JOE NEWTON Article from: Chicago Sun-Times Article date: October 7, 1994 More results for: joe newton

Joe Newton has coached for 41 years, the last 39 at York. He has won 18 boys state cross-country titles. He was an assistant coach on the 1988 Olympic team. He is president of the National High School Track Coaches Association. In June, he will become president of the National High School Athletic Coaches Association

Q: What is the state of cross-country in the Chicago area?

A: "It's on a plateau, in a holding pattern. It was growing tremendously five to seven years ago but it has reached an ebb tide. If we're not careful, there will be fewer and fewer athletes. More kids are going to soccer. The problem is there are too many sports, more choices. The length of time it takes to run a meet is killing the sport."

Q: Name the all-Joe Newton team.

A: "Peter Reiff, 1968; Ron Craker, 1975; Jim White, 1985; Don DeMent, 1965; Al Kabat, 1989."

Q: What is your biggest thrill in sports?

A: "When we won our first state title in 1962, when we finally opened the door. I was a young guy, 33. It gave me confidence I could be a good coach. Until then, you don't know who you are, where you are going and how good you can be. Fred Logan was our best runner. He finished seventh."

Q: Biggest disappointment?

A: "Not winning the boys state track meet in 1985. We led from the first event to the last but got beat when Evanston dropped the baton in the mile relay and East St. Louis moved up one spot to beat York by a point 40-39. We couldn't control our destiny because we didn't have a mile relay in the final."

D. "Newton's theory of athletics // Attitude is everything: York coach." Chicago Sun-Times. 1989. Retrieved November 16, 2009 from HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3935697.html

York track and cross-country coach Joe Newton believes there are three things that cannot be regained: the past, the spoken word and a lost opportunity.

"I don't want anybody around who doesn't want to seize an opportunity," Newton said.

Newton and his athletes haven't wasted many opportunities. Newton, who has been coach at York for 33 years, has inspired people to great heights, on and off the field. His winning percentage (84 percent in track, 93 percent in cross-country) and 13 state cross-country titles are just the beginning.

Much of Newton's philosophy on sport and life involves attitude. When Newton was an undergraduate at Northwestern, he was influenced by Dr. William James, who said the greatest scientific discovery of man is a person can alter his life by altering his attitude.

From this stems much of what Newton stands for: hard work, dedication, love of people, success in everything he does.

"He's the greatest coach I've ever seen, any sport, any level," said George Andrews, a runner at York from 1963-67 and now a professional sports agent. "He was very special to all of us. He made so many people believe in themselves."

Andrews, like so many former athletes of Newton, credits his coach with teaching him things that helped make him successful. Andrews handles the careers of professional athletes such as Carl Banks, Reggie Theus, Sam Vincent, Glen Rivers and Dallas Comegys. His company, Andrews Sports Corp., is located in Oak Brook.

"He could have coached at any level," Andrews said. "I think it speaks very highly of him that he stayed at the high school level, where he could influence the most people."

Newton knew he wanted to be a high school coach early in his life. He has been running since he was 4 and has not missed a day of running in 15 1/2 years. He gets up 4:30 a.m. daily and jogs, regardless of the weather. Newton was a track All-America at Parker (Robeson).

"I wasn't one of those guys who sophomore year in college people would ask, `What do you want to do?' and I'd say `Uh, I don't know,' " Newton said. "I knew when I was 7 years old what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a teacher and a coach."

Motivation is Newton's specialty. He believes and cares about his athletes and he gets them to believe in themselves.

"I'm always telling people, `Great job, you're looking great,' " Newton said. "I think every kid wants somebody to point them in the right direction, (to) tell them, `You can go this far and that's it. Don't step over that line.' "

At the beginning of every practice, Newton's runners are required to "check in," that is, shake the coach's hand. At the end of practice, they must check out. Newton said he sees athletes 20 years after they graduate and they'll shake his hand and say, "Just checking in, coach."

Al Janulis, chairman of the York physical education department, ran for Newton from 1963-66. Many former track and cross-country runners, Janulis said, visit the school and ask him to find Newton for them.

