The level of talent coming out of the state of Illinois in the past few years never ceases to amaze me, and lately it has just gotten a bit ridiculous.  I mean where can it possibly go from here? 

Back when I was in high school, Matt Withrow had set the bar.  He transcended from a state champion into a national champion, taking down the likes of Galen Rupp and Josh McDougal in the process. Tinley Park Illinois was in the house, and it raised the bar in the state of Illinois.  “How could anyone outdo that?” I thought. 

Not that Matt was some trailblazer…many had come before him.  The Torres brothers, Virgin, Spivey and oh so many others; runners that dominated their state and kept on rolling over any competition under the age of 18, from anywhere between the Atlantic and the Pacific.  

Sean McNamara spent his fall winning his races by well over 30 seconds, leaving his own personal “Sean was here” mark as he removed legends such as Don Sage from the record books.  He won the first ever NXN individual crown, earning him a berth to the Footlocker finals where he finished a respectable 12th.  Again, he showed that if you can win a state meet in IL, you can do big things on the national level. 

My senior year of high school I was fortunate enough to participate in the very same championships that Matt and Mac had been a part of.  I finished third, shy of the championship (Yes, I thought I could win it…it’s footlocker.  EVERYONE on that line thinks they can win it).  Behind me a young Evan Jager made his first splash onto the national scene with fellow Illinoisans Steven Finley (8:36 steepler) and Jeremy Stevens (who made Dorian Ulrey blush with his solo state championship run) following.  

“Wow, four of us here,” I thought.  “How can it get any better than that?”

Evan Jager outdid all of our efforts combined the next year as he waltzed away with state championships in cross-country and track.  He continued to rub elbows with the national elite and could kick with the best of them…and he did it all off of half the training of the others.  Despite all of his now legendary races (seriously, there’s shrines to the kid on YouTube) I still think my favorite race of his was the mile his senior year at state. At the top of the curve, eventual champion Tom Robbins pulled ahead of Evan and was clearly going to win, upsetting Evan’s triple crown that he’d been waiting since November to claim.  For a moment, Evan started to fade, content to rest on all of his many accomplishments of the weekend and throw in the towel.  But then suddenly he’s back at it, chasing down Robbins in a wild futility, finishing the ballsiest second place I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. 

Again…“How can it get any better than that?”

Chris Derrick, who watched from a distance as Jager won his 3200 title that year, cemented his name atop the greats as he executed a stunning senior campaign of his own.  He sparked message board debates with his stellar 13:52 performance at Detweiller park.  Could he truly be the greatest Illinois has ever seen or is that course just absurdly short?  Derrick silenced any doubts with an even more impressive 13:55 5k that spring at Arcadia. 

But just when I finished drooling over the next big thing, Jeff Thode comes along and starts flirting with the four-minute mark…my high school coach swearing to me over the phone that he’s never seen such a talented runner.  It must take some kind of talent, not to mention some fierce determination, to pop your lung in October and come back to win a state title less than a month later.  And still as impressive as Thode was…


photo courtesy Photorun.net

Nothing could have prepared me for Lukas.  There’s something undeniably humbling about coming home from after a bad race to see that a sophomore in high school has just run a faster 5k than you.  Of course any self-pity or jealousy was quickly replaced with an adoration for the amazing young runner.  Over the past 3 years it has been a treat to watch someone take that bar and raise it even higher.  Lower than 4 minutes, much higher than just a mere state title or two…a bar that says there’s a whole world of runners out there to conquer. 

How can it get any better than that? 

Perhaps it cannot. But I will not hold my breath waiting for the next IL kid to break four, or come close to any of Lukas’ many feats. I just look forward to whoever it may be that can thrill us next.