Nov. 12--Like Chris Derrick and Lukas Verzbicas before him, Jon Davis gave it his best shot.
But when it was all over Saturday afternoon, Craig Virgin's record was still standing.
Virgin, who went on to fame at Illinois and for the U.S. national team, set the state-meet record of 13 minutes, 50.6 seconds while running for Lebanon in 1972.
As other state records have fallen in track and field -- the 1,600 and 3,200 marks both have been set in the last 15 years -- Virgin's standard has become the holy grail for Illinois prep distance runners. Neuqua Valley's Derrick came closest to breaking it, running 13:52 in 2007. Sandburg's Verzbicas went 13:54 in 2010.
The latest challenger was Davis, who ran a national-best 14:10 on the state-meet course at Detweiller Park in Peoria in September. That made the Oakwood senior the overwhelming favorite to repeat as Class 1A state champ, but he had bigger dreams.
Virgin, who has followed the chase for his record over the years, was glad to hear it.
"The young man's got nothing but guts to run what he did in September," Virgin said. "And then (people) say, 'Well, how close can you get to 14?' He said, 'Why not go for 13:50? If I'm winning by 50 seconds, I might as well go for the record because if I die, I'm still not going to get second. I'm going to hang on (to finish first).'"
Virgin, who spoke with Davis a few days before the race, was impressed by the latter's workout regimen. That included coming to Detweiller for interval training: three one-mile runs followed by a final 800 meters. "I said, 'Hey, that's a great idea, I wish I'd done that,'" Virgin said.
On Saturday, Davis started well, passing the mile in about 4:30. "A little faster than I wanted," he said. "But I thought, 'I'm on record pace at the half (way point of the race)."
But, Davis added, "I think I relaxed a little bit between the 1 1/2- and 2-mile."
He wound up running 14:00 -- and impressing Virgin, who was watching from the bleachers near the finish line.
"Terribly courageous effort," Virgin said. "He's got good leg speed, he's got power with his arms."
What Davis didn't have was anyone to push him, as 1A runner-up Andrew Warnes of Tolono Unity was 45 seconds back at 14:45. And midweek rains made for a soft course, which Virgin said produces slower times.
But Davis' strong finish impressed Virgin.
"I didn't even think he was going to break 14:05 until that last 400," Virgin said. "He's very strong. With this time and that finish, I think he could be a factor in the national championships. ... I believe that he can crack the top 10 for sure, potentially -- with that finish -- the top five."
For his part, Davis believes Virgin's record is safe.
"I think it's going to stand for quite a while," Davis said. "He's a very good runner. I don't think he gets the notoriety he deserves."
Public notice: The Public League has had its moments at Detweiller in recent years, with Young's Lavinia Jurkiewicz winning the 3A girls individual title in 2009 and Jones' boys taking the Class 2A team championship in 2012.
But team success in the big-school ranks had been tough to come by till Young's boys broke through in a big way on Saturday. The Dolphins, who opened eyes with a runner-up finish at the Lake Park Sectional the week before, finished eighth in the 25-team field with 232 points.
No Public League team had finished that high in the big-school division, or before that, in the single-class format, since Lane was fourth in 1966.
But Young coach Billy Poole-Harris wasn't surprised.
"It was realistic," he said. "We went into it wanting third (place). Neuqua Valley, Sandburg and Lyons -- all those guys are heavy hitters. But you know, we were in the hotel room talking about strategy and we recalled the Italian lady (Roberta Vinci) who beat Serena (Williams, in the U.S. Open semifinals)."
The Dolphins were led by a pair of all-staters in sophomore Clayton Mendez, who was 12th in 14:37, and senior Sam Wischnewsky, who finished 23rd in 14:45. The Public League's last big-school boys All-Stater before this year was Kennedy's Onecimo Guereca in 1997 in Class AA.
"The suburban schools have been on a pedestal for a long time and to crack into that is phenomenal," Poole-Harris said.
There was also good news for the Public League in the 3A girls race, as Lane sophomore Maggie Scholle earned All-State honors by finishing 23rd in a personal-best 17:05.
"I went out a tiny bit fast, but I stuck mostly to what I planned to do," Scholle said.
That involved not getting caught up by the fast pace set by the frontrunners, including Naperville North's Judy Pendergast, who ran a course-record 15:54.
"I tried not to let the people who were going out get to me," Scholle said. "I tried to run my race."
Looking ahead: Cross country is unusual among Illinois high school sports in that the state finals aren't the end of the season. The best teams and individuals will be competing in one or both of the national competitions sponsored by Nike and Foot Locker.
The Nike Cross Nationals Midwest Regional will be Sunday in Terre Haute, Ind., with the nationals set for Dec. 5 in Portland, Ore. The Foot Locker Midwest Regional will be Nov. 28 in Kenosha, Wis., and that national meet will be Dec. 5 in San Diego.
Among those headed to Kenosha are Yorkville's girls, who won their fifth consecutive Class 2A title on Saturday.
"We ran pretty well, but we definitely have improvement to make for next week," Yorkville coach Chris Muth said. "This was a really good test for us because we hadn't been pushed the last two weeks. We weren't completely on, but we were good enough for today and that's what we wanted. ...
"I thought the girls gave me everything they had, don't get me wrong. We just weren't at our peak here and I think we will be next week."
mclark@tribpub.com
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