A little more than four years ago, York track and cross country coach Joe Newton claimed he had a freshman running “Steve Prefontaine” workouts. Maybe Newton had been to too many IHSA cross country trophy presentations.
But Donald Sage lived up to the hype, which was more like a whispering campaign his first two years at York. He ended a four-year career as the greatest distance runner the state has produced in the last 20 years and maybe, before he stops running, the greatest ever.
In his senior year, Sage became the first Class AA runner to win the 3,200 and 1,600 meters two straight years and led his team to the state title. His 3,200 victory was in 8 minutes 42.89 seconds, a Class AA meet record. His 1,600 time of 4:07.58 was .14 off the AA record and .48 off the IHSA all-time best. It was the fastest double in state meet history.
Indoors, he anchored York’s 4 x 800 relay to a national record of 7:42.67. Outdoors, he ran a 1:50.7 anchor leg on the 3,200 relay that broke the national record with 7:34.1. In addition, he had the second-fastest 800 time in the state this season at 1:52.4. He recently ran a 4:04.2 mile in winning the prestigious Golden West Invitational. His 1,600 and 3,200 times are the second best in the country this year.
In cross country, Sage led what many believe is the greatest cross country team the state has seen. He won the championship with a 3-mile time of 14:03, fourth on the state all-time list. He was 24th as a freshman, second as a sophomore and junior.
Sage signed with NCAA champion Stanford last fall.