"Joe does not forget his men," Janulis said. "He has an uncanny memory for faces, events. Some of them he hasn't seen for 20 years. They're 40-50 pounds heavier, wearing glasses when they never had them before. I'll walk down to the track and say, `Joe, can you remember this guy?' He'll look, then take a step back and squint his eyes a little. Then he'll come up with his name, nickname, the year he graduated and his best performance."

The Men of York do not forget Newton, either. Every year, Newton holds an alumni race on Labor Day weekend. Hundreds of athletes from all over the country have attended the event the last 26 years. It concludes with a barbecue at Newton's home in Oak Brook.

Last year was the first time the race was not conducted. Newton was in Seoul, Korea, coaching the U.S. Olympic track team.

"My goal has always been to be an Olympic track coach," said Newton, the first American high school track coach selected to go to the Olympics. "I dreamed the impossible dream and it became possible. It took a lot of hard work, but it was well worth waiting 37 years for. That was one of the greatest thrills in my life - those 18 days in Seoul."

Hard work for Newton includes missing just one day of work in 33 years at York because of illness. It also includes a rigorous lecture schedule in the summer, which includes stops all over the United States. He also devotes time to writing, including the most recent of his three books, Running to the Top of the Mountain.

Canadian national hurdles coach Brent McFarlane called the book "an unbelievable piece of work" and "truly motivational."

For Newton, everything starts with a genuine interest in people. He treats every one of his athletes like a son. In fact, it's been said he has 4,000 surrogate sons, acquired over the last three decades.

"I love them and I tell them I'll do anything for them if they'll do anything for me," Newton said. "I'll give you my time, my effort, my love and I expect the same from you. Being part of a team is an awesome thing. We run our program at York like a family. We always ask, `How did the team do?' Then we ask, `What was my score?' "

Newton's son, Tom, is in his first year as coach of the track team at Addison Trail. He was a basketball player an an All-America high jumper in college. The younger Newton said his father was a driven man, a motivator, but not impatient or narrow-minded.

"He always listens to everything you have to say," Tom said. "He is always willing to compromise. He encouraged us into sports, but he also encourages us in everything else we do."

What Newton has been able to do is affect the lives of many people. He gets people to recognize what hard work, determination and attitude can do in an individual's life.

Vito Purpura was a sprinter and cross-country runner at York from 1964-66. He said Newton used to hand out awards in practice to athletes who weren't giving their best effort.

The Gold Brick Award was given for laziness, the Purple Heart Award for individuals with sad stories about why they didn't perform better or had to miss practice.

"He could make me climb the side of a mountain," Purpura said. "That's how I feel about it. He used to say, `We need this many points, this is what has to be done. That's it. If you can do this, we'll win.' "

Purpura said he has never been late in 20 years of work at American Airlines. That is a tribute, he says, to the standards Newton set for him in high school. Purpura said Newton did not allow lateness. If an athlete was late for practice several times, he would find himself off the team.

"I owe that to Joe Newton," Purpura said. "I'm always two or three minutes early for appointments. He teaches you about being a human being. He puts a lot of dedication and a lot of heart into everything he does."

Without question, Newton's ability to motivate extends beyond athletics. Janulis tells a story about how Newton encouraged a former athlete, who was injured in Viet Nam, to walk when he was not supposed to live.

"Anything can happen in life, if you let it happen," Newton said. "When (my athletes) get out of here, they know a heck of a lot more than running."

Newton said he originally wanted to be a basketball coach, but was frustrated by the experience. He started in 1954 as a basketball and cross-country coach.

"In basketball, there are too many intangibles you can't control," Newton said. "It was going to kill me. We'd miss five or six layups and some guy (on the other team) comes down and makes a 30-foot shot."

Newton's love of track is such that he named his only daughter Cindy (not Cynthia) after the cinder blocks found on a track. Newton has been married to Joan, whom he credits with much of his success, for 37 years. He has two sons, Tom, 25, and John, 23.

"I want to go out a winner," Newton said. "When the good Lord calls my name, I want to look up at the scoreboard and see that we're ahead."

J. "York's state of mind Runners aiming to win state title No. 20 for Newton." Chicago Sun-Times. 1999. Retrieved November 16, 2009 from HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4504467.html

Nineteen is such an unsatisfying number. No one makes a "Top 19" list. Nothing comes in 19-pound increments. Twenty, though, is a nice, round number.

