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Tales From the Track
Benny Jay returns to give his perspective from the State Cross Country Meet
Ben Joravsky/ Photos by Cassandra Geiger
Craig Virgin Lives!
Back in the day, there was this superstar long-distance runner from Lebanon High School in downstate Illinois and his name was Craig Virgin.
I’ll be surprised if a lot of our younger Dyestat readers know much about him – since his great races took place a long, long time ago – but he’s the greatest long-distance runner Illinois has ever produced.
I know all about Virgin because we came out of high school in the same year and we both ran cross-country. If you call what I did running. More like waddling. My motto was, hey, someone has to finish last, it might as well be me. But I digress….
Virgin was one of those once-in-a-lifetime runners who runs with no fear and feels no pain. Of if they do feel pain or fear they manage to ignore it or, better yet, use it as inspiration to run even faster.
For most of his high-school career, Virgin was running against normal human beings whom couldn’t possible keep up with him so in actuality he was running by himself. His real competition was the clock. He locked in on the time he wanted to achieve and just took off. If other runners wanted to give it a go and stay pace, fine. But sooner or later the other runners fell back because if they all ran like Craig Virgin then all runners would be great. No one said life was fair.
Virgin went on to have a fabulous career – three-time Olympian (1976, 1980, &1984), record holder in the 10,000 meter run, Big Ten and NCAA champion at the University of Illinois and world Cross Country champion. He would have been a medallist at the 1980 Olympics, but the United States boycotted those games because – oh, don’t even get me started.
But despite his great accomplishments in college and international competition, perhaps his greatest achievement took place right here in good, old Detweiller Park in Peoria  | Craig Virgin (#10-1 in the middle) at the start of the
1972 State Cross Country Meet
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as a senior back in the fall of 1972. Having won the cross country championship in his junior year – in those days there was only one class for all schools, big or small – he knew no one could beat him. So he was determined to smash the state record he had set the year before.
According to the Tribune’s account, “it was chilly and the ground was soggy, but there was little wind” on the day of the race. Virgin ran 13.50.6 – smashing his old record by over nine seconds. He beat the second-place runner – Stan Vannier of Centralia – by over thirty seconds. That’s a whole lot of seconds, people. If you want an idea of how much, count out thirty seconds in your mind and think about all the things you can do in that time. Still counting? Okay, you can stop. The point is Virgin had a lot of time to kill before the next runner came in.
Great runners have come and gone since that day back in 1972, but Virgin’s record remains – thirty-seven years and counting. The closest anyone came was Chris Derrick of Neuqua Valley in 2007, and he fell less than two seconds short.
I think about Virgin at this time of year because there’s always some latest, greatest runner – the next Craig Virgin – who’s looking to break his mark. This year’s model is Lukas Verzbicas, the rail-thin sophomore out of Sandburg High School.
Lukas got hurt last year, otherwise he probably would have won last year’s meet as a freshman. But he’s been running strong all year and folks are saying if anyone can break Virgin’s record, he’s the one.
To hear people talk about it, it wasn’t Lukas versus Andrew Smith or Jack Driggs (York) or Aaron Beattie (Neuqua Valley) or any of the other great 3A runners in the state – it was Lukas versus history, or, more specifically, Craig Virgin’s 13.50.6.
I won’t lie to you, folks, I was rooting for Virgin. I’m turning into one of those old-timers who are always talking about how great things were back in the day. You don’t want to get me going about the glory days of the 1970s.
So I was telling everyone I knew – and even some I didn’t – that there was no way, absolutely, no way, Craig Virgin’s great achievement was going down. Nothing against Lukas, but beating 13.50? Sorry, that’s sacred.
 | Lukas Verzbicas just past the 1 mile mark at the State Meet
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But a funny thing happened – everything changed when I saw Lukas run by. He was on fire. Hair flying back. Arms pumping. Had that fiery look in his eyes. Kids on the sideline were cheering his name.
I couldn’t help myself. Next thing you know, I’m yelling: “Go, kid, go!”
I watched the final mile with the coaches in the bleachers at the finish line. When Lukas broke through the clump of trees to make that long last run up the infamous Detweiller incline, the clock had passed thirteen minutes and all the old timers knew – he wasn’t going to beat Virgin. Sure enough, Lukas wound up at 14:07. Virgin lives!
The general consensus of all the coaches is that the kid went out too fast – he ran a 4:30 first mile -- in the unseasonably warm 70-degree heat. Had he paced himself with a couple of 4:40 miles to start, he’d have had enough energy for a strong record-breaking kick.
But Lukas had no regrets. When I caught up with him after the race, he said he was glad he went out strong. The real problem is that he had a lingering Achilles ache that limited his training in the week before the race. “It was a great honor to be talked about with Virgin,” he said. “If I had the training, I’d have done it. But I still won the race. And there’s next year.”
