By Randy Whalen

Nathaniel Gabriel continues to do great things.

As a sophomore this past school year, Gabriel burst onto the running scene. He qualified for the Class 3A Boys Cross Country Illinois High School Association State Finals this past fall and placed in the top 26 percent by finishing 61st overall in a PR time of 14:56.80.

But he did even better this spring as he placed in the Top 10 in the 800-meter run at the Class 3A State Finals, which were held between Thursday and Saturday, May 29-31, at Eastern Illinois University. Gabriel was 10th with a time of 1:55.66, just missing 9th place and an All-State finish.

Still, it was a great improvement from his freshman year, and he managed a Top 10 finish despite an injured foot down the stretch. He also managed to qualify for state out of some terrible conditions on Wednesday, May 21, at the Minooka Sectional.  

"It was so cold that day," Gabriel said of the sectional. "It wasn't a very good day for a meet."

No, it wasn't. Gabriel barely qualified with a third-place finish in the 800 in a time of 1:57.34. The qualifying cutoff was 1:57.40, so he made it by .06 of a second. 

"It was a very cold sectional, and we're fortunate that Nathaniel made it," Joliet Central boys track and field coach Brian Reed said. "He was one of the very few that made the qualifying time (not a Top 2 finish) to make state. It was close."

Yes, it was.

"I was nervous, but I got there," Gabriel said. "I was a little annoyed with myself that I just made it. But once I knew I qualified, I concentrated on state."

No other Steelmen made the cut for state. The 4x800 relay team of junior Erick Ortiz, sophomore Emmanuel Ramos, freshman Kevin Quintero, and senior Jonathan Montesinos had a time of 8:48.91 and placed sixth in the 4x800 relay. They just missed fourth by a bit over two seconds. Outside of Gabriel, that was the highest place for Joliet Central at the sectional.

"We hoped Anthony Miranda would make it; he had met the qualifying times for the 100 and 200 throughout the year, " Reed said of his senior sprinter. "But with the tough conditions, there were a lot of guys that didn't make it."

Miranda placed 10th in the 100 with a time of 11.25 seconds and 10th in the 200 at 22.89 seconds. The 100 qualifying time was 10.94 seconds, and the 200 was 22.30 seconds. 

Also placing in the Top 12 individually in the sectional for Joliet Central was junior Diego Santos, who was 11th in a time of 10:40.41 in the 3200-meter run, and Ortiz, who was 12th with a time of 4:52.99 in the 1600-meter run. The 4x400 relay team of senior Antwi Boakye, sophomore Oppong Boakye, Miranda, and Gabriel had a time of 3:42.59 to place 11th.

At state, the Top 12 make the finals in the 800-meter run. Gabriel was fourth in the preliminaries with a time of 1:55.34. But he wasn't 100 percent in the finals, placing 10th with a mark of 1:55.66, just .07 seconds behind Antioch junior Carson Lanners, who had a PR time of 1:55.59. 

Lockport Township senior Nolan Lamoureux won it with a time of 1:51.92.

"When I got to state, my goal was to make the finals and then get All-State, but I was pretty happy in retrospect," Gabriel said. "But I was getting tendinitis on the top of my left foot and hurt it in the race. So I couldn't walk for 10 minutes after the race."

If he doesn't have that injury, who knows?

"At state, he just missed a medal, Reed said. "His tendon was swollen, but he wasn't going to sit out. He's super competitive."

Gabriel also qualified for state as a freshman. But he didn't make the final day, placing 40th in the 800 prelims with a time of 2:02.10. 

At the Southwest Prairie Conference meet, which was held on Wednesday, May 14, at Joliet Central, Gabriel was the only varsity Steelmen to make All-Conference. He placed second in the 800 with a PR time of 1:54.38. The Top 6 in each event make All-Conference.

"Nathaniel made All-Conference, and our conference is the toughest in the state," said Reed of the SPC, which was won by Oswego East with 102 points. "We still had a lot of PRs from a lot of guys and competed as well as we could."

So did Gabriel at state. He has two more high school seasons and wants to make those the best yet.

"Nathaniel will be back," Reed said. "As long as he's healthy, he has a shot."

That's a key.

"There are two more years, and hopefully, he can have good health and have more race expectations," Joliet Central assistant boys track and field and head boys cross country coach Doug Cherry said. "He did great as a sophomore this season.

"For him to get back to state in the 800 and get on the cusp of getting a medal was great. Hopefully, he'll take the next step in the fall and get a medal in both cross country and track."

That's the plan.

"Next year I want to make the Top 5 at state and set myself up for my senior year," Gabriel said. "In cross country this fall, I'm hoping to improve, make All-State and get under 14 minutes."

After seeing Charles Walker win the Class 3A State Title at 215 pounds in wrestling this past season Gabriel knows there could be parallels to his journey as well. Walker made state as a sophomore and junior, just missing a medal each time, before breaking through this season. 

"Of course," Gabriel answered when asked if he sees his progression in a similar fashion as his fellow Steelmen. "It just shows that if I do the work, I could still have that opportunity. Even if next season doesn't go as planned."