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I remember the good old days of track and field in Illinois, when the Chicago Public League was an annual contender for the state championship, when the city, suburbs and Downstate produced Olympic sprinters, hurdlers, distance runners and jumpers. But that era has passes as swiftly as the stopwatch.
I was a freshman baseball player at Blue Island (now Eisenhower) in 1955 when Willie May emerged as the most dominant hurdler in state history.
Whenever Willie was scheduled to compete in the highs or lows on the adjacent track, everything and everybody would stop what they were doing. "The gun's up, Willie's gonna run," someone would shout. And baseball practice would stop while everyone watched Willie run. Nobody ever caught him.
It was a magical year. Willie, Paul Fuller, Ron Helberg and Robert Rechord, the 880-yard relay team, won the state championship by scoring 18 points to New Trier's 14 1/3. Willie swept the high and low hurdles, the 880 relay won and Rechord was third in the 220.
The state has known other magical years, great teams and great athletes in track and field. Ralph Metcalfe, Ira Murchison, May, Mike Conley, Sunder Nix, Rick Wohlhuter and Greg Foster became Olympians.
Bloom, East St. Louis, East St. Louis Lincoln and Thornwood each won four state titles in a row. Evanston won three in a row.
There were great individual performances from Bloom's Leroy Jackson, Evanston's Howard Jones and Bob McGee, Luther South's Mike Conley, Leo's Ryan Shields, Zion-Benton's Quiande Moore and Wheaton North's Adam Harris.
Conley won four individual titles in 1981 but Luther South lost to Leo 46-40. Conley's triple jump of 51-11 1/2 in 1981 remains the longest leap in state history.
Three state records established in the 1980s still stand. In 1985, Mount Carmel's Harold Leonard won the 400 in Class AA in 46.51 seconds and Stevenson's Mark Deady won the 1,600 in Class AA in 4:07.45. In 1986, Kenwood's Steve Thomas set a Class AA standard by running 100 meters in 10.37 seconds.
In 1973, Lebanon's Craig Virgin set a then national record of 8:38.7 in the 3,200--on the same day that Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by 32 lengths--and Mike McFarland of Parker (now Robeson) set an all-time best of 20.7 seconds for 200 meters in 1974.
Evanston and Lane Tech each scored 27 points to tie for the state team title in 1974, the last time a Public League representative has won a state crown in track and field.
What happened? Why is the Public League no longer competitive in the state meet? Why aren't there any more great sprinters or hurdlers being developed in Illinois? Why has track and field ceased to be an exciting and compelling sport?
One reason is the great athletes no longer choose to compete in track and field. Instead, they play basketball on a year-round basis. Or they lift weights and train with speed coaches in the offseason and concentrate on football. The caliber of the major spring sports, track and baseball, has suffered significantly.
But Skip Stolley, who track and cross-country at Proviso West, Thornwood and Thornridge, then coached at Indiana State and later became an elite club coach in California, has another view. He insists his sport's decline in Illinois isn't because of year-round basketball. "Quite simply, it is because track and field is a coach-driven sport," he said.
"Today, some two-thirds of Illinois' high school track coaches are walk-ons, non-faculty coaches who come on campus at the end of the school day to coach. The need for walk-on coaches was created by the elimination of physical education as a high school graduation requirement.
"So today, high school athletics is carried on the backs of walk-on coaches in almost all sports other than football and basketball. This is not to say that there aren't some great non-faculty coaches in sports like track and field. There are. But being a walk-on coach makes recruiting and promoting your program in the hallways and classrooms almost impossible.
"It is not surprising that today most schools have a new track coach every three years--and that is not how you build a program and develop great teams and great athletes."