And as the 20th century comes to a close, it's the number York cross-country coach Joe Newton is shooting for as his team tries to win him the 20th state championship of his career.

"That's a huge motivation," said York's No. 1 runner, Donald Sage. "For everything he's done for us and the school, we want to give something back. It's sort of like everyone's counting on us."

Newton, 70, retired from teaching gym at York after the 1998-99 school year, and plans to step down from coaching cross-country and track after this school year. Unless he changes his mind, this season is his last chance to win a 20th title.

"It always is a disaster if they don't win," Newton's wife, Joan, said. "But he'll just have to accept it and get on with his life. He can't complain. Some people go their whole life without winning one."

Newton has coached state champion teams and individuals. He has worked with Olympians. In December, he was inducted into the National Track Coaches Hall of Fame in Orlando, Fla. But what he finds most satisfying are the little things.

"It's so much fun to see the improvement," he said. "Guys doing their best, even if they never score a point. A guy comes in, a 10- minute miler, and by the time he graduates he's running 4:50. That's what it's all about."

Newton wanted to be a coach from the time he was 8 or 9. Growing up, he played football, basketball, tennis and baseball, ran track and swam at Chicago's old Parker High School, which is now Robeson.

After graduating from Northwestern, where he ran track, and coaching basketball in the Army, he went to Waterman High School in 1954. He came to York two years later, in part because its colors - green and white - were the same as Parker's.

At Waterman and York, Newton coached baseball, basketball, cross- country, track and football. But in the spring of 1960, he became York's head boys track coach and in the fall became the head boys cross-country coach. His arrival began the parade of successful York runners that now is known as "The Long Green Line."

Newton won his first state cross-country championship in 1962, and it is still his sweetest.

"Your first state championship has to be the ultimate memory," he said. "That kind of opened the door for me. Because once you taste it once, you want more."

According to Newton's runners, his teams win because of Newton's ability to motivate. Vernon Hills athletic director Al Janulis, York '66, ran for Newton, coached with him and served as York's athletic director from 1994 through this spring. He said his old coach's influence extends to adults as well.

"You know he's going to come in and ask you to do something, and you don't want to do it," Janulis said. "But he has this way, you end up doing it, and by the end you're thanking him for the opportunity to do something you didn't want to do in the first place."

He does it, in part, by caring about his kids.

"We run our program like a family," Newton said. "No matter how hard I'm on a guy, some time before he leaves the course I'll pat him on the back and say something kind. But I believe in telling a guy when he does something wrong, and I also believe in telling him when he does something great."

Sometimes, Newton might care a little too much. His son, Thomas, now 35 and an assistant dean at York, played basketball and high jumped at York from 1980-82 after the family moved to Elmhurst from Hinsdale. Joe Newton used to watch the Dukes' games from the floor, but yelled so much when Thomas was playing that school officials asked him to move up into the stands.

Newton places his program first, and expects his runners to place it ahead of everything but schoolwork. If that means putting it ahead of band, chorus or other school activities, well, that's too bad.

Janulis said Newton once got up at 3 a.m. so that his high jumper, who also was the band's trombone soloist, could get in a workout before leaving for a band concert in Minnesota. Originally, the high jumper was told that if he missed practice, he would be off the team.

"The parents ended up writing us a letter, thanking us for letting him do both," Janulis said. "Joe, he's difficult, but he's wonderful."

Once his runners are at practice, Newton puts them through grueling workouts: 25 quarter miles, 10 half miles. For the most part, the former military man is an old-school disciplinarian: no long hair, no sideburns, no talking back. While Janulis referred to his old coach as "Joe" in an interview, he never addresses him as anything but "coach Newton."

Newton is demanding, but every year, he gets 85 to 100 runners out for cross-country, and at least 100 for track.

"Obviously, he's not scaring enough people off," Elmhurst College men's track and cross-country coach Bob Schultz said. Schultz (York '87) ran for Newton his junior and senior years after transferring from Willowbrook, and was a member of the 1986 state champion cross- country team.

