After qualifying for this weekend’s Class 3A boys track and field state meet, Maine South junior Reese Jordan credited his Maine South coaches and Bill Leach, a private running coach.
Jordan finished third in the 1,600-meter run at the Loyola Sectional on Thursday, May 19, in a time of 4 minutes, 18.02 seconds. The top two finishers and any runners who eclipsed the state-qualifying time of 4:21.42 advanced to state. Jordan will return to Charleston after finishing 18th in the 3,200 last year.
However, Jordan’s chances for a return trip looked bleak when a stress reaction in his right foot, which shortened his 2015 cross country season, flared upon again during the indoor track season.
An employee at Dick Pond Athletics, a running store in Park Ridge, told Jordan and his father about Leach, a Chicago-based former track and cross country coach at Illinois-Chicago and DePaul, who is renowned for his ability to analyze a runner’s form in order to improve health and performance.
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Jordan had a series of training sessions with Leach at Chicago’s Cricket Hill Track near Montrose Beach. The coach made some alterations to Jordan’s form, and the runner said the pain began to decrease, and then disappear.
“He fixed my form and now I’m running pain free,” said Jordan, who missed several weeks of competition before returning for the final four regular-season meets.
According to Jordan, Leach said he was leaning forward too much while running and he was advised to run straight up with a shorter stride. The new form puts more stress on the hips and abdominal muscles, and Jordan has been strengthening those muscles.
Jordan, the Hawks’ lone state qualifier, worked out on an elliptical trainer and swam to keep up his stamina during his time away from the track. He ran in flat sneakers until the conference meet, when he brought back the track spikes.
Maine South coach Scott Sutschek said Jordan’s sectional time is among the top five in school history and that an improvement of a couple seconds could be enough to earn a trip to state finals (top 12) this weekend.
“(The sectional) was only his sixth outdoor meet (this season). For as little as he’s raced and how far he’s come back, to be at 4:18 (is great) … usually 4:16 or 4:17 makes finals at state,” Sutschek said.
Sutschek added: “(Jordan) finished in the top 20 in the two mile last year, had a good summer and real good start to the cross country season, until he had the (foot) issue to get squared away. We’re excited about him at the state meet and into his senior year.”
Maine South (16 points) tied for 11th at the 16-team sectional.
Dan Shalin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press