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It is sad now days that less kids are going out for track in the spring. Track has been my favorite sport and the school i went to used to be a prestigious southern school back in the 60's and 70's with a prestigious coach. Once the 90's rolled around and the coach got older, he retired and the school just picked a random male teacher to become track coach. Once that happened the program fell apart. At one time 20-30 kids were going out. Now days the numbers are around 10. We still have a handful of great athletes that go out, but our numbers always hurt us. Our schools willingness to fund the program has hurt as well. This spring they are finally constructing an all-weather track and field facility, which is now probably too late. Good article Taylor
Great article and very good insight on the decline of track. I attended Bloom in the late 60's and ran track. I then taught jr high and coached in Park Forest, for over twenty five years. The average number of runners at that time on our track teams was between fifteen and twenty five. That type of turnout and the same coach for all of those years produced winning teams every year. It also introduced track to a large number of runners who were interested in running track in high school and many also in college. But as you correctly described when track programs were replaced by fill ins coaches track teams fell by the wayside. The current trend in all Illinois high school sports now, with the exception of football, is toward elite travel teams and private training. And the idea that sport builds character has been replaced by students working part time jobs in many areas while others are directed to private training and instruction by their parents. The IHSA State Track meet is still a great two days of high school sports faithfully attended by many who fondly recall each of those individuals and teams you mentioned, I remember most of the individuals you mentioned and I believe Willie May also coached some great teams at Evanston led by Howard Jones, Bob McGee and the late Roy Houston. You forgot Bloom's Jan Johnson and I think the first year that the 3200 relay was run in Illinois Thornton set a national mark that stood for almost twenty years. It still might be the most exciting relay race ever run at the state meet.
What happened to track and field?
Track and field is on the rise!!!!
Mr Bell is giving examples from the 1950's and 1980's - those eras are long gone. It is a new era in track and field. I would respect Mr. Bell's article a whole lot more if he was more informed about the sport and actually went to Public League track meets. As a follower of track and field in the Public League for the last 25 years, I've definitely seen it's ups and downs.
The 90's was a down year for boys track primarily due to a coaching void in city for boys track. But it was definitely not the case for girls track. Morgan Park was the unquestioned dominant team in the state from 1992 until 2005. During those years Morgan Park girls finished in the top 2 in the state 14 times including 7 state champions. That is what you call a dynasty.
Girls track is still strong in the Public League. This tiem around it is not relagated to just Morgan Park. In case you haven't noticed girls from Lane Tech (Idia Omiagate), Whitney Young (Reana Rhone, Lavinia Jurkeiwicz, Devyn Thompson, etc), Kenwood (Kawana Brooks), Mather (Kellion Gordon), and Morgan Park are running some of the fastest times in the state. So on the girls side, the talent level is being spread out in more schools. This is due to better coaching in more schools.
The boys are also on the rise. Lane Tech has scored state points two years in a row and has a legitimate 100 meter champion contender in Chris Kyles. Kyle sfinished 5th in the state last year in the 100. Also, Nigel Jolly of Morgan Park won the long jump at state last year with a leap of 22-10. This year, it will be much more than Kyles and Jolly scoring at state. There are several athletes capable of scoring at state this year for the Public League 0 including Lyndon Darden of Whitney young, Steven Clark and Darien Williams of Harlan, Richard Wooten of Hubbard, Julian Deville of Whitney Young, Demetrius Jacobs of Lane Tech, Jonathon Jackson of Lane Tech, and more.
The Public League is improving in both the guys and girls level. I agree there may not be any Olympic Level athletes. But that is not a measure of success. That is a measure of rare talent and work ethic that comes around only rarely for any school.
Mr. Bell, your argument may have held water in the 1990's for the Public League boys, but this is a new decade. We have much improved coaching and a rise of interest in the sport.
So what happened to the Public League? It is on the rise!!
--- Neil Hernandez
Publisher
www.LaneTechFan.com
Chicago Public League sports blog:
http://neilski.typepad.com/wwwlanetechfancom_blog/
Ah come 2 help you Mr. Bell. Back in your days the Chicago Public School system was declared as the nation's worst in "A Nation At Risk." Since then the overall academic expectations to graduate and requirements to even be able to participate in athletics have changed dramatically. Today, the CPS could easily field stronger track and field teams if the academic requirements were lowered to the same standards as back in your days. And I doubt your coach or athletic director had to monitor grades on a weekly basis to ensure eligibility. And what about home stability? Let's compare the percentages of students living in single homes or homeless between today and 30 years ago. It makes a difference. Today's coaches have much more responsibilities than to just coach.
