Record Board Stories

We update our track and field record board once a year. My goal is it is to be done by the beginning of the winter season or at least before our Holiday Celebration so recent alums who made the record board as seniors can return from their first college semester and see that they are remembered.

When I update it I take a picture now of how it looked before we take the broken records down. This is in part due to a request by Mullery Doar '06 who at one time I believe held or shared 8 school records. She is now 9 years later down to three records remaining. Below are the before and after pictures.

Although the record board is a motivational tool for many and then a recognition of accomplishment for those who make it, for me it is a board of stories. Here are some that I am reminded of when I walk by it.

The oldest record is the 100m record set by Charlie Vojta '99 his junior year spring in 1998 at the Kaneland Sectional. Kaneland is a notoriously fast track but a really tough Sectional. In those days you had to run a prelim, a semi-final, and a final to get to the state meet. Charlie ran 10.8 in the prelim and the semi-final and then 10.7 in the final to qualify for state. A lot of things came together for Charlie on that day. But they came together because he was a relentless worker. There is no secret to track and field accomplishment. It starts with consistent daily work. Charlie would take a set up blocks up to the gym after practice almost every day and work by himself on starts again and again and again. If I could give kids one ability today, it would be the ability to work on a skill repetitively by themselves.

The oldest girls record is held by Meera Sinha '01 and is the 100m girls record set in 2000 and equaled in 2001. Meera represents a great group of girls who still won our only ISL title in girls track. We have won a number of ITC (another conference we took part in for about 15 years) titles. But only one ISL title. Meera dominated the ISL sprinters in her high school years and this record reminds me of those years.

Today, spring 2014 is the season when the most records were set, which shows that we are in a real golden age for track at North Shore. It is a lot harder to get on the record board than it used to be, but athletes seem to figure out a way to do it.

I was reminded recently by a Facebook post that 2009 was a big year for boys track. We won the ISL by the largest margin ever -- over 60 points. Things really came together in a special way that day.   Of course of the 5 records from that spring four were set or shared by the same person -- Peter Callahan.

As I put the new records up, it is nice to think of the alums whose records just came down.

Kelsey Hagen '10 and Zach March '11 were the initial holders of the Pole Vault records both from 2010. We do not have a pole vault facility so in some ways more difficult records to break than many of the others. But last year three seniors -- Jackson Lubin, Tonya Piergies, and Ian Talty went on a quest to break Kelsey and Zach's records. They attended a one day clinic at the University of Wisconsin over the holiday break. Then they went to Whitney Young High School on a number of Sunday afternoons throughout the winter to practice. The results now are that Tonya Piergies vaulted 7'6" and Jackson Lubin vaulted 10' and qualified for the state track meet.

The High Jump record which was shared by Shreve Fellars '07 and Shaun Teamer '08 came down when Brendan Doyle '16 became the first Raider to break 6' -- jumping 6'1" -- last spring. Brendan has devoted himself in the off season to even jumping higher, so I expect to see a new record established in 2016.

Even though athletes come off the board, through the magic of technology they can still see where their marks sit on the all-time list. Below is a link to that. One caveat, we are still updating it. We do not have all marks in especially beyond the last 10 years. So if you don't see a mark you think you deserve, email me and we will verify. Also sorry in advance about a few mis-spellings. The way the program works, the spelling is based on who entered the mark. I can only fix the spellings of marks that I entered. Not another schools.

NORTH SHORE TRACK & FIELD OUTDOOR PERFORMANCE RECORD LIST

For just about every record on that board, I can remember the moment that it was set. But more important to me than the mark is the story behind these records and what each athlete did to get on the board.