Distance Runners Hear A Familiar Voice

There’s a school of thought that says that athletes reap the benefits of being coached by more than one coach during their high school careers.

But the flip side of that is trying to provide consistency for those same teen-agers no matter what sports they choose to play.

Evanston’s Stella Davis is hoping for the best of both worlds. So far, so good for the Evanston distance standout in her cross country/track career.

Davis captured first place in the 1600-meter run Saturday in Evanston’s first major indoor track test at the Rockford Auburn Invitational. The Wildkit junior was clocked in 5 minutes, 11.03 seconds and buried her closest challenger, Isabella Domier of Grayslake Central, over the last lap and a half to score the victory.

The addition of assistant cross country coach Gideon Yitref to the track staff might not seem significant for casual observers of the two ETHS programs. But insiders know that the two staffs haven’t been on the same page for most of the last 20 years --- rarely cooperating from one season to the next --- and distance success has eluded the track team over that span.

Yitref was the first one head track coach Fenton Gunter thought to call to fill a void on his staff when long-time assistant Jesse Sibert passed away last spring, shortly after the Illinois High School Association state finals. That means that now Davis --- and a roster that includes more than 15 distance hopefuls, more than the program has fielded in years --- will hear a familiar voice every day at practice.

Davis has qualified for State in both cross country and track and she’s only halfway through her high school running career. Both Sibert and Yitref have had impact on her training, although utilizing different training methods to get their desired results.

“I had a great chance to work more 1-on-1 with Coach Sibert last year, and I miss him,” Davis said. “But Coach Yitref knows me so well. Things (training) are different now. My speed workouts are similar to last year, but I’m also running hills. And sometimes Yitref runs with us. I think the mixture of those workouts is really going to be helpful because just doing the track workouts, like I did last year, can get a little stale.

“I’m going to run the two mile (3200 meters) next week for the first time indoors and right now I’m working on building a base, to maybe focus on the two mile this year. I dropped a ton of time this year in cross country (finishing 30th at the state finals) and I’m hoping these workouts will help my track times, too.”

Lack of communication with the cross country staff last year caused Sibert to have to experiment for the first couple of months of the indoor/outdoor track campaign to find the right distance --- 800, 1600 or 3200 – for Davis to thrive at. She advanced to State in the 1600 but was eliminated in the preliminaries there, partly due to the fact that she was competing on a bad ankle.

Yitref won’t be in any rush to point Davis toward a certain event, either. The Kits will keep their options open, especially with an influx of young and talented freshmen and sophomores bolstering the distance ranks.

“One of the most important things I was looking for (in building his coaching staff this season) was someone who had a positive relationship with these kids,” Gunter said. “And someone who has a lot of ideas about running. I wanted someone who would be a good fit with the kids we have. The girls really enjoy him and they’re comfortable with him, so that means they’ll put in more effort.

“What’s best for the girls is what comes first. I did talk with Stella about it before I called Gideon. It’s not one size fits all. The important thing is when you hear that (one) voice, you believe in that voice.”

As if Davis needed another boost, Saturday’s winning effort marked one of the rare times to date in which she has out-kicked an opponent to secure a win. Domier hung right on her shoulder for most of the race but couldn’t keep up when Davis shifted into another gear and the ETHS runner broke the meet record of 5:15.83 set by Loyola Academy’s Jane Lynch last year. Domier was clocked in 5:14.49, with Lynch a distant third this time in 5:20.84.

“That was stressful with that girl right there on my tail,” Davis said. “I wanted to run faster today, but I did have a good pickup after my half mile split. I wanted to run faster in the fifth and sixth laps, and I did that. I’ve been working with Coach (Yitref) a lot on race strategy. He wants to make sure I have some really strong finishes.

“Today wasn’t my best race. But it’s not a bad place to start.”

Davis and sophomore Kayla Strickland (10.07 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles) scored the only individual wins for ETHS, which placed 7th in the 20-team field with 36.5 points. Loyola took the team title with 71 points.

Mya Hubbard, one of just two seniors who figure to contribute much for the youngest team in Gunter’s long tenure, scored a 5th in the long jump (4.66 meters) and 6th in the open 200 (28.39). Sophomore Magdalena Conforti added a 3rd in the 60 hurdles (11.01).

But the Wildkits dominated on the junior varsity level with 113 points to earn the first place plaque with a lineup of freshmen and sophomores. ETHS scored 7 first-place finishes in the first major indoor test for most of those young runners.

And Gunter believes the future is bright based on the potential of those freshmen and sophomores.

“This is a good group of girls to work with,” declared the veteran coach. “Without a doubt, this is the youngest we’ve ever been. But I like it. Everything is new to them, and there’s always a time when you have to start completely from scratch. I’m able to do more teaching and put in my two cents every now and then. I thought they all ran well, for it being the first time today.”