Photo: Jacobs in his race on Saturday (Mike Newman photo)

By Michael Newman

[email protected]

Peoria – The race Saturday at Detweiller Park was set up as soon as Sandburg’s Dylan Jacobs crossed the line two weeks ago on this course in the Richard Spring Invitational when Jacobs crossed the line in 14:23. You could see it in his eyes afterwards.

He wanted a faster race. He got it at the Peoria Invitational.

Jacobs ran 13:57.5 to record the fastest non-state meet time on this course that has been run for 46 years. His time overall was the fifth fastest of all-time.

“It was like blood in the water,” Sandburg Coach John O’Malley said after the race. “We knew this kind of race was coming.”

“I knew I wanted to start out same, a little faster than the last race,” Jacobs said. “It takes guts to burst through that last mile. I knew had to dig down deeper than I did before. Once I saw the weather report, I knew it was going to be a good day.”

Two weeks ago, in the Richard Spring race, Jacobs was going after the time of 14:02 than Danny Kilrea of Lyons Township had run at the First to the Finish Invitational on Sept. 9. Jacobs was close to that pace for the first two miles of the race. The sweltering heat that had engulfed that day hit Jacobs in the face and his pace slowing him in the final mile.

Saturday set up perfect for him. Temperatures were in the low 60’s. The course was dry and fast. He went out faster than two weeks before going through the first half mile in 2:08 and the mile in 4:30. Tommy Brady of Maine South led the pack behind Jacobs going past in 4:41. The sight of Jacobs ahead of the pack continued to grow smaller as the Sandburg senior seemed to disappear into the horizon.

Passing through 2-miles in 9:10, the stride of Jacobs looked smooth, looked strong, with his eyes on the finish clock as he had one more circuit of the park to travel. There was no hesitation in his pace on the final lap as he passed through 2.5 miles in 11:40. Jacobs hugged the tree line coming up the final incline to the finish looking for the short distance between point A and point B.

As he got closer to the finish, his eyes focused on the clock as it was clicking towards 14 minutes. He beat the clock just before noon on September 30 recording 13:57.5. Now his focus is on a return trip to the park on November 4 with a date with destiny.

“The names Graves and Verzbicas (who hold the two fastest school times on this course) are always in the back of my mind when I practice,” Jacobs added. “I know I want to be the best in the school and best in the state. I know I am ready to go back to work so that I can come back here a month from now to put up a good time.”

Brady finished second in what seemed like he was light years away. His time of 14:31 was deceptive since he was 34 seconds behind of Jacobs but also the fourth fastest time on the course this fall. His teammate Brandon Christopher was next in 14:39. Then the pack started to cross the line with 16 total runners under 15-minutes. It was one of the fastest races ever for this meet. The weather cooperated and the runners on the course took advantage of it.

Huntley also took advantage of the course placing 4 runners in the top 25 on their way to the 3A team win with 127 points. Jeremy Roe and Jadon Conroy crossed the line together in 14:56 placing 12th and 13th. Then it was Ian Geisler (22nd), Josh Segura (25th), and Rasheed Ahmad (55th) rounding out their top five. Their top five split was 40 seconds. The split on their first four runners was only 20 seconds.

Eighteen points separated the next four teams led by Mundelein’s second-place finish (140 points). It was not their best race of the year according to their Coach Kurt Rutz as their split of 42 seconds on their top five was led by the eighth-place finish from Michael Parduhn. Sandburg was next with 151 points. Jacobs led the team with his win but their split from their second through fifth runners was only 13 seconds. Downers Grove South was a close fourth scoring 153 points with their top three runners in the first 20 places led by the 16th-place finish from Eddie Siuda. York ran their best race of the year so far with their fifth-place finish (158 points). The Dukes had their top three runners within five seconds of each other led by the ninth-place finish from Jackson Bode.

Meet Highlights

Edwardsville displayed that they are in the discussion of one of the top Girls teams in the state as the Tigers placed three runners in the first five scoring only 44 points. Abby Korak pulled away in the final 400 meters to capture the individual win in 17:30.8 a little more than three seconds ahead of Plainfield North’s Juliana Stogsdill. Edwardsville looked solid with a 58 second split on their top five. Abby Schrobilgen was next for Edwardsville finishing third followed by Melissa Spencer (fifth), Emiley England (13th), and Jaycie Hudson (22nd). Prospect ran their best race of the year so far in finishing second with 77 points. Mikayla Olsen was with the lead pack for most of the race as she finished fourth overall. The Lady Knights place three runners in the top 10 spots. Fremd (120 points), Plainfield North (158 points), and Oswego (201 points) were the other teams that were in the top five.

Normal University capture both team titles in the Class 1A/2A races. The story in the Boys race was the great run by Jake Gebhardt from Sterling. The senior had the race won as he passed 1-mile in 4:35 and 9:26 at 2-miles opening a 17-second lead on a pack led by U-High’s Jared Shuckman and Alleman’s Spencer Smith. Gebhardt crossed the line in a school record 14:25.1 winning by 22 seconds ahead of Shuckman (14:47.5) and Smith (14:49.6). In a battle of top five 2A teams, it was U-High who had the edge scoring 87 points for the win. Schuckman was the only runner for his team in the top ten. It was their two through five pack led by the 14th place finish from Matt Zacharias that was the difference. The split on that group was only 24 seconds. Chatham-Glenwood finished second (102 points) behind top ten finishes from Dathan Maton (seventh) and his brother Drey (10th). Bloomington (165 points), Waterloo (177 points), and Normal West (202 points) were the next three teams in the standings.

In a day of great individual races, the 1A/2A Girls race did not disappoint. Waterloo’s Jenna Schwartz opened in 5:35 for the first mile ahead of the first pack led by Danville’s Shanice Garbutt by 15 seconds. Garbutt broke away from the pack in the back triangle but only closed the gap on Schwartz by five seconds but still ten seconds behind heading into the final mile. The action started in the last half mile of the race as Garbutt started to close the gap. The pass happened with 200 meters to go as Schwartz’s stride was losing strength. Garbutt’s winning time of 17:08 was the fastest 2A time on the course this fall. Schwartz crossed the line next in 17:22. There was a 26 second gap before the third-place finish from Urbana’s Libby Cultra.

Normal University used a sixth-place finish from Lyndsey Wolters and 12th-place finish from Emmy Mussey propelling the Pioneers to the team win with 137 points. Carmel had a solid pack behind the 13th-place finish from Aileen Hull to finish second in the team standings (173 points). Dixon (179 points), Crystal Lake South (199 points), and Waterloo (210 points) rounded out the top five schools.

Meet Results | Race Video