Newton never has won a track championship, and counts a one-point loss at the state track meet in 1985, along with a one-point loss at the state cross-country meet in 1997, as his lowest moments in coaching.

"But there's been many great moments to overcome that," he said.

His greatest legacy may be the number of former runners who are now coaching. Janulis, whose son John is a senior on Newton's team this year and whose older son, Adam, now a junior at Ball State, also ran on his team, called Newton "like a second father."

Every year, Newton hosts an alumni run and picnic during Labor Day weekend. This year's is Saturday at East End Park in Elmhurst. Races begin at 9 a.m., and at 10 a.m., the town will officially dedicate the north field in the park as "Joe Newton Championship Field."

Schultz has missed the alumni reunion in the past because Elmhurst has its invitational the same day. But this year, with four former Dukes on his team, Schultz rescheduled his meet for Friday, so he and his runners could attend what may be Newton's last reunion.

Once he retires, Newton and Joan plan to spend winters in Phoenix, where they have a house. He will have more time to spend with Thomas, his other children Cindy, 40, and John, 32, and his three grandchildren. He had to give up running four years ago to spare his knees, but he still lifts weights, bikes and swims. He plans to play more golf.

And there is always the slim possibility he will return to coach another year.

"I think it really depends on how well this season goes," Thomas Newton said. "If they win, and you ask him a week later, he'll probably say he'll be back."

M. "Absence of Newton sure to affect York." Chicago Sun-Times. 1988. Retrieved November 16, 2009 from HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3904035.html

York again is a team to watch in boys' cross-country, but for a different reason. The Dukes will be without coach Joe Newton, who is a manager with the U.S. Olympic track and field team and won't be back until Oct. 4.

And while it's one thing for any other team to be without its mentor, many experts agree York without Newton is completely different. Newton is an animated master of motivation, and that motivation requires his presence at - and sometimes on - the course.

And that presence will be missed.

"It's going to be interesting to see how they do without Newton," Downers Grove North coach Mike Kayse said. "He's got a talented bunch of kids there, but it's going to be a different type of thing. It's not going to be easy for somebody to step into his shoes. They run because Joe Newton motivates them."

The man in charge is Stan Reddel, York's sprint coach who came to the school in 1986 after 14 years at Walther Lutheran, where his team won the Class A boys' track title in 1984.

"I will never be able to give a speech like Joe does," Reddel said. "So I will not even try. I have a little different temperament than Joe. I'll never attempt to be him or do the things he does - I think the kids would see right through that. I think I motivate kids in a different way, so I'll just do what I've been doing all these years. I don't think it'll be a problem."

Reddel said he is prepared to work exclusively with distance runners after working with the sprinters last year.

"It's true I've had more sprint experience and I am the sprint coach here," he said. "But it's not like I've never coached distance kids before."

On the contrary, Reddel coached cross-country for 14 years at Walther. And although the cross-country team never overshadowed the sprint-dominated track teams there, Walther's 3,200-relay team won the Class A title in 1983.

Still, Reddel is aware that he is coaching Joe Newton's team.

Under Newton last year, York finished fourth at the state meet - only the second time in the 12 years the Dukes have not won a trophy (first, second or third).

This year's team again is not expected to have the all-star talent of Newton's best teams over the last 25 years. But opposing coaches agree that Newton makes almost any York team a state contender.

A trio of veterans likely will lead the way - senior Chuck Mattis, the team's No. 1 runner, and juniors Al Kabat and Brian Vercruysse. Others expected to contribute include Gary Mui, Jon Clopton, Mike Heintz and Tim Butgen.

M. "Newton: Motivator at York // Coach Turns His Runners Into Achievers." Chicago Sun-Times. 1992. Retrieved November 16, 2009 from HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4128993.html

It's almost contrary to his image as a rip-roaring motivator, but when Joe Newton talks to the York freshmen physical education classes on the first day of school he's talking very softly. He's lulling them to sleep.

"Shorty!," he yells suddenly and now he has everybody's attention. Shorty looks back, hoping Newton is talking to the guy behind him.

"I look for the smallest, skinniest, most frail kid I can find," Newton said. "And I say, `Shorty, you come with me and four years from now you'll be an all-state runner.' And now the other guys are thinking, `If he can make an all-state runner out of Shorty, what can he do for me?' It's psychology."

