No track for Verzbicas after all

Two-time defending Class 3A cross country champ Lukas Verzbicas of Sandburg will graduate without having run track at the high school level.

Verzbicas confirmed in a Facebook message on Friday that he will not run for the Eagles in the upcoming indoor and outdoor track seasons. “I won’t be competing for the IHSA (championships), but I’ll race national events,” Verzbicas wrote.

He had indicated after winning the Nike and Foot Locker national cross country titles that he might run for the Eagles this spring. But that plan seems to have been derailed by an IHSA ruling that prevents high school athletes from competing in in-season meets not sponsored by USA Track and Field.

Three meets that Verzbicas may compete in are not on the IHSA’s approved list: the New Balance Indoor Nationals in New York March 11-12, the Millrose Games in New York on Jan. 28 and the Reebok Indoor Games in Boston on Feb. 5.

Also a world-class triathlete, Verzbicas also plans to train for that sport as well this spring.