It was an especially tough year in identifying new talent... but Illinois has a way of getting the job done
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There is nothing like following generations in athletics. Many sports aficionados will dive into the accolades of grandparents up to the grandchildren. In this case, we will look at the Giblin brood. Orland Park (Sandburg) HS twins Ben Giblin and Will Giblin leave behind a tremendous legacy for freshman brother Grant Giblin to develop and build upon. The older siblings earned high all-state honors and clocked three-mile times under 14:40. They both acknowledged that Grant may be in a position to surpass them in a few years. In fact, Grant has a twin sister Ava Giblin on the girl's team as well as a younger sibling Ella Giblin down at the middle-school level.
Right away Grant was able to fit in because he was a middle-school standout who knew the exceptional Eagles program. As the season unfolded the pressure was somewhat alleviated due to a possible Covid-19 shutdown.
In Grant's first high school race, he and teammate sophomore Trent Anderson finished 1-2 at a meet hosted by Lockport. This may be the beginning of a long term dominant distance affair.
As the season would proceed with caution, the Eagles appeared to solidify themselves with deep pockets in the depth department. Grant would be a major contributor and eventually running a personal best 14:54 that would all Illinois freshmen for three miles.
As good as things were at times during the season, Covid struck the team at an unfortunate time during the state series. Grant was one of the members who missed time. He was able to return for the Shazam Championships but still reeled from the illness as evidenced by his 125th place in 17:30 (5K).
Don't worry, Grant will bounce back and continue to build his own imprint within his blood family and Sandburg Eagles crew.