Newton usually gets two or three kids from that trick and he gets two or three more from another story he tells during a three-minute talk he gives to the freshmen p.e. classes every year - the same three-minute lecture he's been giving for 20 years.

"I'm grabbing anybody who can walk," Newton said. "If you're alive and breathing I'll take you."

By the end of the day he's found 47 kids to try out for cross-country.

Two weeks later, 34 are still out for the team. With the 17 freshmen from the summer program, there are 51 on the team, and 101 runners in the program. Those are dominating numbers in cross-country (most other teams don't have 51 kids in their entire program), the foundation of the York program that is one of the most dominating high school sports programs in the country.

Under Newton, who arrived in 1956, York has won 16 state championships since 1962, including the last three. In the last 29 years, the Dukes have won a team trophy (first, second or third place) 25 times.

"The secret is volume," said Newton, who had 92 freshmen try out in 1983. "My goal every year is to get 50 freshmen. I try to keep 25 of them as sophomores and 15 as juniors and seniors. If you've got 15 seniors you're going to have two or three who can run."

That doesn't mean two or three superstars, just two or three who can run. York has had a few superstars - Ron Craker (1975) and Jim White (1984) were state champions - but the top runner on Newton's 1986 state championship team, Kevin Buhrfiend, was 26th over all.

In fact, the Dukes have won many of their state titles with kids who would be in somebody else's gym class. In fact, the Dukes have won state titles with kids who would be walking someone else's halls.

"I get those guys," Newton said.

And sometimes they become all-staters, like Brian Vercruysse, who was recruited out of a gym class as a freshman and was 12th at the state meet as a senior.

"Our whole theory is you don't need the superstar," Newton said. "I just take whatever walks in the door and try to make the best of their ability. Ninety percent are average guys who are highly motivated."

For Newton, that seems to be the easy part.

"To motivate them to stay in the program and do the best they can, that's how you find good runners," Newton said. "If they just come to screw off every day, they'll never be any good. That's how we find a lot of guys. All of a sudden the guy finds out, `I got a p.r. (personal record). I'm not too bad.' And he starts believing in himself. He stays in the program and works hard and all of a sud den he becomes a runner."

Many good coaches wouldn't want that many runners. They couldn't learn all their names let alone find enough time to keep their interest. Newton does both. Not only does he know every kid by name by the second week of the season, but he tags each kid with a nickname, like Balloon Head or Goofy Nuts. It's a personal touch that only a guy like Newton can offer.

Newton checks in every runner to practice every day. "I look him right in the eye (and say), `Checkin' in, Flash.' He also tries to call every runner's name in practice at least once. Like, `You're lookin' great Balloon Head!' "

And each runner must check out with Newton every day after practice and shake his hand. To this day, `Guys who ran for me 25 years ago come up to me and shake my hand and say, `Checkin' out, Mr. Newton,' " he said.

About the only thing Newton doesn't get are outsiders. Only once (Rick and Doug Shroer in the early (1980s) has Newton gotten help from outside of Elmhurst.

He knows he's fortunate to be in a sport where you can take kids out of gym class and make them all-staters. But nobody does it like him.

"We take whatever walks in the door and we try to make them the best they can be," he said. "These are all Elmhurst guys - average guys who are highly motivated. I take great pride in that."

M. "York Braces for Challengers In Effort to Continue Streak." Chicago Sun-Times. 1993. Retrieved November 16, 2009 from HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4198446.html

PEORIA Maybe this is the state meet York coach Joe Newton should really be worrying about.

For the last four years, York has withstood the challenge of a team that either was ranked ahead of the Dukes (Stagg in 1989, St. Charles in 1991 and Schaumburg in 1992) or one that appeared to be a serious threat coming out of the sectional (Hoffman Estates in 1990).

And each year it was no contest: York has won the last four state meets by an average of 81 points, including a 54-214 victory over Hoffman Estates in 1990.

This year no such single challenger looms, on paper, to stop York from winning a record-tying fifth consecutive cross-country state title Saturday at Detweiller Park. York won the York sectional with 28 points last Saturday. The other sectional winners had 99 or more.

