Schaumburg names invite in honor of Rebeck

For 30 years, Mike Rebeck was the heart and soul of the Schaumburg girls track team.

Rebeck became Schaumburg's head coach in 1980 and guided the Saxons to one Mid-Suburban League title and five second-place finishes, six sectional titles and a 10th-place finish in Class AA in 1994.

Needless to say, Rebeck pumped a lot of life into the Schaumburg program.

He retired at the end of last season, but his name will live on with inaugural Mike Rebeck Track and Field Invitational this Saturday, with field events beginning at 10 a.m., followed by running prelims at 11 a.m. and running finals at noon.

"It's a great honor and I'm very humble," said Rebeck, who taught in the school's math department. "There were a lot of great memories revolving around all the people involved."

For three decades, Rebeck worked with Jon Macnider in building up the Schaumburg track and field program. Macnider is head coach for the girls cross country team and took over the reigns of the Saxons track team this year.

"I have tremendous respect for what he did," said Macnider, who has guided the Saxons cross country team to two state titles and two runner-up finishes. "He was so organized and allowed me to focus on the distance kids. He also was a calming force."

The numbers speak for themselves: Rebeck coached 72 individual conference champions, 62 individual sectional champions, 220 state qualifiers and 77 all-staters.

Jo Jo (Bush) Petrey was a member of the 400 relay (50.0) and 800 relay (1:44.3) that set a school record in 1983. The 800 relay finished ninth in Class AA in 1983.

Her daughter Britten, now a junior at Schaumburg, holds the school record in the 3,200 relay (9:21.5) and 400 (59.4). Britten also finished sixth in the 1,600 at the Class 3A state meet last season.

And Rebecca was the coach for both of the Saxons standouts.

"I think it is incredible," added Jo Jo of Rebeck's reign. "He is just an outstanding guy. He related to all of us. He was a friend, but he also could be stern with us."

"It's going to be special on Saturday," said Britten. "He was our coach for two years and we all want to do well. He was a great leader."

Many of Rebeck's former runners are now coaching, including his daughter Danica. She's an assistant coach at Crystal Lake Central and helped guide the Gators to an eighth-place medal in Class 2A last season in the 3,200 relay.

Rebeck also finished on a high note with junior Karen Lesiewicz (800) winning a second-place medal and Petrey (1,600) adding a sixth-place medal.

"That was a cool way to bring my career to an end," said Rebeck of his final meet. "To be involved in the sport this long must mean you've done something right. It was very rewarding."