Sunday, Nov. 08, 2009

Drought over for O'Fallon boys cross country; Scolarici makes school history

PEORIA -- The drought is finally over for the O'Fallon Panthers boys cross country program.

Taking advantage of near ideal running conditions, junior Michael Scolarici covered the 3-mile Detweiller Park course in 14 minutes, 46 seconds Saturday to earn a seventh-place medal and lead the way for metro east runners at the Class 3A state cross country meet.

The Southwestern and regional champion, Scolarici is the first O'Fallon boys runner to earn all-state status.

"We've had a number of outstanding runners over the years that I've been the head coach for, but for some reason we've come up short," Panthers coach John Burnett said. "Michael was able to get off to a good start and he ran with the top group.

"He is a kid who has put in his time over the summer and has trained very hard, like all the guys have."

Scolarici said he felt good from the outset.

"We had a good day to run for a change. That helped," Scolarici said. "I felt good at the start and I was able to keep the pace up as I went along. The pace was fast, but we knew that it would be. I just felt really strong."

Joining Scolarici as an all-stater in Class 3A was Edwardsville sophomore Garrett Sweatt, who placed 10th with a time of 14:49.

Sweatt, who edged Scolarici at the Normal West Sectional last week, also felt strong from the outset.

"The front pack went out fast and I was able to go with them,. With the guys in this race, we knew the pace would be really quick," Sweatt said. "To be able to run like I did and earn a top 10 finish is great."

O'Fallon, which also got a 68th-place finish from Craig Munie, placed 18th in the team competition, while Edwardsville, getting a 52nd from Craig Munie was 24th.

While Scolarici and Sweatt earned medals in Class 3A, the area's top Class 2A harriers struggled after solid starts.

Jerseyville senior Ryan Todd, who placed third at the state in 2008, was in the top five early but was forced to drop out with a leg injury halfway through the race.

Triad senior Brett Conway and Highland senior Landon Goldstein also looked strong early and were both in the top 15 through the first mile before fading.

Conway placed 61st, while Goldstein took 69th.

The metro east did have two all-state runners in Class 1A where Columbia sophomore Drew Spargo earned the 22nd-place medal and Nashville senior Keifer Heiman was 24th.

Breaking his own personal-best by more than 30 seconds, Spargo finished with a time of 15:47 seconds, while Heiman clocked in at 15:56.

"I felt good and I didn't force anything. I just tried to stay relaxed and do as well as I could," Spargo said. "The adrenaline was pumping pretty good as well. That helped,"

Sparta, which came into the state meet battling illnesses, placed 12th and were led by Wade Reeves and Jon Hill, who placed 28th and 29th, respectively.

Freeburg, led by a 74th from David Renner, was 20th in the team competition.