Talking Sports: State track ending similar to '52 finish

When Sidney's Don Sabin heard about the Sidney Red Raiders boys' victory in the state track and field championships, he was just as surprised and nearly as happy as when he himself contributed to a state title for Sidney High School in 1952.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Just as it was for the Sidney Red Raiders at the state track and field championships in 2015, so it was for the Sidney Maroons in 1952 when they competed in Lincoln. The Raiders needed to win the 4x400-meter relay (or mile relay as it is often referred) in the final event of the meet to win the state championship. In 1952, the Maroons also needed to win the the mile relay (4x440 yards) in the final event.

Before the Red Raiders foursome of Michael Banaszak, Hayden Lienemann, Hunter Secrest and Alex Linneman took to the track, they were paid a visit by head coach John Ganser. Before the final race of the 1952 meet, Sabin, Dale Maley, Andy Anderson and George Barlow were paid a similar call by head coach Leo Shuman. For Shuman, the state title was extra sweet as he was set to retire at the end of the 1951-52 school year as the head basketball and track coach.

"Before the race, the coach got us together and told us we had to win this race to be state champions," said Sabin from his home in Sidney earlier this week. "So we knew what we had to do. That gave us a little more adrenaline, a little more incentive to do our best."

Moments after the Raiders won their state title, Secrest shared a similar experience – though separated by 63 years from that of Sabin.

"Ganser came up to us before the race and said if we won, we'd beat Scottsbluff and be state champions," he said.

After the pep talk from their respective coaches, both relay teams finished what they set out to do. For Sabin, he was on the first Sidney High state track and field championship team. Besides his relay partners, the other champs of '52 were Jon McWilliams, Stan Smith, Dan Killham and Larry Jones. Sidney has won three since then in 1969, 1970 and 2015.

Sabin ran the first leg of the relay, which was a formidable group that had been winning races meet after meet during the '52 season. In fact, Sabin was on the gold medal winning mile relay team at the 1950 state meet. He ran anchor as a sophomore when the team finished third at state.

One big difference between 1952 and 2015, is that the Maroons were expected to win the final event. More surprising for the Maroons, however, was that they were in any position at all to claim a title when the final event arrived.

"Do you remember Greg McBride?" asked Sabin. "Well, he was a sportswriter for the Omaha paper and he had us predicted to finish fifth. He wasn't very popular around here. I guess because people here didn't think they liked us here too much in the west.

"The only time they seem to know we're out here is when it's time to vote or pay taxes," added Sabin with a laugh.

Among the others who scored points for the '52 Maroons at state were Smith, Barlow and McWilliams. Smith, who also quarterbacked the 1951 Western Conference championship football team, registered a new personal best in the pole vault at 11 feet, 6 inches. He then attempted to set the Class B record at 12-2, but "brushed the cross bar," according to coverage in the Sidney Telegraph at the time.

Barlow, another key member of the championship football team, picked up his points with a runner-up finish in the 440-yard dash as well as running the anchor leg in the mile relay.

McWilliams, who later went on to play football at the University of Nebraska and for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League, picked up points with a second-place finish in the 120-yard high hurdles. He added more to the Maroons' column by taking third in the broad (long) jump. McWilliams nearly scored second-place points in the 180-yard low hurdles as well.

"McWilliams was running second when he crashed into the second to last barrier and lost out completely," reported the Telegraph.

In 1952, Sidney was tied with Holdrege at 17 points apiece with two events to go. Lincoln Teachers and Gothenburg were close behind. Back then, the final two events were the 880-yard relay and mile relay.

"I don't know how many points we got for a win back then, but it was less that the 10 points they get today," Sabin said. "And you didn't score points for finishing seventh or eighth."

After the Lincoln Teachers quartet won the half-mile to take the lead, Sidney was in a must-win situation going into the mile relay.

"Don Sabin, running first lap in the mile-baton squad, managed to grab the lead on the first curve and brushed aside repeated passing attempts," reported the Telegraph.

When Sabin finished, he handed off to Maley, who passed to Anderson and then transferred the stick to Barlow for the finish. Once Sabin captured the lead on the first turn, Sidney never trailed. Sidney outpointed Lincoln Teachers for the title 23-22. Lincoln Teachers won state the following year.

After the boys returned home, their parents sponsored a dinner at Yendis Cafe with Mr. & Mrs. Leslie Sabin in attendance, along with their son Don, according to the Telegraph.

"We felt great, we were so happy after the race," Sabin said. "It's something you just don't ever forget."