Magis Miles 2016

Chicago, IL

Meet Information

Chicago, IL There has never been an outdoor mile race in Chicago in

which the runners have broken the 4:00-minute barrier, according the Ryan

Lamppa, from the organization Bring Back the Mile.

On Friday night, June 3, a group of top collegiate and pro runnersand a

couple high schoolers, toowill make an assault on the 4:00-minute barrier

at Saint Ignatius College Preps event The Magis Miles: A night of mile

races in Chicago.

Headliners for the event include St. Olaf Colleges Jake Campbell, who just

won the NCAA Division III national championship at 1500 meters and who

has run a 4:02 mile equivalent over 1500, and then four runners with better than a 4:05 mile or 1500 equivalent: Eric

Delvo of Bradley University, Caleb Gatchell of Hillsdale College, Andrew Nelson of Syracuse University and Geneva

High School, and Elmhurst College grad Will Cross, now running for Fleet Feet running stores. In addition, the elite mile

will feature Carl Sandburg High Schools Sean and Chris Torpy, who took home first place medals in the 1600- and 800-

meter runs at the Illinois state championship high schools meet on Saturday. Sean Torpy has run 4:08 for 1600-meters,

which is just short of a mile.

It will be the first race as a professional for Campbell, and he will compete for $500 first place prize moneyplus a time

bonus for breaking 4:00.

The womens race will have a strong field featuring two Bradley University runners, Rachel Sudbury and Emily Delvo.

Delvo, who went to high school at Sacred Heart Griffin in Springfield, has run 4:23 for 1500, which converts to a 4:44

mile; Sudbury, from Tomahawk High School in Wisconsin, has run 4:26 for 1500. They will be challenged by a high-
schooler as well: IHSA 3A 1600-meter state champion Kelly OBrien from Palatine, who ran 4:56 for 1600-meters in her

championship race.

The Magis Miles will be a night of one-mile races in a spectacular setting, under the lights of the newly renovated

Mailliard Track and Fornelli 51 Field and against the backdrop of a Chicago skyline just a mile away. Spectators will

watch the races gauntlet-style, standing right on the track.

Magis (pronounced ''MAH-jis') is a Latin word that means 'more' or 'better'. At Saint Ignatius College Prep, we use the

word Magis as an inspiration for doing more for others and our community, says meet organizer Nate McPherson. We

hope this meet can be an expression of Magis for the running community.

Last year's meet saw Polish elite runner Greg Kalinowski take down an all-star men's mile in 4:04. In the elite women's

field, former Wisconsin Parkside standout Jessica Watychowicz emerged victorious with a 4:53 mile. The elite high

school boy's race was won by Sean Torpy of Sandburg, and the elite girl's mile was won by Brooke Wilson of Prospect.

The boys' high school team competition was won handily by the Phoenix of Lincoln Way North.

High school races will be a central feature of the evening. McPherson, assistant coach at Saint Ignatius, has been

recruiting top boy and girl runners fresh off the Illinois state championship meets in Charleston the last two weeks. In the

flight mile, three-runner teams compete in different racesnumber ones race number ones, twos race twos, and threes

race threesfor a combined team score.

Magis Miles: Night of Mile Races 2

But the mens and womens elite mile races will be a special attraction. Both races will put professional and collegiate

runners with Chicago-area roots on the track with one goalto put on a show by running the fastest outdoor miles in

Chicago history.

The meet crowd will likely include Saint Ignatius and Loyola University alumnus Tom OHara. On March 6, 1964,

OHara set a world indoor mile record running 3:56.4 at the Chicago Stadium. OHara went on to run on the United

States Olympic team that summer.

There has been one sub-4:00 outdoor mile in the Chicagoland area. Jim Spivey, another Illinois Olympian from

Bensonville and Fenton High School and then Indiana University, ran 3:59.4 at North Central College in Naperville on

May 17th, 1994.

When they put up light towers around our beautiful track two summers ago, the idea popped into our heads, just like in

the movie Field of Dreams, said Saint Ignatius boys track coach Ed Ernst, one of the Magis Miles organizers. Thats

our basic idea: If we host it, they will come: A night of mile races in Chicago.

The Magis Miles track meet has an information web site: www.magmiles.org.

The event will stream live over the Saint Ignatius student web broadcast station, WPSN, the Saint Ignatius Wolfpack

Sports Network, which is accessible from the meet web site.

Admission is $5.00, cash only. The events begin at 7:00 PM and will conclude at 9:30.

To get more information, contact the event organizers, Saint Ignatius coaches Nathan McPherson

(Nathan.mcpherson@ignatius.org) and Ed Ernst (Ed.ernst@ignatius.org), 773-407-5220.