Eberhart’s meaningful win in Girls race for a cause; The Boys race that no one wanted to win

By Michael Newman

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A full moon started to rise in the sky just before the start of the Girls High School race at Detweiller At Dark. More than 1300 runners traveled to historic Detweiller Park for a night of music, an energetic light show, and some fast running.

The Girls race showcased Yorkville’s team that finished second at the state meet on this course a year ago. Their race on Friday night showed that the Lady Foxes could be one of the top ten teams in the nation and challenging for a state title in November.

The pace went out slow as Yorkville’s Emily Eberhart and Helena Kleronomos, Oswego’s Isabelle Christiansen, and freshmen Lianna Surtz of Rosary and Katrina Schlenker of Batavia passed the first mile in 5:39. It was Eberhart in the deep of the night that pushed the pace entering the triangle part of the course. By the time that she got to the 2-mile mark in 11:27, Eberhart had the race under control. She crossed the line in 17:07.6.

What made her win more significant is one of the causes that the Detweiller at Dark fights for. Proceeds from the meet go to JRDF and the cure for type 1 diabetes. Eberhart, who is an all-state runner, has type 1 diabetes and manages that every day.

“I’m a type 1 diabetic. This race is kind of important to me,” Eberhart said. “I was thinking about it the whole time if I could finish strongly, I could show that type 1 diabetes can’t stop people. It made me feel good. It definitely helped me through the race.”

“It is definitely a challenge on a day to day basis,” Eberhart added. “Diabetes is something that is never consistent. My parents help me through it a lot.  I don’t know if I would be able to it without them. My teammates are also supportive. I do not know if I would be able to do this without them.”

Yorkville placed four runners in the first seven places with Kleronomos in second six seconds behind. Kailey Fox, who moved from Peotone after last cross-country season to Yorkville and ran on the team’s track team last spring, moved up during the race to finish third (17:16.6). Surtz (17:18.2) and Schlenker (17:19.1) finished fourth and fifth followed by Christiansen (17:26.2) who ran five seconds faster on Friday then what she finished at state last November.

Olivia Borowiak was Yorkville’s fourth runner (17:27.4).

Then came the Boys High School race: the race that nobody willingly wanted to win.

There has been a thing that has quietly drifted around Illinois Cross-Country named “The Det At Dark Curse”. In the past three years of the high school races, a winner in either of the races has received a little bad luck during the season. It was something that some of the runners in this race that had discussed before the gun went off under a full moon.

Downers Grove North’s Jack Roberts led a pack that included Thomas Shilgalis of Naperville Central, Ethan Kirk of York, and Roberts teammates Miles Christensen and Matt Moravec through the first mile in 4:51. Roberts and Kern broke away from the pack during the second mile going through 2-miles in 9:53 with a seven second lead.

Roberts pulled away in what it looked like a win, or so we thought.

In the final 20 meters, Roberts started to slow down. It wasn’t the weather that was affecting him. The temperature was near 70 with low humidity. Roberts was in great shape as it showed during this race.

He stopped. He went to one knee to tie his shoe.

Maybe it was a tribute to the late York Coach Joe Newton with the “shoe-tie trick”. Newton would also yell that phrase when one of his runners slowed down to catch their breath and run one less lap.

It wasn’t that.

It was the curse. Roberts did not want to cross the line first.

“A lot of us are a little superstitious about the Detweiller at Dark curse,” said Roberts afterwards. “There was a little chitchat during the race with some of the other guys. It was pretty understood between us that no one was willing to risk it. We were all willing to race. When it came to cross the line, I’m superstitious. I was not willing to risk it.”

As Roberts was tying his shoe, race director Adam White was screaming to Roberts “You need to cross the line!”

Roberts looked back at the course and saw Kern approaching. The York junior slowed down and shook Roberts hand before he crossed the line.

At that point, a pack of runners approached the line led by Shilgalis. The All-American from Naperville Central crossed the line. After he hit the first mat, he realized that he was the first across with Bloomington’s Nick Doud close by his side. Roberts and Kern then crossed in third and fourth.

“I did not realize that I had finished first as I crossed. I thought they (Roberts and Kern) already done so,” Shilgalis said. “I’ll just have to go out and bust that curse.”

Two seconds separated the top six runners in the race with Christensen and York’s Daniel Klysh fifth and sixth just another second back.

“When I had the lead, I did not know what I was going to do,” added Roberts. Could I go through with it stopping? When it came to the finish line, I just slowed down. I just had to wait it out.”

Then again, this is the middle of summer compared to November at Detweiller when the stakes will be higher. A July race will not be remembered on how well you ran.

However, this race was the craziest finish I had ever seen in person. It will always be remembered for years to come. It was the race that no one wanted to win.

Photo: Yorkville celebrates their Girls team win (Mike Newman photo)

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