NOVEMBER 17, 1967
LaBadie Captures State
Lee ran the 1.99 mile course in 9:54.4 and in so doing became Maine West's first individual State champion. He has been running downstate since he was a sophomore.
"It was all planned for the end," said Lee afterwards, referring to the race. "I was going to stick with them, not do any fabulous pacing." His strategy worked.
After the first half-mile he let a number of boys take the lead and set the pace. At the mile and a half Lee was running second when Maine East's Jack Gillio passed him briefly. Lee caught him, however, and was soon running next to Proviso West's Rich Elliot, earlier picked as the probable winner.
At this point LaBadie made his move. He picked up his pace, pulled ahead of Elliot, and then made an all-out sprint to the chute, finishing about three seconds in the lead.
A tired but happy Lee LaBadie found himself mobbed by fellow runners and proud Coaches Bill Barringer and Ross Blake.
"So far this has been the most memorable event of my life," Lee stated later.
Favored Proviso West was beaten by Arlington 73-74. York, as last year, took third place. The fourth and fifth place slots were filled by Glenbard West and Ottawa respectively.
The varsity team this year was one of the best ever. They took a fourth in the Ridgewood district behind Arlington, York, and New Trier East. Preceding that race they took second in the Libertyville Invitational next to Arlington. One week later, October 30, they beat Crystal Lake 19-44.
Twenty-seven boys will receive varsity letters. That's the largest number ever to do so. Lee LaBadie, Bill Deuser, Pete Klages, Bob Glitz, Gary Smith, Scott Lewis, and Kurt Christensen were a few of the team's leading runners.
Next year shows no let up. Glitz will probably be leading this year's juniors, who won their separate races in the Center meet. They may also be outstanding.
The sophomores aren't about to spoil the fun. This year they were Conference champs and were undefeated in all dual meets. They edged Prospect by three points at Libertyville. Although defeated by Maine South at the Niles Frosh-Soph Invitational, they bounced back to beat Crystal Lake 24-35.
The freshmen show plenty of promise and should become well known as soon as they get a little more organized. There weren't very many boys participating this year. Because of this lack of depth the team was in trouble whenever someone was injured. Thus, they only appeared average this year. Now that they have some experience behind them, they can look forward to a more successful year.