The IHSA State meet, aka "Joe tore it up"

Today was the IHSA state meet, and marked the end of the 2009 season for the Potters of Morton. Sometime in the next week, we'll get a season recap and future outlook up, but first, let's stay in the present and focus on today. Today we give you a photo-narrative of the experiences of Dave Getz and Steve Gifford spectating at the IHSA state meet. Simply click on the numbered links to see pictures. Or go here to see all the pictures and ignore my ramblings.

Everybody was there!
When Dave and I got there, I was amazed by who all was there. All sorts of peoples! First we were greeted by a parking attendant person who was jumping up and down like a person on a pogo stick auditioning to be some kind person dancing on a pogo stick. Sadly, as my hands were still on the steering wheel, and the camera safely stowed in it's bag, we were not able to capture this exciting moment.

But once we got into the park, we were ready, and oh! the sights we saw! There were pirates (1)! I find that picture particularly interesting because the girl is looking at me like I'm crazy for taking a picture. She's the one walking with a pirate! Sadly, we did not see Dave turning into a dagron. Adam White from Running Central was there(1, 2). There were people in a truck(1)! There were IHSA officials(1). There was Dave Getz with pizza(1). I was there(1)! My coworker Cameron was there(1)! Dave's friends/teammates were there(1,2). One of them was even racing a guy painted gold and black(1)! What a crazy event this is!

There were people with flags(1,2,3). Lansing Illiana Christian was there with their trademarked bleached hair(1). Yorkville was there with pink headbandanas(1). Galesburg was there in all their yellow glory(1). Normal University was there overheating in green sweats(1). Hugh Gill of East Peoria and Johnny Crain of Dunlap were there(1). Area coaches were there(1,2,3). There were Potter parents(1,2,3). The Potters of Morton were even there(1,2,3,4)!

But finally, the man most of us were there to see was also there. I'm talkin' 'bout Joe Zeller(1).

The Races
Once we calmed down from the sights - and figured out what to wear on this unusually warm November day - we started paying attention to what was happening around us. We missed the 1A girls race, but saw the 1A guys race, where Mid-Illini rival Canton ran a great race, and missed a state championship by one point! These guys have timed their season great and though they didn't look too special early, they have had a great postseason. The CanOpeners/Cantaloupes/Little Giants were led by senior Zach Wiedeman(1). Canton got the day rolling and set the tone for excellent performances by Mid-Illini and Peoria area runners. In the 2A girls race, that pattern was continued as East Peoria finished third as a team to champion Springfield and second place Yorkville. East Peoria was led by sophomore Emma Preston who earned all-state honors in 11th place.

Finally, the moment of truth was arriving as Joe prepared for his race. Though he was only qualified as an individual, the Potters were there as a team, as they have been all season(1,2). Note the excellent Potter wedge formation in the first picture, first introduced and led by Ryland Ivins (1)earlier in the season. Although Smitty could tighten up a little. And apparently Andrew saw a bird, a plane, a helicopter, a UFO or Superman.

After his strides with the team, all non contestants were ordered out of the area and Joe completed a few strides solo as he gathered himself for his race(1,2). Bam! The gun goes off, and Joe successfully completes the first part of the race, often the most confusing. He started running(1)! I'm now going to take a moment to mention some of the other athletes in the race. Peoria Notre Dame was one of the team favorites, led by C.J Elward, himself an individual favorite. Metamora was there, led by Stephan Rauh and Ryan Van Fossen. Also, several of the individual qualifiers from last weeks Sectional were Mid-Illini athletes. These athletes included Hugh Gill of East Peoria, Johnny Crain of Dunlap, and Tyler Morse of Limestone. Oh, and Joe.

As the race came out of the horseshoe and into the zigzag turn by the 'big tree', two runners in white led while Elward calmly waited in third or fourth(1). Sadly Joe was often on the right (outside) side of the course, and myself being on the left (inside), I was not able to get many decent shots of him until later in the race. Shots like this were the good ones in the first half of the race(1). Note that Joe is running with Morse (blue uniform, red hair) and that the two runners cut off at the front of the picture are Crain and Gill. The Mid-Illini guys were running smart and running together. At this point, they were probably around 50th or so.

At the mile mark, Elward made a sudden aggressive move and entered the triangle loop (which was four sided when it was unofficially nicknamed that, and now has more like 5 or 6 sides) with a substantial lead(1). Crain entered the triangle first of the Mid-Illini runners, followed closely by Joe, who was followed by Rauh and Van Fossen of Metamora. I would estimate they were still in around 30th to 35th at this point. Inside the loop, as he often does in the second mile, and just like he did last week, Rauh made a big push to move into second, while Elward lengthened his lead(1,2). Joe Zeller also made a significant push, and came out of the triangle ahead of Crain and near Normal University's top two guys(1,2). He was probably in the top 12-15 at this point. To be honest, I was very pleased with this as I thought it was a well timed move, and that a top 15 finish was a good goal for the day. Little did I know what he had in store for us.

