Greatest high school race ever?

My fave: 1988 Ohio boys' 4x400.

Shaker Heights had a team capable of running 3:16; there were no stars on that relay as all were equally good. Dayton Dunbar had three average guys and Chris Nelloms. Nelloms, just a sophomore, had already won the 100, 200 and 400 on an unusually hot day, so there wasn't a lot left in the tank. Nelloms got the baton 50 meters behind Shaker's anchor man and proceeded to make up 49 meters before he ran out of track. The Columbus Dispatch reported his split at 44.8. Shaker's anchor man had to be sweating bullets!

It's been 29 years since I wrote that story. For the time and place, it is still an awesome memory. Bloom was supposed to win that event. It didn't and it cost them the state title. Last I heard (a few years ago), Bloom Coach Steve Miller was one of the big spikes at Nike. But one post asked the question why Illinois had all those great middle distance and long distance runners in the 1970s. I think there was one big factor. Suburban Chicago coaches needed to find ways to counter the points that sprint speed gave Chicago schools. The raw talent was there. It needed to be developed. Tom Graves (my favorite Illinois distance runner) began his high school career on the swim team! Success seemed to build upon success and for a number of years the longer events were the most glamourous to cover. So what happened? Coaches moved up or moved out and in the early 1980s the emphasis in high schools shifted to a 12-month a year dedication to basketball. I saw it take hold in the laste 1970s and by the time I left the sports department in 1988, high school track lost a lot of its appeal.

I used to read you and Taylor Bell all the time in high school.

The main reason the suburban Chicago schools dominated distances in the 1970's is two-fold. First, there were some incredible coaches back then, many of whom are in the Illinois High School Coaches Hall of Fame. They all had well-established programs that occasionally produced national-class runners. It was common for a 4:25 miler to be third man on many of the teams of that era.

The other reason was the level of competition motivated underclassmen to put in high mileage and dream of being up there with the very best during their junior and senior years. I recall watching Maine East destroy our varsity as a freshman in 1971, the year they were crowned mythical national champions. That was a crash course in cross-country as it was supposed to be done, and my freshman teammates and myself all were taking notes.

By the time we were seniors, those Maine East guys did not seem so god-like anymore. We were having freshmen watch us run and we were making the same indelible impression. A couple years after I graduated, Deerfield was national champions, and the succession kept going.

Nick won the 800m, placed in the high jump, but did not even qualify for finals in the 300IM. IT was a great performance, but not three state championships.

Sorry to point out what everyone already did. Did not read after your post to see the many responses. Here are the facts anyhow on Nick's last two IHSA state meets:

1998:

800m--3rd place in 1:53.06

HJ--6th place in 6'6"

300IM--39.36 in pre-lims (2nd in his heat, but last qualifying time for finals was 39.01).

4x400--49 split on all-state relay

1999:

800m--1st place in 1:52.2

HJ--scratched to focus on the 800m

The greatest SC race ever was in the early 90's in the sprints.

Stephen Davis of Spartanburg High the HS national Champion that year. Davis was a Senior

Tim Montgomery of Gaffney. Tim was a junior and they had a series of great region races and upperstate and state in the 100 and 200

Davis got won the 100 most of the time but not all the time and Montgomery won the 200 most of the time. Awesome races to see.

Just an addition to that the same team of guys (Molloy -Zieminski Teese Farrell Schroeter) although in a different order also ran 7:43.8 outdoors - I think both were National Records at the time...

steve miller left nike years ago and is involved with the american bowling association

Definitely the best I ever saw in Massachusetts.It was indoors at the Reggie and the crowd noise was overwhelming.Very memorable.

I was in the race. The 2nd man for Lyons (LT). Before the race, we had figured that Bloom was an easy target (we never had our best team run together before that race) and that 7:44 would win!!

The 70's had animal runners everywhere...nothing else to do back then except train and watch one of 3 channels on TV at night.

No internet, computer games, cellphones etc etc.

Funny that the article mentions that Bloom got the lead mid-way thru the 4th lap. Dave Carrizales of Bloom, passed me at the 660 mark as we came thru in 1:25. Dave was more of a 2 miler and I was more of a miler, so I was thinking just give the stick at least tied for the lead and our two remaining runners (1:53 and 1:51 open half runners)would easily take us home.

Not so fast, Evanston came from nowhere (we had no idea they were that good) in the 3rd leg and had a 10-15 yard lead on us in 2nd place. Bloom was gone and Thornton was way back.

As our anchor, Dave Franson circled the track and gained ground and then passed Evanston, it never occured to me that Don White could come from so far back, hold his speed and pass Dave. I was screaming at Dave with 100 yards to go, right next to the track, but White passed him.....amazing.

Because it was the first year of the event, everybody loaded up thinking they could win. With the talent back then and the excitement and expectation of victory, I am not sure another race would produce such volume of great times.

