Olympian Evan Jager to Lead Local Charity Run

Jager, a Jacobs High School graduate, competed in track and field at the Olympics in London.

PHOTOS: Community Shows Support for Evan Jager

Family, friends, neighbors and students joined together to welcome home Jacobs alumni and Olympian Evan Jager at a meet and greet event at Jacobs High School Wednesday afternoon.

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UPDATE: Location for Evan Jager Meet and Greet Changes; Event to be Held at Jacobs

The event will start at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

UPDATE: The location for the meet and greet for Evan Jager has changed.  The event will now be held in the competition gym at Jacobs High School, 2601 Bunker Hill Drive in Algonquin, at 3:30 p.m. The event had previously been scheduled for the same time at Algonquin Commons but it was decided to move the event indoors due to the possibility of some rain this afternoon, according to the Community Unit School District 300 Facebook page. The above information was updated at 2:38 p.m. on Sept. 5.   ---------------- First-time Olympian Evan Jager is coming home and Algonquin is hoping to celebrate his return in a big way next week.  Jager, who placed sixth in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase at the London Summer Olympics, will be at a meet …

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Father of Algonquin Olympian Shares London Experience

Joel Jager knew the competition during his son's 3000-meter steeplechase run would be tough, but he is proud of his son, Evan Jager's, sixth place finish at the London Olympics.

Although Algonquin native Evan Jager didn't medal in his first Olympic appearance, his father Joel Jager couldn’t be more proud of his son. Evan Jager finished the 3000-meter steeplechase race at the Olympics with a time of 8 minutes, 23.87 seconds earlier this month. Fellow United States teammate Donald Cabral finished shortly after, taking eighth place. “Finishing sixth in that race, and being the sixth best in the world in the Olympics was a remarkable year [for Evan],” Joel Jager said. Before the race, Joel Jager knew the competition in the finals Olympic race would be tough. “We had pretty realistic expectations going into the race, but we were also hopeful that he might medal,” Joel Jager said. READ MORE: Evan Jager Places Sixth in …

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Evan Jager Places Sixth in Olympic Steeplechase; Community Shows Support for Algonquin Native

A crowd of over 300 Evan Jager fans crowded the Buffalo Wild Wings in Algonquin Sunday afternoon to cheer on the Algonquin native during the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Olympics.

While Algonquin's Evan Jager will return from London without a medal, those closest to him foresee more trips to the Olympics in his future.  Jager, a 2007 graduate of Jacobs High School, competed Sunday in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase finals at the Olympics in London, finishing in sixth place with a time of 8:23.87. Ezekiel Kemboi of Kenya walked away with the gold finishing first with a time of 8:18.56. Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad of France finished second with a time of 8:19.08 and Abel Kiprop Mutai of Kenya will take home the bronze with a time of 8:19.73. Sunday's race marked only the seventh time Jager has ever competed in the men's steeplechase.  "Considering this is only his seventh time running the steeplechase, you really …

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Amie Schaenzer

2:51 pm on Tuesday, August 7, 2012

I haven't heard of anything like that. But I will definitely post an update if a homecoming celebration is planned.   more ›

From Youth Athlete to Olympian: Evan Jager Shares His Road to Success

Evan Jager, a Jacobs High School graduate, has qualified for the 3,000-meter steeplechase race in the 2012 summer Olympics in London.

When Evan Jager was 12 years old, his father made a bet with him.  Joel Jager could tell his son had a gift as a runner and challenged him to run a mile — which Evan then did in 6 minutes and 12 seconds. Wanting to push him to a faster time, Joel Jager asked Evan how fast he thought he could one day run the mile. Evan Jager set that goal at five minutes. And his dad said once he did that he would buy him a mustang.  “I have no recollection of why I said five minutes,” said Evan Jager in a recent interview with Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Patch. “But I just told him I could. Part of the reason why I said five minutes, I guess, was because I have always been someone to set the bar extraordinarily high for myself.” By the end of 8th grade, …

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Watch Party Scheduled for Jager's Olympic Race

Fans of Evan Jager will gather at Buffalo Wild Wings this Sunday to watch the 2007 Jacobs High School graduate compete for an Olympic medal in the 3,000-meter men's steeplechase.

Algonquin native Evan Jager has made it through to the finals for the 3000-meter steeplechase in the Olympics. To support him, Buffalo Wild Wings, 461 South Randall Road, is throwing a watch party on Sunday. The watch party begins at 3 p.m., and Jager’s race will be shown live at 3:25 p.m. T-shirts will be sold, and the restaurant will be open for anyone to attend. Vicki Frantz, the marketing manager at Buffalo Wild Wings, said at least 50 people are expected to attend the event. “We are expecting it to be pretty busy,” Frantz said. “We do a ton of stuff with Jacobs, and we figured we want to celebrate the local hero.” Frantz has reached out to H.D. Jacobs High School cross-country coach Kevin Christian when planning the party, to invite …

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Algonquin's Evan Jager Qualifies for Olympic Finals in Steeplechase

Evan Jager will run in the first heat of the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase at 1 p.m. in London, which is 7 a.m. here.

UPDATE: Evan Jager qualified for the Olympic finals in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, finishing with the second fastest time during the preliminary race Friday, according to the NBC Olympics results page.  Jager finished second in his heat with a time of 8 minutes, 16.61 seconds. He needed to finish in the top four to advance to the finals.  The finals are scheduled for Sunday at 9:25 p.m. in London, which is 3:25 p.m. here. The above information was updated at 9 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 3. ----- The time has come for Algonquin native Evan Jager to show the world what he is made of. Jager will compete in the prelims for the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase on Friday at the Olympics in London. The top finishers will qualify for the finals on…

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