TWICE AS NICE
Jamison Dale, Luke O'Connor receive
All-State honors in 3200m run
Dale also medals, breaks all-time state record, in 1600m;
Eagles finish nineteenth in team standings
The number of the day was "two" for the Eagles on Saturday as they wrapped up their 2012 campaign at the IHSA State Finals held at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston, Ill. For the first time in program history, two separate Jones runners took home All-State honors as juniors Jamison Dale and Luke O'Connor finished third and fifth in the 3200m run, respectively. O'Connor now finds himself in unique company with Dale as the only two athletes in Jones history to receive the statewide honor.
O'Connor's twelve second victory in heat one, which is traditionally the slower section of the 3200m run, was good enough to displace the majority of the field in the faster heat, while Dale broke apart the race in the second section to finish third overall.
Continuing a day of doubles for Jones, Dale also came back hours later to secure his second All-State nod of the day with a seventh place finish in the 1600m run. It was the junior's race in the preliminaries on Friday, however, that highlighted the weekend for the five-time all-stater.
Dale broke the all-time class 2A state record in the 1600m run as he clocked a 4:15.97 to win his heat and advance to the finals on Saturday as the top overall seed. The mark, which eclipsed the previous state record time by nearly three seconds, also held up during finals, allowing Dale to leave Charleston at the end of the weekend with the record still in tact.
Dale will return next season with the top times in both events, while O'Connor will be the number three returner in the 3200m run.
The Eagles also saw a near school record performance in the 3200m relay as the team of Kyle Maloney, Josh Mason, Joseph Olver and Armando Rodriguez registered the second best time in school history for the event (8:10.68) for a nineteenth place finish. Mason also became only the third runner in Jones history to break the two-minute barrier in the 800m run as he split a personal best 1:59.20 to cap off his high school career, while Maloney registered the fastest freshman time in school history with a 2:01.55 split in the relay. Running a gutsy anchor leg, Rodriguez tied his personal best as he put the Eagles into contention after receiving the baton nearly thirty meters behind the lead pack.
Eagles' State Weekend Media Coverage:
|   Juniors Jamison Dale, third, and Luke O'Connor, fifth, on the podium
as they receive their All-State medals
 Dale finishing with state record in the 1600m run, 4:15.97
 3200m relay team (from left to right): Kyle Maloney, Joseph Olver,
Armando Rodriguez and Josh Mason |
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