For Brett Gardner, the path to becoming a cross country runner started when he was playing hockey.
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“When I was in sixth grade, I got cut from a hockey team,” Gardner said. “I was playing for a high-level team.”
It was time for a new challenge.
“I was always a pretty quick runner, like in P.E. class,” Gardner said. “So I decided, ‘I’m going to go out for cross country and see what happens.’ On the first day I was the fastest kid there, and I just kept going from there.”
The Lincoln-Way East sophomore is one of the top runners in the Southland. Gardner won individual titles on Sept. 16 at the Argo Dave Brady Invitational and on Sept. 30 at the Lisle Mane Event.
Gardner and teammate Mike Trost were third and fourth, respectively, to lead Lincoln-Way East to first place at the T.F. South Rich Dust Invitational on Sept. 2. East also won the Dave Brady meet.
If not for two Sandburg All-Staters, Gardner would own back-to-back SouthWest Suburban Blue championships. Gardner was second to Martin Skucas last year and to Class 3A state title contender Dylan Jacobs on Saturday at Lockport.
Before bad weather postponed the girls race to Monday, Jacobs covered the campus course in a blistering 14 minutes, 31.5 seconds to 15:23.5 for Gardner, a time good enough to win most conference meets.
“I like running against Dylan because it gives me that sense of trying to go out and run a (personal record) PR, and not really worry about place,” Gardner said. “Try to stick with him as long as I can.”
East qualified for the 2016 state meet and Gardner (66th, 15:11) was the Griffins’ No. 2 runner behind now graduated All-Stater Noah Healy.
Next for Gardner and East is Saturday’s Andrew Regional at Turtlehead Lake, where the top six teams will advance to the Granite City Sectional.
“It’s just working on building up to that point where I’m competing at the top level and attempting to go All-State,” Gardner said.
“After that, I want to try to make it to nationals the next couple years. Do pretty well there, and then run Division I.”
Conference champs: With Jacobs in this year’s meet, Sandburg reclaimed the SouthWest Blue championship from 2016 winner Lincoln-Way East.
The Eagles’ top five were Jacobs, Robbie Sieczkowski (third, 15:30.9), Nico Calderon (fifth, 15:42.4), Ben Giblin (sixth, 15:44.8) and Will Giblin (seventh, 15:48.1).
“We came off a really strong race at Peoria Central,” Jacobs said. “It was our best race of the season by far. We had a great two through five 15-second gap. They’re bringing the momentum into these postseason races.”
Lincoln-Way Central sophomore Jared Kreis won the individual title to help the Knights retain the team championship of the SouthWest Red meet at Turtlehead Lake.
Central’s first five were Kreis (15:52.7), Andrew Englert (third, 16:18.1), Zak Hutchinson (fourth, 16:39.0), Nate Rittenbacher (fifth, 16:43.3) and Justin Hearne (eighth, 16:51.4).
Tim Tierney is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.