"I feel no better or worse than any of the other state meets - I'm nervous, apprehensive," said Newton, who has won 17 state titles in cross-country in his 35 years as the Dukes' head coach. "I still have that tension and fear.

"People keep telling me we're a shoo-in, but 28 points in the sectional is very deceiving. So many things can happen. I mean it. I'm nervous about Crystal Lake Central. St. Charles, if they have (Todd) Johnson back, they're a threat. And I know what Schaumburg and Moline have. I never sell (Schaumburg coach Jim) Macnider short. Look at the record (three state titles, a second and a third since 1985). He'll have his guys ready."

York is led by senior Craig Gundlach, who was 13th last year and could be a top five runner or better this year. Srinu Hanumadass, Brian Gary, Mark Olson, Phil Russo, Jon Hanley and Chris Keenan all are all-state candidates, giving York one of its deepest teams ever.

Crystal Lake Central, the only other unbeaten team in the state besides York, rates with Moline as the top challenger. The Tigers have a front-runner in senior Chris Hicklin and a four teammates within 45 seconds of him at the sectional.

"I'm a good friend of Joe Newton's but I don't like him that much," joked Crystal Lake Central coach Dick Kloepfer, like Newton a 35-year veteran. "If we could beat him, I'll take it."

In the individual race, East Peoria junior Tim Broe and Peoria Notre Dame senior Adam White are favored. Besides Gundlach, contenders from the Chicago area include sophomores Jon Chermak of Palatine and David Gonzalez of Bolingbrook. In Class A, Westmont senior Chris Bailey is one of the favorites for the individual title. Bailey, 10th last year, is the second-leading returning runner in Class A. GIRLS STATE MEET

Palatine enters Saturday's Class AA cross-country state meet at Detweiller Park a top-ranked four-time defending champion capable of being beaten. Just don't expect it.

Palatine is still Palatine.

The Pirates lost a bit of any aura of invincibility they might have had when they scored 89 points last week in beating Wheeling (104) for the Schaumburg sectional title - their highest point total since the 1989 state meet. For the leading challengers, No. 2 Naperville North and No. 3 York, that's hope.

"I think they'll win, but this is the first year since they first won it (1989) I haven't thought they're unbeatable," York coach Larry Bassett said. "If they run as good as they can run I don't think anybody can beat them. But that's the question everybody has."

More than likely, Palatine will return to state-championship form. Some Pirate runners eased up at the end of a race where 10 seconds meant 20 places. And despite the 89-point total, the Pirates still had a 21-second split for their first five runners. Naperville North had a 49-second split in winning the East Aurora sectional and York had a 14-second split, but no competition, in winning the York sectional.

"I think we've got a great opportunity to win it," Palatine coach Steve Currins said. "I think the kids have responded positively. After last week they know they have to push the whole way. If they follow our game plan, we'll be tough to beat."

Naperville North has championship hopes, but is shooting for one of the three team trophies after disappointing finishes the last two seasons.

"I think we have a chance, but things have to go our way," coach Marty Bee said. "Our goal is to win a trophy."

Hersey sophomore Jenny Zehr, last year's runner-up, is the favorite for the individual title. Others to watch include New Trier's Alyson Boim, Naperville North's Kristen Devaney and Downers Grove North's Brigitte Buitron.

In Class A, Westmont's Kathy Greenfield, fourth last year for Timothy Christian, is among the favorites for the individual title. But the Sentinels will have to overcome the loss of No. 2 runner Julie Arseneau, injured in the sectional, to win the team title. They've been ranked No. 1 all year.

M. "York's team effort pays off handsomely." Chicago Sun-Times. 1990. Retrieved November 16, 2009 from HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3996538.html

York prides itself on making track a team sport. But even coach Joe Newton didn't realize how much of a team he had until last weekend.

Left for dead after an early disaster, the Dukes got resuscitating performances from James Losser and Brian Vercruysse to edge Naperville Central and win the Prospect Invitational.

Losser won two events, including the 110-meter high hurdles in a state-best 14.12, and Vercruysse came back from an upset loss in the 3,200 to win the 1,600 and spark York to the come-from-behind victory.

