OTHS harriers secure state final berths — again

Neither the Panthers boys nor girls cross country teams returned to O’Fallon with any hardware from last Saturday’s IHSA sectional races; however, their larger mission was fulfilled as both squads qualified for the state finals — keeping an impressive string of state qualifiers intact.

Going into Saturday’s competition on the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville campus, O’Fallon High coach Neil James and his charges knew that six legitimate contenders for the five qualifying spots would step to the starting line. Every successful charge has a leader, and junior standout Brooke Witzel filled that role for O’Fallon. Fresh off her regional individual championship run, Witzel broke out into the first pack of runners and maintained her position to finish 12th overall — less than two minutes behind sectional champion Mackenzie Callahan of Minooka.

Witzel’s time was a necessary component for the Panthers to secure a state bid, but it was her young teammates who sealed the deal, according to James.

“We anticipated that Brooke would give us a quality race; she always does, but our young kids really stepped up and ran a great race,” James said. “We had a great pack of runners that included Kaitlyn Walker, Sophie Wichlac, Katie Mank, Madeline McKittrick and Emma Jordan. Their collective times allowed us to finish in fourth place overall. All of our younger runners did an outstanding job of handling the pressure. For all of them. It was the first time running with so much at stake.”

Walker and Wichlac, both freshmen, led the quintet of OTHS harriers. Walker crossed the finish line in 21st, while Wichlac followed closely at 25th.

The combined efforts of the OTHS girls marks the ninth consecutive year that the O’Fallon female squad has made the trek to Peoria’s Detwiler Park — the site of the IHSA state finals.

Coach Jon Burnett’s boys team had their own tradition to uphold, and the Panthers came through the test with flying colors. When the OTHS squad toed the starting line, they were shooting for a 14th straight state tournament appearance. They not only succeeded in accomplishing their goal but also nearly brought home the sectional title.

Placing their two top runners among the top 10, the OTHS boys were narrowly edged by Minooka for the sectional championship, 89-96. Their second-place finish was especially gratifying in that they defeated conference rival Edwardsville. The Tigers took third, seven points behind the Panthers.

O’Fallon’s most experienced runners, seniors Chris Conrad and Joey Black, led the charge. Conrad placed fifth overall, just four seconds behind regional champion Franky Romana of Edwardsville. Black was only a few paces behind Conrad, finishing seventh. With the Panthers’ senior tandem putting O’Fallon in contention, a pack of sophomore Will VanAlstine (26th), junior Hayden Ybarra (27th) and junior Matthew Gilster (31st) allowed O’Fallon to soar near the top of the leader board to ultimately finish in second place.

This story was originally published November 3, 2016 at 11:39 AM with the headline "OTHS harriers secure state final berths — again."