Above: York's Matt Plowman and Glenbard West's Chris Buechner running in a meet at East End Park last September. (Photo: Michael Newman)

York High School Cross Country teams forced out of historic East End Park

By Michael Newman

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Elmhurst, Ill --- The 2015 Cross Country season will mark an end of an era for the cross country teams at York High School. The Elmhurst Park District has forced the York teams from East End Park on the northeast side of the town due to construction of a new playground in the park. Both the Boys and the Girls teams will hold their home meets at Berens Park on the northwest edge of the city.

The athlete department of York High School was informed by the Park District’s Director of Parks and Facilities Angela Ferrentino in January of this year of the Park District’s plans of the construction of the playground in the middle of the park. The location of the new playground would obstruct the start and finish of the cross country course set up at the park. The project was approved in April.

There has been on going discomfort of having York using this park over the past few years especially with the residents of the neighborhood that the park was situated in especially on days of a meet when fans that were attending any of the York meets would have to park on streets surrounding the park. So it was not a surprise when in a public hearing on February 26 of the relocation of the playground there was overwhelming approval.

The Park District cancelled York’s Frosh/Soph Invitational for September 26, 2011 because it rained the day before the meet. Officials for the Park District deemed that the park was not suitable for any sporting events. Yet the day the meet was to take place, youth soccer practices were taking place throughout the park. There was no response from any official of the park district the day after. There was substantial rain the week before York was to host the West Suburban Conference Silver Division Meet last October. The Park District offered no assistance to get the park ready for the meet. The conference meet had to be moved to Proviso West. On that Saturday of the meet, there were soccer matches in the park. With these actions, there is no surprise of what the Park District is doing at this time.

According to the Elmhurst Park District’s website, construction of the playground will begin on August 17. Completion of the project is expected by October 16 just in time for the winter playground season. It is also a “coincidence” that work on the project coincides during the fall cross country season.

The high school had no other choice to move to Berens Park. The new course that will be used by the two teams is measured at 3.0 miles using three 1 mile loops. The first official high school meet will be held at the park on September 1 when York’s Girls team will host Downers Grove North and Oak Park-River Forest.

The East End Park course was the oldest cross country course used for high school meets in the state of Illinois and one of the oldest in the United States. The Dukes first started running in the park in 1939. This would have been the 76^th year that cross country meets were held in the historic park. The park has gone through many configurations of the cross country course. The latest course was measured at 2.85 miles. Described by some visitors as a “snug course” nestled in the northeastern edge of the town bordered by the I-290 extension on the eastern edge of the park, the course was truly a spectator course with those viewing meets able to watch the races on the more than 800 meter loop of the course. One athlete told me last year that everywhere he turned, there was a fan cheering in his face. That was the allure of the course.

York Boys Cross Country Coach Joe Newton informed his team of the move of their course on Wednesday during the team’s first official day of practice. “We have run at East End since I started coaching here in 1960,” Newton said. “Now we have to move. It’s hard to believe.”

In September 1999, the field at East End Park was dedicated by the Park District as Joe Newton Championship Field during the team’s Alumni Meet. The sign still remains at the park. On the Elmhurst Park District Website, it still proclaims East End Park as York’s Home course even though this decision was made in November of last year to move them out according to an article on the Park District's website.

A tour of the course along with comments of the course by Joe Newton can be found on this video done in the fall of 2014.