The cheers inside Algonquin’s Buffalo Wild Wings were deafening Sunday as Algonquin’s favorite son, Evan Jager, was shown at the starting line before the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Olympics.

They were just as loud when Jager made a move on the second lap. They grew louder when he and U.S. teammate Donn Cabral ran shoulder to shoulder in the lead with three laps remaining.

But against the best in the world, Jager finished sixth in 8:23.87, which still brought rousing cheers back home. Kenya’s Ezekiel Kemboi won the race in 8:18.56, giving that nation its eighth consecutive steeplechase title.