I next positioned myself near the bottom of the hill along the highway, probably around 2.5 miles, along with most of the other Potters. First we saw Elward go by, and though he looked like he was laboring, his lead was still substantial and I thought he had the race locked up(1,2). Next we got the best moment of the day as we slowly started picking out a red uniform in the distance. Joe was in the top 10. No wait, even better. Let's see...1,2,3,4,5,6,7! Joe was in seventh and was running well ahead of many of the runners who'd bested him last week at the Sectional(1,2). Joe held his position all the way to the finish for a big PR of 15:23. This meets his season goal of being faster than me (It looks like I'll be entering some 5ks this next year). Elward, meanwhile, payed for a perhaps too aggressive second mile, and struggled up the final homestretch, being passed by half the field...and moving Joe up to 6th.


After the Race
After the race, Joe was congratulated and surrounded by his teammates, friends, coaches, and the Potter parents...plus Dave and I, whatever category we fit into(1). I did not get the picture unfortunately, but you should have seen the way his dad was waving his arms as he tried to get Joe's attention and congratulate him. Loads of energy there. Joe, on the other hand, looked exhausted(1). We'll forgive his lack of energy. Soon afterward, Joe became an instant celebrity (1,2,3). Look for him on ESPN tomorrow night.

After a short cooldown, we progressed to the award ceremony, where Joe got a fancy medal, some applause, and a 'Tear it up, Joe!' shout from the Potters(1,2,3,4,5). Note how excellently the Mid-Illini did, as they had four in the top 10, led by Rauh's 2nd place finish, followed by Joe in 6th, Van Fossen in 7th, and Crain in 9th(1). Kicked off by Canton and Zach Wiedeman in the 1A race, and finished up by the Mid-Illlini individuals and Metamora's 9th place team finish, the Mid-Illini was probably the strongest 2A conference in the state, backed up by Morton(1), East Peoria and Dunlap teams that didn't quite qualify but likely would have been top 15 teams with a more equal sectional distribution. Look at the scores of the Sectionals and State, I can back that claim up:)

EP Sectional and Mid-Illini rocked
Finally, the East Peoria Sectional showed itself to be the most competitive in the state, with four of it's qualifying teams in the top half of the field, and Yorkville not far behind in 13th of 20 teams. The East Peoria Sectional also had four athletes in the top 10 and 8 athletes earned all-state (top 25). The Belvidere North Sectional had 10 guys earn all-state, but only 3 in the top 10. These two were by far the top Sectionals. If you scored the teams from each Sectional, the East Peoria Sectional wins 36-38 over the Belvidere North Sectional, with the Decatur Macarthur Sectional in third with 56, and the Chicago Jones Sectional bringing up the rear with 80. If you score the individuals, the East Peoria Sectional wins 35-46 over the Belvidere North Sectional, with the Decatur Macarthur Sectional in third with 70, and the Chicago Jones Sectional again in last with 135.

So no matter what kind of trash the people up in the Belvidere North Sectional might like to talk, I think I can safely say that the East Peoria Sectional was the strongest. Belvidere North was a close second, and the Decatur and Chicago (Jones) Sectional were much weaker. I'm not trying to trash those sectionals, but all knowledgeable observers could have told you this a long time ago. The IHSA needs to rethink how it maps the sectionals so that the best teams get to state, instead of just 5 from every 'area'. There were two to three teams left home from the Belvidere North and East Peoria sectionals that likely would have been beaten many of the teams that did qualify from other sectionals. Rant over.

Pizza!
We did not see the girls 3A race, because we were busy with the above awards things. Well, I was anyway. Dave was busy getting pizza. We had 6 pizzas delivered to the park, which is awesome. Apparently, the driver called to make sure it was 'legit'. That makes it even better. Anyway, we enjoyed the pizza and I was too busy eating to take pictures.

3A Boys
Finally, to end the day we had the 3A boys. There was much excitement as sophomore sensation Lukas Verzbicas by all accounts was going after the course record of 13:50.6. Also there was an excellent team battle as York, Neuqua Valley, and Loyola Academy were all legitimate contenders for the win. The race started with Verzbicas out fast. One guy tried to go with him early(1), but was nowhere to be seen by the mile(1). Let me tell you, this Verzbicas kid runs like a gazelle or something. He just has this long floating stride(1,2). It's nuts.

Verzbicas was out incredibly quick, through the mile in around 4:30 or under. He "slowed" to hit the two mile in 9:11 and any records were in jeopardy at this point. He ran strong over the last mile, but you could see he was cooked and couldn't summon the speed needed to get under 14. He finished in 14:07. What a talent, that people were disappointed that he won state by 21 seconds as a sophomore! This time is probably pretty close to the top 10 ever at Detweiller, and has to be the fastest by a sophomore. However, he doesn't even have his school record, as one of the 4 guys who have run under 14 minutes on the course ran for Carl Sandburg as well.

Meanwhile, York's top two guys placed second and third, followed closely by Neuqua Valley's first man, then some Loyola. This race was a perfect example of the importance of the fifth man. Through four runners, the scores were York 57, Loyola 67, and Neuqua Valley 70. Neuqua Valley's 5th runner blew away the other 5th runners, however, and York was weak on the 5th man, reversing the score. Neuqua won with 99, followed by Loyola in 111 and York in 118. It was a great team race, though a pain to spectate because so many of these uniforms look the same.

You can get all the results here
1A Girls
1A Boys
2A Girls
2A Boys
3A Girls
3A Boys

Season Recap coming
In the next week or so, we'll get up a season recap, and some thoughts on the future for the Potters. In the meantime, enjoy your week off and whip Metamora at Ultimate Frisbee.

Unbeknownst to me, but now knownst to you, while I was typing this, Dave was preparing a video