Jorge Torres has yet to step on an indoor track, but Wheeling’s state cross-country champion is in top shape.
The Wildcat junior left Tuesday for the Junior World Cross Country Championships in Morocco, which will be run on Sunday.
“This meet is for me to go out and enjoy it and get the experience competing on the world level,” said Torres, who qualified for the team in December in Portland.
But preparing for the 8,000-meter race (just under 5 miles) has meant stepping up his training regimen.
“I’ve been doing all distance workouts. I have averaged about 60 miles a week,” Torres said. “Last year I didn’t run that much–only about 40 miles. Twenty miles is a big difference.”
Torres said he didn’t anticipate making the team and has no idea what to expect in the Junior World meet. When he comes home, he will skip the rest of the indoor track season.
“I’ll need a break from competition,” he said. “Then I’ll come back for the outdoor season fresh and strong.”
Hindsight: Former Farragut All-American Ronnie Fields said he realizes the mistake he made coming out of high school.
“Watching all the NCAA tournament games makes me wish I had gone to junior college after high school,” said Fields, the crowd-pleasing guard with a 48-inch vertical leap whose promising career was dramatically altered after he broke a bone in his neck in an auto accident. “If I had done that instead of turning pro, I would be playing college ball right now.”
Fields played for the St. Paul Slam in the International Basketball Association this season, Fields, 21, hopes to catch on with a Continental Basketball Association team next season and attempt to work his way into the NBA.
Summit: Parents of the underclassmen in Young’s basketball program met with Principal Joyce Kenner on Monday to check on the status of replacing outgoing coach George Stanton.
Many of the parents appeared to support assistant coach Cyrus McGinnis, who has been recommended by Stanton. McGinnis played on Stanton’s 1986-87 Public League frosh-soph champion at Simeon.
Stanton’s successor will inherit a wealth of talent including 6-7 junior Kristopher Clemmons, junior guards Christopher Yates and Marcus Sankey plus a freshman foursome of 6-6 Najeeb Echols, 6-5 Ronald Howard and guards Chris Hill and Armon Gates, the younger brother of Dolphins starter Dennis Gates. The sophomore team finished second in the city to Westinghouse.
Hockey happenings: There will be plenty going on at the United Center before top-seeded Mt. Carmel and No. 2 New Trier Green skate in Saturday’s Red Varsity title game of the Blackhawk Cup. The day begins with the Chicago Fire Department taking on the Police Department for charity (10:30 a.m.), followed by the junior-varsity title game between seventh-seeded Marist and surprising Pekin, the 45th seed out of 48 teams. . . . Buffalo Grove and Rockford Guilford will skate for the Blackhawk Cup’s Combined Teams championship Friday night (7:20 p.m.) at Northbrook Sports Complex. . . . This year’s Blackhawk Alumni Scholarships were recently awarded to Mike Boettcher (Highland Park), Derek Graham (Lyons Township), Andrew Havlir (Buffalo Grove) and Daron Taylor (Marist). . . . Sandburg went overtime in each of its two games with Andrew to capture the North Illiana High School Hockey League’s Roper Cup.