When Vercruysse and teammate Al Kabat went 1-2 in the 1,600, York pulled ahead of Naperville Central and Whitney Young. The Dukes, with Tim Buteyn running for the injured Mark McNally, finished third in the 1,600 relay (in a team-best 3:27.88) to clinch the title with 105 points.

Naperville Central lost valuable points when Dan Nolan, who won the 800 (a state-best 1:55.09), scratched from the 1,600 because of a foot injury. The Redskins were second with 100 points.

York's night did not start out well. The Dukes did not finish the 400 relay when McNally injured a hamstring. That knocked him out of the open 400 and the 1,600 relay.

But Losser, Vercruysse and Al Kabat took over.

"We thought we were dead," York coach Joe Newton said. "I thought there was no way we could win.

"But James Losser is unbelievable. And Vercruysse, I give him credit - he came back after he lost the (3,200)."

Losser completed a double victory when he won the 300 intermediate hurdles in 39.9. But the highlight of his night was the high hurdles.

"I wanted it," Losser said. "I knew this was going to be a big meet. I knew there were going to be some big names here. I just wanted to get out in the open and let people know who I am and have a good time doing it."

Vercruysse was beaten by Niles North's Vadim Nemad, who came from behind when Vercruysse ran into a runner he was lapping at the finish line.

But Vercruysse redeemed himself in the 1,600, winning in 4:23.25. Kabat finished strong for second in 4:24.2.

"I was running for my honor - that two-mile was such a stupid race," Vercruysse said.

But even Newton acknowledged Nolan's injury paved the way for York's victory. Naperville Central also was without triple jumper Kenyon Robinson, who missed the meet because of an injury.

"We'd have won the meet (if Nolan ran the 1,600), but they had a kid pull up in the 400 relay, so that evens out," Naperville Central coach George Cyr said. "Our goal was to score 100 points and we scored 100."

T. "Newton loves Keebler classic." Chicago Sun-Times. 1989. Retrieved November 16, 2009 from HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3945850.html

Joe Newton, York's indefatigable track coach, was an hour away from leaving for the Class AA meet in Charleston. But he had "plenty of time" to reminisce about the Keebler International meet June 17 at York in Elmhurst.

The Keebler is Joe Newton.

Newton founded the international event in 1969. "We wanted to expand our horizons and felt if we had an international meet, it would help to promote track and field in the local area and the state," he said. "It could bring in future Olympians and would inspire young kids to get into track and field."

It did and it has. Newton, an assistant coach on the U.S. Olympic men's track and field team last year, points with pride that 50 of 72 members of the men's team in Seoul had participated in the Keebler meet.

The meet has an international reputation and a benevolent sponsor, Keebler, the Elmhurst-based company which provides a six-figure budget. Athletes are attracted from all over the world. And it's even insured. After the 1987 rainout, meet officials purchased rain insurance to cover any future washouts.

"Keebler wants a world-class event with their name on it," Newton said. "And that's what they've got."

That is now. But Newton recalls the early years when the meet almost folded on three occasions, when he had to survive on a $300 budget, when athletes had to pay their own expenses, when the first two meets were rained out and had to be moved at the last minute. Before Keebler came to the rescue, the meet went through two other sponsors and four name changes.

Now it flies first-class. Ask former three-time Olympian Harvey Glance.

"Harvey competed in the 1975 meet (he won the 100-yard dash in 9.3 seconds) and I saw him at the 1979 Pan American Games," Newton said. "He told me it was the best meet he ever had been in. I asked why? He said: `Because you took such good care of us.' It was the ultimate compliment."

Glance recalled the plush accommodations . . . two in a room, color television, four swimming pools. He compared that to the 1976 Olympics in Montreal . . . 12 in a room, one toilet. He'll return next month as the meet's official spokesman.

But it still requires a full-time marketing manager to handle all of the logistics, transportation, lodging, meals, publicity and other details. Neal Robinson, former Northwestern track coach, joined Newton's staff in 1975 and has served an invitations director since 1982.

"The perception is it is an easy meet to sell but it isn't," Robinson said. "Just the other day, I talked to a man in Ohio whose daughter is the best discus thrower in the country. He never had heard of the Keebler meet."

