CHARLESTON, Ill. • Belleville West senior Divonte Ridley showed Saturday what Maroons boys track coach Patton Seagraves knew all along — that Ridley was a true team player.
After deciding earlier in the week to put Ridley on the 800-meter relay team for the Class 3A state meet at O'Brien Stadium at Eastern Illinois University, Seagraves was hoping his squad would bring home a team trophy and the group didn't disappoint.
The Maroons scored 39 points to finish in a tie for third with Harvey Thornton and earn team hardware. Defending champion Lake Park tallied 74 points and York wound up with 43.
"We got a trophy," said an excited Seagraves. "What Divonte really did and being as unselfish as he was. We don't get seven points (third place in the 800 relay). Our four by two probably doesn't make the finals with Ridley.
"For him to run the eight races (four in the preliminaries on Friday and four on Saturday). The four by four are disappointed they didn't win, but they won a trophy for us. They ran for him because he was unselfish for us the entire weekend. It was a total team effort."
In addition to his main events of the 110 high hurdes and the 300 intermediate hurdles, Ridley ran the leadoff leg for 400-relay team and the 800 team. The 400 team won with a time of 41.87 seconds and that was the only championship for the Maroons.
But Ridley helped the 800 team to third (1:28.06) and he finished fourth in the 110s (14.56) and fifth in the 300s (38.51).
"I'm happy because, what I came out here for, it paid off," said Ridley, wiping away tears. "It was about the team. That's why I ran the four by two. I am happy for the team and happy for everybody. We were trying to get first in everything. But after I finished fifth in the 300s and fourth in the 110s, I didn't know what the outcome was going to be. I'm happy we got third."
After the team finished fourth in state last year with 30 points, nobody expected the Maroons to come close to that finish this season.
"We did it with a lot of teamwork," Ridley said. "And we just used what we had to make the team better."
Said Seagraves: "The goal was to get a trophy and to come and do this... mind-boggling. Mind-boggling."