Another major difference today than yesterday is the lure of making millions after high school in the certain sports like basketball. Do you have any idea how many elementary kids and high school freshmen think they are going pro after high school? These kids aren't running track - they are playing AAU basketball. And most of them don't think they need their education because they think they are going pro after high school - not to college. It wasn't like this in your era because you didn't have athletes like Lebron James signing multi-million dollar shoe contracts before even graduating from high school. Today's youth have money and wealth constantly directed at them through music, movies, advertisement, etc. Therefore, most of today's youth center their athletic aspirations around where the money is - basketball, football, and baseball. That is simply the culture of today and the CPS would be dominant in football and baseball as well if the youth programs were funded well and had the facilities. And if it is not making money through sports or later for academics then it is through drugs with gangs. Did you have the Vice Lords or Ganster Disciples back then running the street corners? Our underprivileged youth can easily be lured from academics or athletics to make a quick buck selling drugs.
Although seemingly well written, your article is discriminatory because it doesn't address the changes in academic requirements, the social impact professional sports with high school aged athletes being able to sign multi-million dollar contracts in other sports, nor the impact that inner city gangs impose on our money-oriented society that today's coaches must also deal with.
I read the Taylor Bell piece with a little trepidation. I say this because I was thinking how out of touch it is in regards to not just Chicago Public league and field, but also to the state of Illinois as a whole. Unfortunately, the print media has relegated its mindset to the past. Meanwhile, the electronic media sources have soared because it is totally consumer driven. People get tired of not seeing their favorite athletes and teams covered. They are tired of not having a voice.
The Bell piece is so one sided and biased against what is current. First, Mr. Bell did a horrible job in his research. Who did he interview? I did not read about one single current coach in which his piece could possibly be disputed. It is as though he searched for and wanted pity for an era that has long been past. No offense to coach Skip Stolley, but he hasn't coached in Illinois in decades so how would he know who is coaching? The majority of school districts require the head coach to be either a board member (CPS) or work in the building. I can't barely think of any head coaches not directly affiliated with a school in the capacity I just mentioned.
As far as CPS boys track, it definately is on the rise. Admittedly, it was in a sad state from the late 80's to early 2000's. The top programs are longer pawns Let's take a more in depth look on the boys side: MATHER- head coach Dale Devinney teaches math at Lane. He has coached in the CPS for about 11 years and been head coach at Mather since 2001. His staff is experienced as well. They each have extensive backgrounds in the sport- which makes all the more important. LANE TECH- Kris Roof is a special education teacher at Lane Tech. He has been coaching since graduation from college in 2001 (all at Lane Tech). He assumed the head coaching job in 2002 and has had nothing but success. Arguably his greatest success has to be building Lane's track and field program up with sprints and not distance (as it is often known for). Roof has worked with Rich Rio (AD) in getting football players out. Needless to say the marriage has been blissful. Lane Tech is now a viable force in the state of Illinois. Such athletes of note from football are all city standout players Chris Kyles, Rashee Allen, Laken Tomlinson, and more. WHITNEY YOUNG- Eric Wiegmann teaches PE at WY. He has been head coach at WY for nearly 7 years. He produces top talent each year and adds to the depth of CPS track. MORGAN PARK- Coach Lexie Spurlock is AD at MP and head football coach. His Mustangs are often in the press for the amount of blue chip football recruits produced. But the Mustangs have excelled in track. Nigel Jolly is defending state champion in the long jump. Most of the talented sprinters are from the football team. Lincoln Park, Kenwood, and several schools in the city have coaches who stayed and they have produced quality talent and results.
Prep track and field in Illinois is equally strong. It appears that more athletes from other sports are competing in track and field. For example, the 2008 7A state football champion E. St. Louis Sr (most say better than 8A champ) and football team is composed of the same guys. Guess who won state last year in track? ESL. Kraig Appleton of ESL is one of the top receivers in the country, but he is one of the top 300m intermediate hurdlers in the country as well. Their quarterback Dechaulz Wray is a track guy too. How about local football power Maine South? Fleet footed quarterback Charlie Garo teamed up with several teammates and they won the 4x200m relay at state last year. So, it appears track is more than the traditional diehards from within that compete. Oh yeah, York has one of the top overall programs in the country.
I am known to speak my mind on things and that's what I'm going to do in this last portion.
