Barrington's Eiring right on track for a smooth senior finale

Every tattoo comes with a story. Some are purely a fashion statement, while others hold a deeper meaning.

Barrington senior Konrad Eiring got his first inking this past year. On his right thigh, Eiring now displays a colorful fish, a bluegill.

The bright blue-and-orange color scheme proved to be fitting, as Eiring later committed to the University of Illinois.

But the story doesn't end there. The message behind the tattoo and its symbolism, in a way, defines the past, present, and future for Eiring.

When he was 4 years old, Eiring, along with his brothers Karl and Kevin, vacationed at a summer lake cottage near Sheboygan, Wis. The boys would fish from the end of the pier and, with every bluegill they hauled in, Konrad had to pluck the fish from the line while his older brothers stood by, too scared to do likewise.

"My brothers were scared and I was kind of freaking out too," Eiring said. "But I learned to step back, assess the situation -- realize that the fish was more frightened than I was, and just get it off the hook."

While the waters of the lake he grew up on were typically calm, the same could not be said for a rather tumultuous junior season that Eiring recently went through.

Following a 2013 season when he ran on the Broncos' 3,200-meter state champion relay, Eiring entered his junior year with high hopes. After one outdoor meet, those lofty expectations got even higher.

"I remember seeing him run at the first dual meet we had with Conant and Fremd and he was dominant," Barrington coach Todd Kuklinski said. "Then he came to practice that next day in a walking boot."

The leg injury sidelined one of the top middle distance runners in the state for nearly the entire campaign. Though he came back to help lead his relay to a fourth-place finish at state, the rough seas of his junior year were a lot to overcome.

"The fact that Konrad and that relay finished fourth, missing Ryan Perkins and with Konrad at 70 percent, says a lot," Kuklinski said.

So it was time for Eiring to calm the waters of his life. A few days after his junior year ended, Eiring took to Facebook and summed up his junior season and revealed to everyone who he really is.

"I posted on my page about track, about selecting a college and then I said 'Oh, by the way, I'm gay,' " Eiring said. "Junior year was so tough for me. With selecting a college, to ACT's to my coming out - I am so glad that I decided to get through that when I did. I feel like it has made me a stronger person because of it."

Even if Eiring had doubts about coming out, his teammates never changed how they felt about him.

"I think you build it up into something that is not real in a away," he said. "When, really, people reacted like it was no big deal. It's a different time now and people just looked at me like well, he's still Konrad."

To his teammates, he is still - Konrad. And for that, they're nothing but appreciative.

"I look at him as my teammate and one of my brothers," said senior sprint standout Scotty Miller. "I see how he is as a leader and how he gets out there and races in that 4x8 before my race and it gets me fired up and ready to go."

Eiring also credits the recovery from his junior year injury as yet another reason for his successes this season.

"I wouldn't wish that upon anyone," he said. "To not be on the track and instead working out in the pool away from your teammates is a tough thing to go through."

Into his final year at Barrington and the choppy seas he navigated last year as junior seem like a distant memory. He captured the indoor state title in the 800 meters and has been among the very best in the state in that event so far this outdoor season.

"He is just a fantastic kid and a tremendous leader," Kuklinski said. "He's an Eagle Scout, a terrific student - he's just a super kid."

Eiring was certainly super in early May when the Broncos captured their second consecutive Mid Suburban League title. Eiring anchored the Broncos' 3,200-meter relay that night to a state-best 7:43.51. He also won the 400 and contributed to a stellar 1,600 relay as the Broncos broke meet records for points and margin of victory.

"This year has been so much better for me because I feel like I am running to something instead of running from something," Eiring said. "I got through the challenge in coming out and now I look at new challenges like a school record, or a state record - or a trophy."

Heading into the final weekend of his high school career with a future focused on running for the Illini and an eventual career in design, there are a couple more things on his to-do list.

"I know with state this weekend he is focused on big things as we all are," Kuklinski said. "He is such a great kid that I think he is ready for whatever challenges he has in front of him."

The goals he and his teammates have are waiting to be fulfilled on the track at Eastern Illinois this weekend. Regardless, Eiring has his mind clear and a proper perspective on the future.

"I kind of look back at that fish on the line back from when I was a kid," he said. "I think that situations that seem terrifying really aren't if you take a step back and assess the situation."