Top-10 Best Illinois Prep Runners of All-Time
Perspective For This Year’s Contenders

By John Franzen

There is no ground more sacred to an Illinois high school distance runner than that of Detweiller Park. Anchored by stiff competition and a flat, fast - arguably short - 3-mile course, Peoria has been host to the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) cross country state meet since 1970, and has yielded results that look more like collegiate track times. The hallowed grounds have inspired and produced a number of the top prep distance runners and teams in the country.

For my first three years of high school I took the three-and-a-half hour trek from the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago to Peoria to watch the meet. Every year, like many other high school runners, I was awe struck and ignited by the energy there. Thousands of wild boys and girls running back and forth to cheer on their mates, painted chests, giant flags, the green & white of York High School, their marching band and their legions of fans, even cheerleaders! There was a palpable sense of importance and urgency, like no other cross country meet I have experienced. This was the ‘World Series’ of cross
country for us. Every runner there dreamt of a state title or an all-state medal or team trophy. Before there was Nike Nationals, this was a place where teams and individuals proved their mettle as some of the best in the country.

It was dreams of a team trophy and all-state performances that gave myself and my teammates motivation heading into my final fall of high school cross country in 1998. We were able to qualify and finish in the top-10 that year. For my alma mater, Maine West, it was the first team qualifier to the state meet since 1979, and there hasn’t been another since. There are many programs like West’s that will dream of podium finishes, but will rarely brave the state qualifying rounds gauntlet to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with kings of the state. It is this environment of vigorous competition that has produced
some of the most storied distance programs and runners in the country. Thusly, coming up with a short list, ten deep for the purposes of brevity, of the best individuals in the state’s history is quite difficult.

Although I have yet to even mention the track or post-state national meets these credentials are certainly an important factor when deciding the best in the state’s history. We could easily come up with a descending order list of the fastest times run by Illinois high schoolers at Detweiller or over a given track distance, but I felt balancing all accomplishments - track personal bests, state championships, and national meet appearances - was the best formula for identifying some of the best runners in state history. It is with great seriousness and humility that I present the ten best Illinois High School prep distance runners ever:

10. Jim Spivey (’78) Fenton HS - Bensenville
Few are as accomplished in the state’s history post-high school than Spivey, but his prep days were as impressive. Spivey has the fastest non-winning time at Detweiller (14:00) twice finishing runner-up to Tom Graves (#6 on the list). Spivey’s track credentials are what landed him on this list (1:49, 4:06, 9:00) including a state title in the 800. Certainly he had some of the best range of any prep star in state history.

9. Troy Maddux (’86) Woodland HS - Streator
A 2-time Foot Locker finalist, and the only Class A (small schools) runner to appear on the list, Maddux was twice the state cross country and 3200-meter champ. In his senior
year he ran faster at Detweiller than the Class AA champ (14:18) which is still tied for the fastest in time in Class A history.

8. Matt Withrow (’04) Andrew HS - Tinley Park
Withrow is most well know nationwide as the face of the “Ballerness” inspiration poster, gritting his teeth on his way to out-sprinting Galen Rupp and Shadrack Kiptoo to win the Foot Locker Cross Country title. Also in his senior year Withrow won the state titles in cross country and the 3200- and 1600-meters on the track.

7. Chris Derrick (’08) Neuqua Valley HS - Naperville
Derrick’s senior season launched him on to the national scene winning the individual and team crowns at Nike Nationals and finishing runner-up at Foot Locker. Only Craig Virgin has run faster at the cross country state meet (13:52) than Derrick (with Derrick’s mark being arguably more impressive following some course changes in 2005). In the spring of that year Derrick also ran the fastest high school-only 5k on the track (13:55).

6. David Merrick (’71) Lincoln-Way HS - New Lennox
Merrick won 5 state titles including a pair of cross country a d 2-mile titles during his career with bests of 4:07 and 8:48.

5. Tom Graves (’78) Sandburg HS - Orland Park
Possibly the most decorated prep at the state level in Illinois history Graves is the only 3-time state champ in the 2-mile or 3200-meters, and was runner-up and state champ in the mile his final two years. Graves ran one of the fastest times at Detweiller (13:56) on his way to winning his second state title in cross country. He had track bests of 4:07 and 8:49.

4. Donald Sage (’00) York HS - Elmhurst
From the most decorated program in the state, Sage is by far it’s most decorated runner. He won only one state cross country title, but was twice runner-up to Torres. He also was a 2-time Foot Locker finalist finishing runner-up to Dathan Ritzenhein as a senior. His largest accomplishments came on the track where he was a 2-time double winner of the 3200- and 1600-meters at the state track meet. His final 3200 win was a state record 8:42 in which he finished his final lap in 56. Sage ran an impressive 4:00.29 mile at the Pre Classic one year prior to Alan Webb’s record breaking run.

3. Jorge Torres (’99) Wheeling HS
Torres is one of the most decorated prep harriers of all-time. A 4-time Foot Locker finalist, including a crown his senior year, he is the only male in Illinois history to win 3 state cross country crowns, and finished runner-up as a freshman. Torres’ less than stellar high school track career, which included missing his senior season due to injury, and the next two gentlemen on the list is all that kept him from being the best in the state’s history.

2. Craig Virgin (’73) - Lebanon HS
Virgin’s dominant record-setting performance of 13:50 at Detweiller Park his senior season, a record he set nearly four decades ago, has withstood a number of standout runners’ best efforts. Not only was it his 2nd consecutive title it was his 2nd time under 14:00, which no one else has been able to accomplish at the state meet. Virgin also won two consecutive 2-mile titles, the latter being an 8:42. He would go on to break Steve Prefontaine’s high school record running 8:40 for 2-miles following the state meet. Virgin accomplished all this during a time when Illinois competed in a single class system (his alma mater has been a small-class school since the split in the mid 70s).

1. Lukas Verzbicas (’11) Sandburg HS & Lincoln-Way Central HS
One of the single greatest talents in prep distance running history, Verzbicas came on the national scene as a sophomore to set a prep record at 5k indoors. He didn’t stop there adding a multitude of crowns and records to his resume in just 3 short years of high school. Verzbicas ran 13:54 on the Detweiller course his final fall season on his way to winning his second consecutive state title in as many tries, it was only the beginning of a stellar fall campaign. Verzbicas would win his second consecutive Foot Locker title (one of only three repeat male champions) and became the first ever to win
both FLCC and Nike Cross Nationals in the same year. His 8:29 2-mile national high school record set at Pre Classic and 3:59 victory at the Adidas High School Dream Mile (second fastest ever in a high school-only race) was the culmination of an unreal prep career. Many are excited to see what is to come from this prep phenom now that he is part of the most storied track program in the country. Oh yeah, and just to pile it on, he is now a Junior World Champion triathlete...

Honorable Mentions (alphabetical order): Marrius Bakken (’96) York; Tim Broe (’95) East Peoria HS; Ron Cracker (’76) York; Evan Jager (’07) Jacobs HS - Algonquin; Pat Joyce (’93) Stevenson HS - Lincolnshire; Stephen Pifer (’03) Edwardsville HS; Len Sitko (’87) Notre Dame HS - Niles; Dave Walters (’74) Lincoln-Way

About the author: John Franzen, a native of Des Plaines, Ill., ran collegiately at Harper College, a two-year school in Palatine, Ill., and NCAA DIII Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. John has spent the last three seasons as a graduate assistant for the cross country and track programs at South Dakota State University under head coach, and 2000 Olympian, Rod DeHaven. His experience as a writer includes serving as writer/editor for team newsletters at Luther and SDSU, as well as serving 8 years in the Army Reserves as a journalist.