Mr. Bell- please do your homework in the future. Prep track and field in Illinois is alive and well my friend. You can get a participation report from the CPS and IHSA. The numbers are strong. Also, there is a website called Dyestat. It is the home of high school track and field. They have affiliate sites in California, New York Metro, Illinois, and Pacific Northwest. Dyestat is also owned by ESPN (which is owned by Disney). The numbers are great nationally and they are sweet statewide- people are reading and getting their source of info from there (a number of print writers too!).
Mr. Bell:
I would love to sit down and talk track with you. Just name the place and time.
Tony Jones
Co-editor Dyestat Illinois
www.dyestatil.com
Unbelievable. Mr. Bell, when was the last time you got out to a track meet? From the looks of your article, it was around 1981. You did, however, manage to find Skip Stoley. Good for you. He hasn't been seen around a track in Illinois since around 1980. You, however, found it necessary to quote him as your expert on Illinois Track and Field now. Good job. Next time, why don't you dig up the bones of Ralph Steben, the great Bloom coach of the late 1950's. His corpse is more in touch with Illinois Track & Field than Skip Stoley.
Perhaps your warped perspective is due to the lack of coverage your dismal paper gives to track & field.
A request for you , Mr. Bell. Stick to writing about the glory days of Basketball, and keep traveling to small towns and letting us know how Joe Country loves his high school hoops. If you really want to write about Track & Field, you might want to attend a meet or two.
If you can't do that, it might be time for you to retire. It might be time anyway.
Neil and Tony,
I respect your opinions but please consider what I think is Taylor's point. We all know there are many gifted athletes walking the CPS system's hallways and many more in the suburbs and downstate. But they're not going out for track in the numbers that we saw in the past. Why is this? This sport is the only sport where you can measure and compare what kids are doing today to what kids did in 1990 or 1970. Just look at the record books.... I wish it were different but something is sliding south. I am happy that Nigel Jolly of Morgan Park wins state last year with his winning long jump mark of 22-10. He and his coaches should be very proud. However in 1966 the Evanston HS track team had 2 kids that both bettered that mark and a third that jumped over 21 feet in the same year .... And that was over 40 years ago when kids ran on cinder tracks and thought eating "Wonder Bread" and "Wheaties" actually made a difference!... There hasn't been a great sprinter come out Illinois in the last 10 years. Nobody has run the 800 under 1:50 in ten years. Outside of Donald Sage in 2000 no one has even approached Craig Virgins mark in the 3200 in 35 years. Of course there are some exceptional kids and coaches out there today in Illinois today doing great things.... Make no mistake about that. But will we see another Greg Foster? Will another Sunder Nix surface? My guess is yes.... But will we see track and field in Illinois grow back to where it was in the past?... I have my doubts.
-Track and field (and cross country) is a coach driven sport, in terms of long term success. All sports are subject to the occational special group or athlete that cause the team to have short-term success; long term success in T&F and XC requires a program to be in place and consistantly taught, year in and year out. In fact, I would argue that this is true of all high school sports. In terms of T&F, choose a successful program, male or female, and look at the coaching staff in terms of longevity. The best programs have the same coach or coaches, and have had them, for some time.
- There is an undeniable difference in the overall quality of the top performances of yester-year compared to today. This trend is clearly reversing though. Go through the IHSA website and compare times from year to year. The trend is clear - the top performances are beginning to break the records of the past AND, more signficantly, more people are running times that were once considered elite. Proof of this can be seen in the last person earning a medal in AAA as well as in the standards to simply qualify to state consistantly, year after year, becoming more challenging. Look it up!
- This article though, clearly has some journalistic issues. Lack of sources. Lack of data. Did you watch the past Olympics and Olympic Trials Taylor? There where Illinois grads all over the place (Men's 10k, Women's Steeplechase, Women's HH) and there are more on the rise!
- There are some issues that caused a weakening in track - the addition of new sports over the last 30 years, "awards for all mentality" that have added classes to the sport, "helicopter" parents that think they know better versus parents of the past that simply said "Do what your coach tells you.", uneducated and/or uninspired coaches that come and go (killing successful traditions, and maybe most imporantly, a significantly changed society when it comes the activity of our youth. Today's children are the most obese in human history - they hate P.E. and recess! - They think a 400 meter is a long race! - They would rather sit on the bench of a soccer or basketball team, or cheerlead, then develop over themselves to become elite track runners. Track is not a glamour sport in Illinois. It is a side note. The adults have made this a reality. How much coverage do our papers give to Track and Field. Significantly and noticeable less! In every paper this is true. The Sun Times barely covers track at all; The Daily Herald claims "a limited budget" yet puts massive color pictures of a random baseball game in over a conference championship meet; the Tribune, I am guessing, thinks that H.S. track is only worthy of the occational side note.
