Jon Davis stretching for dear life near the end of a memorable run at Craig Virgin's record (Colin Boyle photo)
The anatomy of Jon Davis and the immortal 13:50.6 record-
It is mid-day September 19 and Jon Davis just completed a wonderful performance in which he smashed a great field at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational in a national leading 14:10. As he walked back to his box and the question posed to him: "Do you think you can break 14:00?" Without a blink Davis uttered, "I'm going to break Craig Virgin's record." He was asked to repeat what he just said. "I'm going to break Craig Virgin's record." It was like the shot heard around the world. Over the proceeding days and weeks, Davis' goal became a storyline that nearly everyone took upon themselves. Even the living legend Mr. Craig Virgin (Lebanon) who ran a deaf defying 13:50.6 in 1972 heard about it. He even reached out to Davis with some strategy and a plaque detailing encouraging words.
At 10am it was time race. Davis did not waste a second in getting ahead of the field with a first mile in 4:32. He continued to steam along entering the back loop. This is where runners traditionally get lost and swallowed up- the Bermuda Triangle as it's called. Davis added to "slowing a bit" in the north part of the course to conserve energy for the final mile. Virgin himself even said this is the best strategy. "Others have failed in the past because they went out too fast or too slow and tried to compensate in the middle mile."
Davis blazed past the halfway point in 6:54, which would put him dead on for 13:50 if he could hold up. But remember though, in Chris Derrick's 13:51 run for Neuqua Valley in 2007, he went out slower in 4:37 and maintained his fluid stride hitting the second mile in 4:38 (9:16-2m)- just the way Virgin suggested. However, Derrick was not helped by a long faded Tom Actien of York who ran with him for 1.25 miles. Lukas Verzbicas (Sandburg) on the other hand took a rabid approach in 2009 and 2010 with two mile times of 9:06 and 9:11- the fastest recorded times with a mile to go at Detweiller. Both times Verzbicas slowed considerably in the final mile. The second attempt ironically Verzbicas said "some dust from the lead vehicle blew in my eye with 100 meters to go, otherwise I would have had the record." Lukas ran 13:54.
Davis was 25 seconds ahead of the second place runners Marcus Skinner (Sr., Shelbyville) and Andrew Warnes (Sr., Tolono Unity) in 9:22. His chances of breaking 14:00 much less the record was growing dim with every step. But somehow he mustered extra energy from the crowd and closed the final half-mile in a reportedly 2:06 to break the magical number for an official 13:59.3. "It is really a hard record to break... Craig [Virgin] is a great runner. There is no doubt about that, "Davis said genuinely.
The team race was interesting although it got lost in the Jon Davis chase for sub-14:00. #1 Tolono (Unity) was the pre-season #1 team and mostly everyone's choice to win it all after fourth a year ago. The Rockets were five points behind a trophy then. The veteran group led by Warnes did not let up whenever they stacked the deck this year. Coach Dike Stirret's troops ran one of the most impressive performances in meet history scoring an incredible 30 points and destroying an outstanding classification field. The Rockets put all five scorers in the top 15 led by Warnes' second place finish. #4 Shelbyville took second with 124 points. To give Unity's feat perspective, the law of averages would have placed them fourth in the mighty 3A division.
| Team Scores | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Team | Points | Scorers | Times | ||
| 1 | Unity High School | 30 | 1+5+7+8+9 (37+44) | 0:23 1-5 Split | 15:00 Avg | ||
| 2 | Shelbyville High School | 124 | 3+20+21+24+56 (100+153) | 1:33 1-5 Split | 15:43 Avg | ||
| 3 | St. Joseph-Ogden High School | 145 | 13+16+26+32+58 (67+80) | 1:16 1-5 Split | 15:50 Avg | ||