Worrying comes with the territory. Because they are insured, they don't worry about rainouts anymore. "Once you buy weather insurance, you know it won't rain," Robinson said.

But there are concerns . . . missed plane flights, lost luggage, prescribed meals, jet lag, media coverage, language barriers, culture shock. Did you check out that kid from Mexico? Did he really run 10 flat in the 100? Or was the track only 95 meters long?

Robinson's worst experience came in 1985 when Leroy Burrell of Pennsylvania was invited to compete in the 100 and triple jump.

"His marks were competitive but not among the best in the nation," Robinson said. "He didn't show by noon. We called his coach and learned the kid had missed his flight and the next flight wasn't until eight hours later.

"Well, I figured the kid would be wiped out for the meet. At the seeding meeting, I forgot about him. In the 100, I seeded him in lane 1, the lane reserved for the slowest runner. He won and posted a great time (10.43). Now he's at Houston . . . and the NCAA long jump and indoor sprint champion.

"It's a new battle every year. You have to beat the bushes. Some people aren't hard to convince but you have to sell the meet every year."

T. "International Prep Invitational Back After 2-Year Hiatus." Chicago Sun-Times. 1996. Retrieved November 16, 2009 from HighBeam Research: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4335929.html

A rematch between Lincoln-Way's Kyle Leonard and York's Marius Bakken in the 800, a duel between the nation's top 400 runners and an attempt to establish a national record in the girls' discus.

Those are among the headline events in the International Prep Track and Field Invitational Saturday at York High School in Elmhurst. In its 23rd year, the IPI is returning under new sponsorship after a two-year hiatus.

Leonard upset Bakken in the 800 in the recent state meet, spoiling the Norwegian's bid to win an unprecedented triple in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. Bakken will seek to better 1:50 in a bid to qualify for the Norwegian junior national team for the World Championships in August in Sydney, Australia.

Bakken ran 1:51.9 in the sectional, but was beaten by Leonard, 1:52.6 to 1:53.7 in the state final. But York coach Joe Newton thinks Bakken will come close to his goal because his other times came after running the 3,200.

However, Newton said the meet's premier event could be the 400, which will pit Wheaton-Warrenville South's Jermar Collins and Michael Campbell of Kingston, Jamaica. Collins has a best of 46.2, Campbell 46.4.

"Jermar is looking for a great time in the 400," Wheaton South coach Ken Helberg said. "It will be his biggest test of the year."

Collins also will compete in the 200 against Charles Felton of Daly City, Calif., who has a best of 20.8. Collins has been timed in 20.9.

Sailila Sua of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has a 185-9 toss in the discus and will seek to surpass the national mark of 188-4 set by Suzy Powell of Modesto, Calif., in 1994.

Other nationally ranked performers invited to compete are Angelo Taylor of Decatur, Ga., the nation's leader in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles (36.52); Kim Mortenson of Thousand Oaks, Calif., who broke the national record in the girls' 3,200 (9:48); Emily Carlston of Warwick, R.I., in the javelin; and William Spearmon of Newark, N.J., in the long jump (25-8).

Other Illinois entries include Nell Shields of Glenbard West in the 3,200, David Gonzalez of Bolingbrook and Ed Riegart of Downers Grove South in the 1,600, T.J. Jumper of Springfield in the high jump, Cory Johnson of Wheaton South in the high hurdles, East Aurora's Lakeya Boatright in the 100 and 200 and Decatur MacArthur's Deanna Simmons in the long jump and triple jump.

"The invitation list is just as exciting as in other years," invitations director Tom Newton said. "A lot of people are still trying to get in. I get 20 calls a day. My job is to bring in the best people. We have standards the kids must reach or come close to."

"We're happy the meet is back," meet founder Joe Newton said. "All of this was done in four weeks. It's a miracle. We had a lot of insurmountable problems this year, but we made it.

"It makes this so gratifying because this will be the first international experience for a lot of kids who will be part of the Olympic team in the future."

The event will be televised by ESPN on a tape-delay basis. For tickets, call Glenbrook South coach John Davis at (847) 486-4588 or (847) 724-1899.