Seaver was Tigers’ motivator

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Crystal Lake Central boys track and field coach Brian Seaver deflects the praise from the Tigers’ season to his assistant coaches and the athletes who sweated through workouts.

“The kids have been great,” Seaver said. “I deserve no credit. The kids are really dedicated athletes.”

Central was a bit of a surprise team this season, pushing McHenry in the McHenry County Meet and taking second in the IHSA Class 2A Grayslake Central Sectional. The Tigers also earned three medals and 18 points at the Class 2A State Meet, which gained Seaver a lot of support among his peers.

Seaver is the Northwest Herald Boys Track and Field Coach of the Year, selected by the sports staff with input from area coaches. Senior-to-be distance runner Michael Bondi believed Seaver had a much bigger role in the Tigers’ success than the coach admitted.

“He helped us build the character in order to do that,” Bondi said. “We had a special season overall. The whole team put in the effort, and the coaches helped motivate and train us.”

Central’s Ryan Alvarez took third at state in the 1,600, Bondi was fourth in the 800 and those two teamed up with Chris Alvarez and Paul Dunteman to take fourth in the 4x800. Eric Loria ran instead of Dunteman in the preliminaries to get into the finals.

“We were pleased with the year,” Seaver said. “We had a great indoor season and had some great expectations for the outdoor season. The kids were really dedicated athletes and a lot of them were juniors.”

Central tied for fourth in the Fox Valley Conference Meet, but was running without Bondi, who scored big points in the county meet, and sprinter Dillon McKinney. The Tigers scored 93 points at the sectional meet and took second to Lakes (105).

“[Seaver] would have us set goals for ourselves,” Bondi said. “But it doesn’t matter how well you do, just what you can do to help the team.”