Dylan Jacobs wasn’t feeling like himself Saturday when he lined up for the Class 3A boys cross country state meet.
But after the Sandburg senior and last year’s third-place finisher came in sixth at Detweiller Park, he didn’t make any excuses.
“Just got to deal with it,” Jacobs said.
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He had plenty to deal with, according to Sandburg coach John O’Malley.
“He’s got a viral infection,” O’Malley said of Jacobs. “The whole week, I wasn’t sure I was going to let him run.”
But Jacobs ran, and held with the top three runners for most of the race. He covered the course in 14 minutes, 36 seconds. Lyons’ Danny Kilrea, runner-up in 2016, took the state title in 14:08.
“He’ll never give an excuse,” O’Malley said. “I’m pretty confident he had a shot at the course record. Where he was last week and how confident he was, he was ready to take a crack at the record.
“The kid has the biggest heart in the world and toughed it out for his team.”
The Notre Dame-bound Jacobs didn’t hesitate to compliment Kilrea, who also plans to run for the Irish.
“He was great at the mile mark,” Jacobs said. “He took it. He just kept pushing. I tried to hold on and couldn’t hold on. The other guys ran smart races, got me at the end.
“You’ve got to be happy for him. He worked hard for it and he deserved it.”
Always quick to point out success by his teammates, Jacobs again had plenty of praise for his running partners.
“I was really proud of our team,” Jacobs said. “We had a lot of guys (reach personal records). Robbie Sieczkowski, ran (15:00). Nico Calderon, another great race, ran (15:14) for a PR. Even all the other guys put it all out there.”
With Jacobs leading the way, as usual.
“You’ve got to deal with what happens and you’ve got to move on from there,” Jacobs said. “You’ve got to give it to them and I’ll be back next week.”
The two-time all-state pick plans to run in the elite Nike Cross Nationals Midwest Regional in Terre Haute, Ind.
In 2A, Illiana Christian senior Austin Ohm placed fifth in 14:47 to earn all-state recognition as one of the top 25 finishers.
“It feels great,” Ohm said. “I wasn’t sure what I was going to do today. I was hoping to be top five. I thought with all the mud, it would help me out. Because I have a longer stride, so it’s less steps in the mud, less slipping.”
Kaneland’s Matthew Richtman won the state title in 14:23. Ohm went out with the leaders and stayed up front.
“I just wanted to get out fast so I didn’t get stuck in the turn,” Ohm said. “That’s the only reason why I went out fast. And I knew that’s where I needed to be, too, was up front.”
Senior teammate Derek Van Prooyen (24th, 15:16) also earned all-state status to help Illiana place 17th.
Marist sophomore Tommy Leonard finished 48th in 15:41 and the RedHawks placed 24th as a team.
Providence’s Kyle Bell was 77th and teammate Jimmy Grill finished 109th running as individuals.
Tim Tierney is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southown.
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