Go the east coast or west coast; it is like a different planet in terms of track.
Mr. Bell - please avoid sitting down with Tony Jones concerning CPS track. Tony is not an official representative of CPS track. As a weak DyestatIL co-editor, Tony mostly covers meets that the school he coaches at (Lane Tech) enters and he lacks the knowledge and character to provide an accurate and unbiased representation of what's currently going on in CPS track. Thomas Smith is the administrator for CPS track and field and that is who you would need to sit down with, not Tony Jones.
Mr. Bell - please, meet with Tony Jones of Lane Tech HS. You will have a great time because Tony is wonderful. Better yet, have a sit in with Tony Jones and Thomas Smith as I'm sure Mr. Smith will enjoy Tony's company too. Tony is an advocate and huge supporter of high school track and field. I have always enjoyed his writings on Dyestat as he covers track meets from a different angle. Mr. Bell, maybe some time you will write about a fine school such as Whitney Young HS not having an outdoor track, and how those athletes have to traipse all over town to practice taken huge chunks of time daily on public transportation or getting stuck in rush hour traffic?
Dear Taylor,
You and I go back to the days of the old Chicago Daily News and my friend Dave Manthey. You used to go to the City meets with Jerry Shanae from the Chicago Tribune.
You even came all the way out to King HS to interview me and Edward Thomas my state 300m LH champ (1976). All you guys were writing up the great Greg Foster and you overlooked Thomas who beat Greg. I saw Greg at the IPTT Meet and he
remembers those days.
But now I am at Whitney Young 39 years later and I can safely say track and field is live and well. P.S. We have NO facilities to train but we still produce a great product athlete. Come out and see us like Tina does
As a parent of a track athlete and track coach of both boys and girls track teams, I think that track has been hurt by a variety of things. The addition of more spring sports, specialization, and work have caused a decline in the number of students who might have joined track in the past. Track is hardly covered in any paper and scholarships are usually not full rides as most colleges split their scholarship money. In the last few years, I have seen more football players join the team, which is the reason my son started as a freshman. Now as a senior, he has become a good hurdler and will continue his athletic career in college in both football and track.
THAT IS WHAT MADE TAI STREETS SO SPECIAL, HE PLAYED 3
SPORTS, AND WAS GREAT IN ALL OF THEM, WE NEED MORE TAI
STREETS IN EVERY SCHOOL, A PERSON WHO PUT IT ON THE LINE
EVERY SEASON, WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE 3 SPORTS ATHLETE?
THAT IS THE TRUE QUESTION?
WE ALL KNOW THE STARTING BACKFIELD WAS ONCE THE RELAY
TEAM AT MOST OF THE CPS SCHOOLS, WE NEED A COMEBACK, WE
NEED MORE TAI STREETS ATTITUDE AT EVERY SCHOOL!
On April 24th 2009 Dan Block of Lake Park HS, who owns the state discus record, set a new state shot put record. I did not see one mention of this in any news paper. Tribune, Sun Times, Daily Herald or even the Roselle Press. There was an article about a basketball player that decided to attend a small D3 school.
A few years back the Chicago Blackhawks were on the brink. They had no fan base, no radio or tv coverage, and no one much cared. Wala! Bill Wirtz passes on and the Hawks have radio, tv and press coverage and now they are the toast of the town.
You wonder about the decline of track and field? You must be looking in your newspaper for your information.The CPS has a lot of problems not he least of is a lack of coaches and facilities. Maybe you could help drum up the excitement that is happening in the state and city instead of whining about how when you were in school you had to run the mile uphill both ways.
My father coached state championship teams in the early to mid 60's in cross country and track. He left the teaching and coaching profession because it didn't offer the rewards for him. His athletes ran superb, national level times.
