Stopka, Dickson take their friendship on the road

Working adults aren't the only ones who appreciate a short commute.

So do best friends.

Teenagers Donald Stopka and Kevin Dickson of Grayslake live barely more than a hop, skip and jump from each other. They've been backyard neighbors for the last 14 years.

"When I was younger, I used to time myself from my front door to Donald's front door," Dickson said. "I could get there in 20 seconds."

Not surprisingly, play dates between Donald and Kevin were plentiful when they were younger, often taking place every day after school.

They'd play board games and video games, as well as Wiffle ball and football in the front yard. They were always together.

But when Stopka decided to go to Carmel for high school instead of staying in the district to go to Grayslake Central with Dickson, the boys lost that daily connection. And as their schedules grew busier with homework, sports and extracurriculars like band and choir, even a basic connection was tough to maintain.

"We'd see each other every month or two, maybe have a sleepover here or there, but that was about it," said Stopka, a baseball player at Carmel.

"It wasn't like anything had changed between us," said Dickson, who runs cross country and track at Grayslake Central. "We were still best friends. We just didn't get to see each other very much."

Well, that's about to change.

In fact, the boys' friendship will soon revert back to the way it was when the 20-second commute was an everyday occurrence. Except, the commute will be even shorter. Non-existent, really.

Much to their delight, Stopka and Dickson, now 18, are on the verge of becoming roommates because they have decided to go to the same college: Rose-Hulman, a top-rated engineering school in Indiana.

Funny thing is, as much as Stopka and Dickson were missing their friendship, they didn't plan this. Life simply worked out in their favor, thanks in large part to the sports that Stopka and Dickson are so passionate about.

Stopka, who starts at third base for the Corsairs and has been one of the team's best hitters over the last two years, found a great fit with the Rose-Hulman baseball team. He verbally committed there a couple months ago. Meanwhile, Dickson, who is the co-captain of the Grayslake Central track team and is one of its best distance runners with a 4:41 mile, decided recently to compete for the cross country and track teams at Rose-Hulman.

"Finding a college has been frustrating," said Stopka, who jacked two homers in a game against St. Viator on Monday and sports close to a .400 batting average over his two-year varsity career. "I thought I was going to go Division I. I got walk-on offers but nothing really fit.

"Then I visited Rose-Hulman (a Division III college) and really liked it. And the academics are great. I want to major in engineering and Rose-Hulman has the best undergraduate engineering program in the country."

Dickson, on the other hand, originally had his heart set on Northwestern. But when he learned that Northwestern didn't have a cross country or track team, he was at a crossroads.

"When I first started doing cross country and track, I was just doing it recreationally, to stay in shape," Dickson said. "But I really have grown to love it and at some point this year I just felt like, 'You know what, I'm not ready to give this up yet.'"

So Dickson set out to find some other reputable engineering schools that had cross country and track programs.

Yes, engineering. Just like Stopka.

"I'm not surprised Donald and I chose the same major," Dickson said. "We're both good in math, we both like the same kind of technical stuff. I think that's part of the reason we've been such good friends."

Stopka and Dickson took advanced math classes together in junior high and also used to regularly challenge each other to brain-teasing games such as Stratego and Risk.

"We would even make up games, real technical games," Stopka said. "And we read books together like 'The Lord of the Rings.' We were always stretching our imaginations."

It paid off.

Stopka got a 30 on the ACT and carries a 3.3 grade point average at Carmel. Dickson earned a 34 on the ACT and is currently ranked No. 1 in the senior class at Grayslake Central with a 4.58 grade point average. Perfect credentials for a tough engineering school.

Eventually, Dickson drew some interest from the track coaches at Rose-Hulman and the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

Rose-Hulman won out easily.

"I just liked the feel I got on my visit to Rose-Hulman," Dickson said. "I liked the team, I liked the school and the campus.

"And when I realized that Donald was serious about going there, it made the thought of going there all the better. Us going there together is kind of like we're being reunited."

And there's a comfort in that. Who better to experience a major life change with than your best friend?

"I'm glad I'm not going to go through this with some random person," Stopka said. "Kevin is my best friend. I've always told people that. I made a lot of friends at Carmel. But it's not always easy to find really good friends - like Kevin."

It's not always easy to find good neighbors either. But Stopka and Dickson joke that they might have that covered, too.

Now that they're going to the same college, maybe they're on pace to one day buy homes in the same subdivision.

"We joke about it now, but watch, it'll probably happen-houses right next to each other," Dickson said with a laugh. "That'd be OK, though. I'm excited we're going to get to continue our friendship through college, and maybe now, it'll continue forever."

pbabcock@dailyherald.com