RUNNING TALL
Brock Rice was just 5-foot-4 in eighth grade. He’s now 6-2, and an elite runner for Sandburg.
When Brock Rice entered high school at Sandburg, he had a choice to make.
Soccer? Or cross country? Rice, who was 5-foot-4 at the time, said he loved both sports. He and his twin brother, Brayden, had been playing soccer their whole lives.
Brock went with running. “I made the right choice,” he said.
To say Rice has grown as a runner and person is an understatement.
Rice, now a 6-foot-2 senior, is one of the top cross country runners for Sandburg, ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 3A by MileSplit Illinois and Illinois HS/TF rankings.
The Eagles will try to win the second championship in program history Saturday at the state meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria.
“I had a big jump my sophomore year — it happened during the quarantine,” he said of a growth spurt. “My older brother, Jared, was 6-2 and I was wondering when I would get that jump.
“I’ve gotten stronger since I’ve grown and that’s helped my running. In track, I can compete in the 400 or 800 as well as the distance races.”
Sandburg coach John O’Malley marveled at Rice’s changes over the years.
“It’s funny looking at pictures of him as a freshman,” O’Malley said. “His sophomore year, two weeks after the cross country season, we had a team meeting and it looked like he grew two inches.
“He now has some crazy top-end speed. He can sprint and he has a lot of power.”
Rice finished ninth and was second on the team to senior Declan Tunney, who took fourth Saturday as the Eagles won the Hinsdale Central Sectional at Katherine Legge Memorial Park
by 15 points over Downers Grove North.
The only other sectional title from the area came individually.
Marist senior Jake Phillips, who won the 2A Fenton Sectional in 16:18.8, is eyeing a high finish at state. Last year, he was all-state with a 17th-place finish in Division III of the ShaZam Racing High School XC Championships in Chillicothe.
That meet replaced the official state meet, which the Illinois High School Association did not stage because of coronavirus concerns.
Only two other teams from the area qualified for state.
Marist’s girls, led by
Emma Karczewski and Nora McClorey, qualified in 2A. Chicago Christian, led by junior Anna Enderle, made it in 1A.
Sandburg’s boys won the state title in 2015, and that’s the last athletic state title for the school. Twins Sean and Chris Torpy, who were leaders that season, have been helping to coach the 2021 team.
“They’ve been around this season and it’s pretty awesome learning from those guys,” Tunney said. “They are great runners and super nice people, too.”
Tunney is hoping to add another trophy to the case.
“You put in all of the work all year and now you just want to see what you can do,” Tunney said. “You go out and race as hard at you can and it’s fun. It’s the fun stuff. You race for this.”
Scheduling two meets at Detweiller this fall has helped the Eagles get accustomed to the state terrain.
Rice had a 14-minute, 59-second performance on Sept. 18. He has shaved seven seconds off that time.
“Every time I go down there, it’s a good ride,” Rice said.
“We love it,” O’Malley said. “It’s our home course. We’ve run there more than anywhere else and we feel like it’s our home course. The travel isn’t always convenient, but it’s worth it. We feel very comfortable there.”