I think Stolley has a point. Track and field is a coach driven profession. And Stolley was just one of many, many talented coaches in the 70's. It makes a difference, and so does the ability to recruit numbers - a real advantage a coach who teaches in the school can obtain. I know how many kids my father got out for the sport at Proviso West - it was extraordinary in terms of numbers. And from those numbers, success ensued.
By the way, just from looking at the numbers, I do think that track is still doing well in Illinois. But it still doesn't approach the the halcyon days of the 70's. Heck, it too a 4:16 mile (4:14 1600) to make the state meet finals back then - I can personally attest to that. And athletes like Nat Page, Greg Foster, Gale Olson, Jim Spivey, Sunder Nix and on and on would be
in the mix - truly superb national level athletes.
I do concede not being familiar with the academic requirements of the CPS and their impact on all sports. It is a shame if there are a group of capable athletes that are not meeting academic requirements in numbers - why are nation is so at risk, really.
Amen to getting more three sport athletes!! Very few students are three sport athletes for more than a few years. My son was a four year, three sport athlete. He has worked so hard to be successful in all. His take on being in one sport is-BORING!! His work ethic has brought him success in all three this year, as he was named the MVP in football, wrestling and last night he was honored with the MVP in track also. Did it come easy? No, it takes work both during and outside of the season. He loved the changing seasons as each one has its own challenges. Being in athletics help student-athletes also focus on academics and you meet so many different people. We need to see more multi sport athletes!
I truly believe the reason why High School Track and Field has declined in Illinois, is highly because of the training these young athletes are receiving. I am a parent of a track and field athlete as well as a big fan of the sport and these days the athletes are either not trained by individuals who are certified or have any clue about the type of training each individual should be receiving for thier specific event. Example...I've had of several athletes ask should sprinters run 800's in practice all the time for training? I understand the concept of conditioning, but sprint and middle distance races are totaly different and the training should be different.
Another point I would like to make is the IHSA limits the athletes to much. These are athletes who have goals and perhaps are looking for scholarships. If the IHSA would just allow the schools to participate in events like the Nike Invitationals, The Penn Relays, The Texas Relays, and Arcadia, they will see how serious other states take this sport. These coaches must do their home work. Just look at the last 4 years of IHSA State Champions and compare it to the times in Texas, Virginia, and California. Most of our state champions would not have even made it to the finals in these other states.
Also look at the times, Alexandria Anderson and Shalina Clarke ran when they were in high school here in Illinois. Please look at thier times and where they are now. Texas and USC. Good Athletes + Knowledgable Coaches brings national success.
The botton line is, the athletes want to win, but only the right preparation and being exposed to meets with high calibur athletes will possible bring these schools and coaches to changing some of their beliefs.
Does any paper even cover Track? A Freshman (Shannon Nugent - High Jump) and Soph (Taylor Krue - 400m) both set school records (Vernon Hills HS) in their 1st meet.
Without coverage, who knows? who cares? Let's cover D1 downstate (no readers here) BB instead.
Quite honestly, I am tired of all the bashing that the non faculty coaches get. I have been a non faculty head coach in CC and Track for 24 years! My school has a co-ed enrollment of 520 and we have 95 athletes in our Track program on an annnual basis. We get 50-55 out every year for CC. We have been to State Meets in Track for the past 18 years in a row and CC State Meets 19 of the last 24 years! I have coached over 320 state qualifiers, 65 All-State athletes and 3 State Champions! Our program has sent 136 on to the college level. I will outrecruit any faculty coach outside of Joe Newton. Why don't we consider the quality of individuals coaching and not make the warm body teacher coach as a false prerequisite to success! Coach Stolley is an icon in the sport and hopefully he will turn North Park University's program around, however the real problem is selfish coaches in other sports discouraging kids from having another positive life experience for what! These majority of kids are not going to the NBA or NFL. Coaches have to sell the sport at their schools. The days of great athletes just showing up at the doorsteps are over! Sell the sport! Sell the Dream! Sell the vision! Quit blaming non faculty coaches as the sole problem here!
I did leave out the other important point which is the media and Mr Bell are the problem! Very limited coverage, instead let's cover another mediocre Baseball game! No OFFENSE TO THAT SPORT! The onle coverage seems to be slanted in a negative manner! Get a clue!
Where is the legend Howard Jones from the early 1970's Evanston track today? Is he coaching somewhere? Did he ever play college football?
this is awsome