Mahomet-Seymour captures back to back 2A team championships

Photo: A close finisher from 2A champ Matt Richtman and runner-up Jacob Gebhardt (Mike Newman Photo)

By Michael Newman

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Peoria – The photo finish in the Kaneland Sectional race between Sterling’s Jacob Gebhardt and Kaneland’s Matthew Richtman was just the appetizer for what was to happen in Saturday’s 2A Boys State Race. Fans always hope for the exciting finish, the close finish, or the race that a winner is not decided until the final steps of the race.

The 2A Boys race gave us all that…and more.

All eyes were supposed to be on race favorites Gebhardt, Richtman, and Crystal Lake South’s Jack Becker. No one was expecting Brett Haffner of Hinsdale South in the lead. The senior made this race what it was taking the lead after the first turn and then going through the mile in 4:40. He was five seconds ahead of the pack.

“While not an intended one by any means, I took a huge risk yesterday,” Haffner said on Twitter on Sunday. “It gave me invaluable experience for the future, I do not regret it.”

Haffner’s bold move forced the pack especially after the mile to make a move. They knew that they would have to go get him that he was not coming back. Gebhardt saw that as he surged to try to close the gap.

Becker, Gebhardt, and Richtman caught and passed Haffner just before the half-way point of the race. The three pulled away from the pack with Haffner fading to ninth by two miles. The trio passed in 9:39 setting up a fast-final mile of the race.

It was a matter of who would blink first. Who would get the itch to take the advantage for the final sprint to the finish?

Richtman made the turn at the s-turn with a furious sprint hoping to gain the advantage. Gebhardt was making the effort to stay close. Becker slowly was starting to fall back but still in a full sprint.

Gebhardt pumped his arms harder getting him even with Richtman in the final 50-meters. The two were side-by-side until the final 10 steps that Richtman surged to get the win. Only seven tenths of a second separated the two with both given the same time of 14:23.

“This was better than I could have imagined. This is better because our team ran great too,” Richtman said as he hugged his teammates after the finish.

“I was trying to drop them after we passed Haffner, but they just weren’t dropping,” Gebhardt said after the race. “I knew it was going to be that close after sectionals. We just kept pushing each other towards the finish. I felt something in my legs in the final five meters that I have never felt before.”

“The last 200-meters when I finally got the lead, I just gave it everything I had,” Richtman added. “We’ve replicated this finish at state in practice so many times. I was so scary at the end. I was hoping I would just stay one step ahead of him.”

Becker ended up in third (14:31) some 14 seconds ahead of the rest of the pack.

Mahomet-Seymour had one of the most dominating 2A team performances in last year’s state meet. This year’s team was different. “We’ve had that strong group up front all year,” Mahomet-Seymour Coach Neil Garrison said. “It has been our fourth and fifth runners that have not showed that confidence in some of our races. We’ve been coming on strong.”

The Bulldogs put it all together on this state race day especially Bryson Keeble and Evan Burge who picked up valuable points for their team passing runners in the final 800-meters of the race. Their contribution, along with three all-state runners, allowed Mahomet-Seymour to win their second straight 2A state championship with 91 points. Normal University (114 points) and Sycamore (151 points) finished second and third.

Mathias Powell led the Bulldogs finishing fourth overall. Riley Fortune (6^th place) and Ryan Hodge (9^th place) were in the top ten giving their team great low numbers. Keeble (45^th) and Burge (72^nd) rounded out their scorers.

Normal University had a good race scoring 91 points with a 27 second split from their second runner Jackson McClure to fifth runner Harris Porter. They had five runners in before Mahomet’s did, but it was the strength that Mahomet that had up front that was the difference. Jared Shuckman had an all-state race finishing eighth overall to lead his team.

Sycamore’s third-place finish with 151 points was paced by Stephen Poorten. The senior last year was injured right before state not allowing him to run. He bounced back with a great season concluding with a seventh-place finish.