That was the last competitive race I ever ran. We had a great middle distance program at Lyons. Our Coach, Jim Kilbreth eventually went to SC and has torn up that state with CC wins in the boys and girls division since the early 80's. I could not imagine getting too much better and was glad to end on that high note, despite missing a win by an eyelash.

Bob Nicolls

wtf wrote:

almost a HS race...1975 AAU jr meet in knoxville...rudy chapa beats eric hulst in the 10,000, both breaking gerry lindgren's 1964 record...rudy and eric ran 29;11 with rudy's last lap ~55 seconds...hs soph billy mcchesny 29;27...hser george watts also under 30;00...may have had other hsers under 30.

I'd count it. There may have been 5 high schoolers who broke 30:00 for 10,000 in that race, as Thom Hunt ran 29:46 that season as well. It seems likely this was the race he would have done it in.

No additional HS'ers would ever again break 30 minutes, until Galen Rupp and Mohammed Trafeh did just recently. A 27-year-or-so dry spell.

Bo Diddy wrote:

\"One of the state meets for CA in the 2 mile, i believe in the mid 80s, had about 9 or 10 guys under 2...i'll try to get more details\"

Nope. it was only six that dipped under 9 minutes, at the time setting the record for most sub-9's in a race. The Arcadia meet has since tied in once, then had 12 do it in its 2003 meet and 11 do it in its 2004 meet.

I believe the 1981 CA State Meet had 12 runners sub 9:03 in the 3200. That is amazing I think!!!

dk46 wrote:

CANADIANS - isn't anyone going to bring up Greg Anderson's 3k at the Ontario Provincial meet? wasn't there and as such don't know all the deets. but what from what i understand, he wen't out in 4:05 for 1500 and closed in 3:55. that's 8:00 for 3k, pretty much by himself (and if i'm not mistaken he ran a 3:47 1500 the night before after being tripped up off the start and falling to the ground).

But wasn't he older than HS? I believe he was 19 years old.

That was the most exciting HS race I witnessed. The Reggie was packed for the state meet, and everybody knew what was coming. Powell and Sanchez were two of the best runners in the country, and had run some ridiculous XC times the previous fall. The indoor race was terrific. Both guys distanced themselves from the pack right away, and for 15 laps ran inches apart. The 8:49 and 8:50 were the nation's leading times, I believe. All the preps, parents and coaches in the building stopped to watch the race. The noise level was unreal.

I was the second man for Harvey Thornton's 1976 2-mile relay. The most remarkable thing to me was that this lineup was not our best team. In fact, our best half-miler in 1975 was Junior Mitch Johnston. Mitch was in great shape after X-C in 1975, and was probably on his way to being at least a 1:50.0 performer, when he was felled by a fairly substantial injury during the 1976 indoor season. As a Sophomore with no speed, I ran 1:58.0 for a P.R. at the State Meet, after setting my first P.R. of 55.0 at the quarter. Imagine if that 1:58.0 had been replaced by a 1:50.0! While Thornton would not have run 7:30.0* in that State Meet race because of the enormous lead we would have had, the potential was still there. Not many universities have that amount of potential on their present day rosters. I also think our anchor leg, Don White, Charlie's younger brother, could have run faster than 1:49.6, after opening with a first quarter of 51.6, but that is another story. Good luck to all the boys and girls running in their State Meets this weekend. Billy Moran

* Now equivalent to a 4 X 800m of 7:27.2!

I was at the Illinois state meet this weekend. I sat by the Princeton coach, Eureka fans and coaches, and some Nashville fans. We started talking about the 4 X 800 (1976) relay. The coach from Princeton was also in that famous race. They placed ninth with a time around 7:54 which is still there school record (They are a Class A school). York won todays 4 x 800 with a time of 7:52. Back to 1976, it makes you wonder if people could believe there watches at each spilt time! For all those teams to compete at that level! Wow...and to think I was there in 1977. I miss it by a year but I did get to see Tom Graves (8:51 2 mile) and Dave Ayoub (1:48:86)! Another pretty good 800 guy.

thanks for this post!

What was Sage's last 1/4 in that race? 15 seconds en route to a 8:42? He must have hit around 55?

A shout out to you sir, a grand hello, from the Crimson Kick to an action running man. Congratulations on being a part of such an amazing time. Very good having you here since we're mostly accustomed to idiot trolls. Thanks for sharing,and best 800Crimson Kick

Billy Moran wrote:

I was the second man for Harvey Thornton's 1976 2-mile relay.

* Now equivalent to a 4 X 800m of 7:27.2!

1,600 -- 1, Steve Magness, Klein Oak 4:01.58 (new state record); 2, Eric Stanley, Klein 4:03.77 (also breaks old state record); 3, Brian Sullivan, The Woodlands 4:11.14.

This race is pretty impressive being just a district meet. Running a 4:11.14 and not being able to get out of your district is pretty tough.