morning, I made the short drive over to Glenbard West to watch the Sue Pariseau Girls race. This meet is usually distance heavy. It was again especially with some memorable races from Glenbard West’s Katelynne Hart. The junior set an all-time state best in running 9:52.02 to win the 3200 Meter Run. Sarah Schmitt of Naperville North ran a personal best of 10:25 to finish second, but it looked like she was running miles behind Hart. It was still one of the top 20 times in the nation. Hart came back to run 4:51.03 to win the 1600 Meter Run. It was quite a double in a span of 3 hours. I enjoy my final meet of the day at Distance Night at Palatine. I can watch the races on the infield not having to worry about recording every race that takes place. It’s that energy produced by some fast times that keeps me going. Naperville North had competed earlier in the day at Glenbard West. Still, Hannah Ricci, Claire Hill, Alex Morris, and Sarah Schmitt ran 12:12.54 to win the Girls Distance Medley distancing themselves from the rest of the field by 32 seconds. Rachel Hickey of LaSalle-Peru blew away her competition by four seconds running a then personal best of 2:10.70. Melissa Manetsch of Libertyville ran 10:40.09 to win the 3200 Meter Run. 13 runners ran 5:01 or faster in the 1600 Meter Run with Latin School freshman Marianne Mihas leading the way running 4:55.68. It was just as exciting in the Boys meet. WSC-Silver teams swept the first three spots in the Distance Medley as Downers Grove North, who had run the night before at Bob Cohoon, ran 10:15.38 to win the race ahead of York (10:28.60) and Hinsdale Central (10:29.59). We had an indication of what was in store for the fall as Josh Methner of Hersey ran 9:06.65 to win the 3200 Meter Run. Methner won the 3A state crown in November and earned two All-American honors in December. Six of the top ten finishers in that race were underclassmen. Riley Wells of Rockford Christian displayed his lethal kick in running 1:55.38 to win the 800 Meter Run while Riverton’s Shane Yamco was less than three tenths of a second back. Clayton Mendez did a little dance after winning the 1600 Meter Run in 4:08.64. He earned that moment. 14 runners in that event went under 4:20. Palatine’s Chris Quick has done such a great job in organizing this meet. I was exhausted when I drove home. I treasured that exhaustion that the 32 hours brought me. I cannot wait for that weekend to come around again in 2019.
Only a sophomore We still have two more years of watching Plainfield North’s Marcellus Moore run on the track. Take advantage of watching him race before he graduates in 2020. In his sectional 100 Meter Race at Plainfield South last May, the weather was less than “May-like” with temperatures dipping below 50 degrees and winds approaching a consistent 15 to 20 miles per hour. The cold did not bother Moore as he entered the blocks. Ten feet away from where I was positioned in the stands was Moore’s mom. While keeping my camera steady watching Moore win this race, there was his mother yelling for her son. I just absorbed the moment. Three more times Moore had all eyes on him in that meet. The following week at the IHSA State Meet, Moore single-handedly pushed Plainfield North to a third-place team finish. His 10.31 all-time state best at 100-meters was memorable. I saw his coach Tony Holler, who was in the infield taking pictures, absorbing the moment with tears in his eyes. Moore's 100 Meter Sectional Race It is sometimes the emotions from watching an event that stays with us longer than the event itself.
That state meet was a memorable one. Dylan Jacobs unselfishly anchoring Sandburg to a 3A title in the 3200 Meter Relay pointing to his teammates before he crossed the finish line. People thought that he had sacrificed a chance at an individual title by running that relay. Jacobs can back in the 1600 Meter Run with one of the most memorable finishes in state meet history. Granite City’s Andrew O’Keefe had pulled away from Jacobs and thought he had won the race. Jacobs fought back in the final 400 meters passing O’Keefe with one meter left in the race as O’Keefe raised his arms.
Finally… It is hard to believe that on January 6, it will start the third year of ILXCTF.com. I had some drawbacks of starting a new site. I did overhear some doubting that I could do it at the start of the site. I’m still here. It was hard to narrow down a couple of memorable moments from this past cross-country season. I came up with two. The one person that I wanted to interview in November at Detweiller Park was Tolono Unity’s Jordan Harmon. She had gone through so much in the past year. She ran injured in 2017 in the state race to help her team win a state title. One year later, she had gone through so much with injuries but made it back during the fall to help her team finish third. It was not where the team wanted to finish, but Harmon was willing to talk. I know I am a better person from doing that interview. I hope that all of you that watched it are as well. I became a better person talking to all of you that set a moment of your time to talk about your event or race. Thank you for those moments. For me, my memorable moment was at the Naperville Twilight Invitational. It was the eighth race of the day, the Boys Varsity race. I was tired from filming all those races but seeing the end of the day was near. The gun went off and I went under the ropes to the first spot where I would tape. All of a sudden, my foot hit a pole and down I went. I heard people asking me if I was okay. All I said is “Yes, I am okay. I just have to get to the 800 mark.” I felt terrible after that race. I thought I was going to throw up. I had been through this before. I knew what was happening. Coaches, officials were asking me if I was okay. I kept reassuring them I was. Inside of me I was saying get out of here. There were a couple of coaches that followed me to my car. I actually stumbled as I put my ladder in. The coach asked me if I was okay. I was actually feeling better. Good enough to drive home. I got home. My daughter called. I told her what happened. Our conversation would have to wait until the next morning. I got up the next morning feeling okay. I was mad at myself that I did not get any interviews. I put my memory card into my computer. I saw interviews that I did that I did not remember doing. Uh oh. I called my doctor and was diagnosed with a mild-concussion. My fourth in my life. I look back at that moment thankful that so many people have my back at a moment when I was down. That is a thing that I know happens especially in the community that I am involved in. Thank you to all of the officials and the coaches who had my back at that time. I have fallen many times before. I find a way to always get back up. That is something to remember. You may not have your best day, but the sun will always come up the following morning. Thank you to all of you who have made comments to me at meets or socially about what I do. It is greatly appreciated. Thanks to Laura Duffy who has a great set of eyes finding the right picture at meets. She continues to be a rock to me and to all of you who look at her pics. Thanks to Roland Hopkins who created Illinois XC Speed Ratings (ILXCSPEEDRATINGS.com) and is in the second year of his site. His insight of results and other cross-country/track & field things makes my life so much easier. I am glad he created his site. Thanks to my “circle” of friends/coaches that I can spill when spilling is needed. A big thanks to Downers Grove South’s Brenna Cohoon who contributed to ILXCTF with some wonderfully crafted blogs of her season. I learned a lot from her from her words. She will continue to contribute in 2019. Thanks to all. Let’s have a great 2019. I am sure our paths will cross in the next tour around the sun.
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