Note: The IHSA Class 3A race begins at 23:00
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If history had proved anything over the course of the Illinois Boys Outdoor Track and Field Championships' tenure, it had been this: You were always in for a show in the 4x800 final.
On Saturday, that fact didn't sway from tradition.
With two of the top programs in the U.S. -- Hinsdale Central and Sandburg -- vying for supremacy in the IHSA Class 3A final at Eastern Illinois University, something had to give.
Hinsdale had entered with a U.S. No. 3 time of 7:42.15 from the sectional race on May 19. Sandburg had run 7:42.42 in the same race.
Neither team were budging an inch.
And of course, these two teams had to leave it to the anchor legs for the state championship to be decided ... ultimately, one of the greatest showdowns in state history taking place, with Orland Park Sandburg walking away with the state title in a time of 7:44.03, defeating Hinsdale Central by a little over a second in 7:45.91.
"We went in all-in a couple weeks ago," Sandburg's Declan Tunney said, "and we didn't look back. I'm so glad we did that."
It wasn't the fastest race in state history, nor was it the state program's best duel ever -- that honor goes to Neuqua Valley and Sandburg in 2014, with that duel separated by just a half of a second and landing at No. 3 and No. 4 all-time in the state record books.
But no doubt, this one will go down as one of the all-timers, too.
In the annals of the Illinois state championship record books, the 2022 Sandburg vs. Hinsdale Central matchup only trailed that of the 2014 final (NV vs. Sandburg), the 2015 final (Sandburg vs. LaGrange) and the 2006 final (Alonquin vs. Glen Elllyn) likely compare.
Sandburg, for some reason, tends to welcome these moments.
In the first leg, it was Hinsdale Central out to an early lead. Sandburg was sixth, roughly two seconds back on the first hand-off.
The second carry only reaffirmed HC's dominance, as the program kept its foot on the gas. Sandburg, however, began to make a move on its position, moving into third by the next exchange.
Then came the race's momentous shift. Sandburg reeled in Hinsdale on the third carry -- even taking a brief lead on the final straightaway -- the program handing off nearly even on the exchange.
It was up to the anchor's to decide each team's fate in the state championship.
And that's ultimately what Brock Rice did, measuring his 800m anchor just right as he moved past Hinsdale Central at 600 meters.
He never looked back on the move, carrying the famed distance program to another state title.
3A BOYS 4X800 METER RELAY FINALS
PLACE TEAM RESULT H#
1 Orland Park (Sandburg) 7:44.03 1
2 Hinsdale (Central) 7:45.91 1
3 Downers Grove (South) 7:48.83 1
4 Chicago (Lane) 7:51.42 1
5 Elmhurst (York) 7:53.63 1
6 Naperville (Central) 7:55.28 1
7 Downers Grove (North) 7:56.41 1
8 Oswego (H.S.) 7:58.52 1
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