ALGONQUIN — Evan Jager was more nervous Wednesday as he crossed the gym
through a stream of cheerleaders to the punch of the pep band than he
was five minutes before the start of the 3,000-meter men’s steeplechase
race last month at the 2012 Olympics in London.
That’s what he told Dan Vosnos, athletic director at H.D. Jacobs High School.
Or, at least, that’s what Vosnos told about 1,000
people who turned out Wednesday afternoon to welcome home Jager in the
competition gym at Jacobs, 2601 Bunker Hill Drive.
“I love to see this because I love to see how
humble he is and also how embarrassed he is by all the recognition,”
said Kevin Christian, head cross-country and assistant track coach at
Jacobs.
Wearing a U.S. Olympic team T-shirt and backward
hat over his trademark mop of blonde hair, Jager thanked the cheering
crowd and motioned for them to sit down.
“This helped make the season so special to be able
to share it with so many people. Running well doesn’t mean so much if
there’s no one out there who cares about it,” he said.
The crowd Wednesday at Jacobs was more than three
times the number that had packed out the Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and
Bar just across Randall Road last month to watch the 2007 Jacobs
graduate compete in the summer games. The 23-year-old finished sixth
that day in a nailbiting steeplechase race in which he’d led the pack
momentarily, then fell back after the defending Olympic champion went
down in front of him.
And just before the Olympics, Jager had set the
U.S. record at the IAAF Track and Field Diamond League Meet in Monaco
with a time 12 seconds faster than the Olympic final ended. It was only
his fifth time running the event; the Olympics, his seventh.
But, Jacobs head boys track coach Jason Borhart said, “It was never about records for Evan.”
For the rest of the story, read Jacobs welcomes home graduate — and Olympian — Evan Jager (Sun-Times Media).
Photo credit: Michael Smart for Sun-Times Media.
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