11/08/2008

Connor Callahan got everything he wanted out of his sectional cross country victory and more.

The DeSmet senior has been building toward today's state cross country meet since he finished 12th at the race last year. Winning sectionals in 16 minutes 19 seconds at Jefferson Barracks on Saturday was another step in that process, and it might be a harbinger of what Callahan is capable of at the Class 4 state meet on Oak Hills Golf Course in Jefferson City.

"I wanted to go out fairly hard and simulate what I want to do at the state meet," Callahan said. "(Jefferson Barracks) is a tough course. It's hilly like the state course, so I figured it would be a good tune-up for that."

Callahan has been tuning up for the state meet since last spring, when he captured seventh place in the 3,200-meter run. That, coupled with his all-state cross country performance last year, gave Callahan the belief that his senior season could hold something special.

"After state track when I finished seventh, I knew I had a shot at finishing really high," Callahan said. "I just had to put the work in, and I gave myself that chance."

After taking fourth place at the increasingly competitive Forest Park Cross Country Festival at the beginning of the season, Callahan has been on a steady march toward the state meet. He took first place at the highly regarded Rim Rock Classic amid a field of some of the Midwest's better runners. He set a personal best time of 15:38 in winning at Cape Girardeau Notre Dame, and he added a district victory at Parkway Central in 16:26.

"It's been a good year," said Callahan, who is considering running next year at St. Louis University, Wake Forest or Marquette. "I knew I could win a few meets; I knew I was set up for a pretty good year with my training over the summer."

Not only is Callahan shooting for another all-state finish, but he has his eye on the Spartans' school record time on the state course of 16:09. He'll also be carrying a little extra burden of producing a low finish for a DeSmet team that qualified for state again this year.

"Connor has been our leader all year long," DeSmet coach Bryan Traughber said. "Everyone sees his times and knows how he can run. But the pack behind him has been developing all year long, too."

State races begin with the Class 3 contest at 9 a.m.

ILLINOIS MEET

Edwardsville claimed last week's sectional title at Normal's Maxwell Park behind another strong performance by freshman Garrett Sweatt, who took second place in 14.58. Sweatt will be joined by Granite City's Aaron Werths as all-state contenders in the Class 3 race, which will be held today at Peoria's Detweiller Park.

O'Fallon qualified as a team for its sixth consecutive state meet with a fourth-place finish at sectionals. The Panthers were once again led by Michael Scolarici, who took 16th in 15:24 on the 3-mile course.

The O'Fallon girls also qualified for state with a third-place finish, and Belleville East sophomore Maria Effinger will attempt to improve upon her second-place sectional finish.