Was he cocky? A little. But so was Virgin. Did I ever tell you about the time he beat Steve Prefontaine’s prep-record for the two-mile run? (Yes, youngsters, that Steve Prefontaine.) It happened at Prospect High school back in June of 1973. Folks in stands were chanting: “Go, Craig, go!” as he raced toward the finish. He ran an 8:40.9 – in the brutal heat. Like I was saying, I can go on and on about the good, old days.
All in all, I’m glad Lukas went out strong. I hope he keeps going out strong and that he reaches all of his goals, even if that means passing the legends of my youth.
For the moment, Craig Virgin remains Illinois’s greatest. It’s only fitting that his record last forever, or at least one more year.
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Congratulations Ray and Maggie and Uncle John
When Lavinia Jurkiewicz raced across the finish line – her arms aloft in triumph – to win the girls 3A championship, the happiest man in all of Detweiller Park was Ray, her proud papa.
In the race’s aftermath, as reporters, college coaches, teammates, friends and vanquished runners, descended to congratulate Lavinia, Ray could only stagger about in a daze.
“I never imagined this would happen,” he said. “I can’t believe – that’s my little girl.”
A lot of fathers of daughters can appreciate what he was going through. There comes a time when a father realizes daughter has moved on to a new phase of life. And no matter how much she remains his little girl to everyone else she is something far different – in this case, the new state champ!
There’s really nothing you can say at such a moment. Words can never adequately express the sentiments you feel. Mostly all you can do is wipe away your tears of pride and watch in wonder.
An hour or so later, Ray was still flying high. He was standing on the sidelines, just another face in the crowd, as Lukas Verzbicas chased Craig Virgin’s ancient record. He was clapping and cheering and I swear he was flying so high he could have entered that race and kept pace with Lukas. At least for a half mile. Well, okay, maybe a quarter.
It’s been my great pleasure to have gotten to know Lavinia and her family over the last four years. I know how hard she worked and how much she had to overcome – injuries then more injuries – to cross that finish line in first.
So, congratulations to her proud parents – Ray and Maggie (wish you could have been there) and her lil’ brother Ray and her Uncle John and her Aunt Margaret and Uncle Mickey from Detroit and her cousins Rachel, Eddie, Sean, Jimmy and Michael (Pink Floyd rocks!); and all the other family members who came by to watch Lavinia run down through the years.
In the old days, Steve Prefontaine used to do a barefoot victory lap for his cheering fans after a race.
For all you Jurkiewiczes and Prices out there – it’s bare footin’ time. Take off your shoes and run your victory lap.
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Chicago’s Own Joe Newton
Joe Newton’s been the head boys cross-country coach at York High School for so long – over forty years – that most folks think he’s been there forever.
But, fact is, Coach Newton’s not even from Elmhurst. He’s from the south side, as in Chicago.
“I want to Parker High School,” he was saying after Saturday’s meet. “It’s not called Parker anymore. It’s Robeson. I graduated in 1947.”
You can take the kid out of Chicago, but you can’t take Chicago out of the kid. So when I told Coach Newton that a girl from Chicago had won the 3A championship, he was really excited.
“Well, that’s something,” he said. “That’s really something….”
“It’s the first time a public school girl from Chicago has won the meet,” I said. “Her name’s Lavinia Jurkiewicz and she’s from Whitney Young High School. Want to meet her, coach?”
“Sure,” he said.
So I brought Lavinia and a couple of her friends over to where Coach Newton was sitting, in a car out by the victory stand. You know, one Chicago running legend meeting another one.
 | Coach Joe Newton of (Parker HS) York and Whitney Young Seniors (L-R) Rachel Joravsky, Devyn Thompson, and Lavinia Jurkiewicz.
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“Congratulations,” Newton told her. “Good job.”
“Thank you, coach,” said Lavinia.
“Coach Newton always roots for the city kids,” I said. “Isn’t that right, coach?”
“Yes, it is,” he said. “I was a city kid myself.”
After Lavinia and her friends took off, I couldn’t resist asking Coach Newton about Lukas Verzbicas chasing Craig Virgin’s record.
“Craig was a great runner – a great, great runner,” said Newton. “He had a big heart and he loved to compete in every race he ran.”
“Do you remember the race where he set the record?”
“Of course,” said Coach Newton. “He went out fast. Every race he ran he went out fast. He had 4:30 mile; 9:19 at the second mile and finished with the 13.50. It still stands.”
Coincidentally, on that day back in 1972, Coach Newton’s runners from York won the team championship. Just as they did in 1971 and 1973. Some things never change.
York fell short this year – finishing third behind Neuqua Valley and Loyola.
“That young man [Lukas] is a marvelous runner,” said Coach Newton, “He’ll be back next year.”
He smiled. “We’ll be back too.”
And so will we.
See ya’ next year….
-- The end --
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