Noah Kauppila wasn't the smallest runner in his races last year. Not by a long shot.
Still, at 5-foot-6 and hardly more than 100 pounds, Kauppila was neither towering over opponents nor pushing them around. Despite that, he established himself as one of the more promising runners in area cross country.
This year, the Marquette sophomore's physical standing and racing reputation are booming.
Kauppila, who shot up to 5-11 and 120 pounds, has lined up against some of the state's top runners in the first month of the season, and he's proved he belongs on the first page of standouts. Saturday, the 15-year-old outdueled Caleb Wilfong of Rock Bridge to win the Parkway West Invitational.
"I wasn't really expecting this to happen," Kauppila said.
Kauppilla might not have been the only one who wasn't expecting that result. Wilfong is one of the state's top runners. The Rock Bridge senior won the Forest Park meet last year and was second at the big event this year. His standing may have slipped a bit late last season, Wilfong was 13th overall -- and fifth among underclassmen -- at the Class 4 state championships.
Last week, Kauppila stepped ahead of Wilfong at the 2-mile mark and dominated the last mile of the 5,000-meter (3.1-mile) race at Parkway Central. He finished in 15 minutes 45.1 seconds, coming in more than 20 seconds ahead of Wilfong.
While runners across the state probably raised an eyebrow when they read that Kauppila had defeated Rock Bridge standouts Wilfong and Nathan Keown, Kauppila shrugged off the significance of the win.
"I don't think they've been here before," he said. "They probably didn't know the course."
Kauppila is a much stronger runner this year. He knocked more than 52 seconds off the time he turned in at Forest Park last year, and he cut nearly 40 seconds off his time at the high-profile Rim Rock Farms course in Lawrence, Kan.
As Kauppila turns toward the second half of the season, he is determined to put last year's finish behind him. He was fourth at the Class 4 district and seventh at the sectional, but neither was quite what he was hoping for. And at the state meet, an early hiccup knocked him out of contention and back to the middle of the pack.
"I think I might have peaked too early," he said. "It was kind of frustrating."
His state meet experience was one of those weird things that would unhinge even an experienced runner. Someone stepped on his right heel early in the race and the back of his shoe came off.
"I stopped and put it back on, and it went downhill from there," he said. "I still think about it."
FAMILY AFFAIR
Garrett Sweatt and his younger sister Allie won titles at the Madison County Championships on Tuesday. The Edwardsville siblings are the first brother and sister to win titles this season.
Racing success doesn't always follow bloodlines, but it can happen. Twins Kristen and Caitlin Busch of Freeburg have been cross country and track standouts for a few years. At Festus, Alyssa and Cole Allison raced to individual honors at the Jefferson County Conference meet in 2008.
What other siblings have won cross country events? Any others, like the Sweatts and Allisons, who won boys and girls titles at the same event?
If you can contribute to the list, email the info to dbarnidge@stltoday.com.
EDWARDSVILLE POWERHOUSE
While most of the field for the Madison County boys race was saving energy for the start of Tuesday's race, Garrett Sweatt was tearing through a hard 1-mile time trial on the track at Triad High. Soon after finishing the mile, he took off for the starting line of the cross country meet and made short work of the field, finishing the 3-mile event in 15:38.34.
Sweatt was paying the price for a disappointing showing at the Peoria Central Invitational. Though the Edwardsville standout turned in a sizzling time of 14:21.6, he suffered his first loss of the season, finishing a step behind Class 2A state champ Michael Clevenger of Decatur MacArthur (14:18.1),
"It wasn't that I didn't run well. I didn't run as I should've," Sweatt explained. "I didn't start out as fast as I needed to, and I didn't work the middle.
"I was all right with my time -- I was a second off my PR -- but I was running to win."
Next up for Sweatt and Edwardsville will be the Southwestern Conference Championships at SIU Edwardsville on Oct. 14.
UP NEXT: THE CHAMPIONSHIP SEGMENT
Last week, the O'Fallon boys raced to the title at Ladue's Ron Jorgenson Invitational. The Panthers mashed a 16-team field, putting five runners in the top 11 at the race at Queeny Park.
"This is the one where we start putting things together," Panthers coach Jon Burnett said.
A few years ago, the Panthers might have snuck up on the field at a meet. A few years ago, a win by O'Fallon might have been a surprise. No more. While the Jorgenson win was its first victory of the season, the O'Fallon boys team is as good as any in the area. And Burnett is expecting better as the Panthers race into October.
"This is what we call the championship segment of the season," he said.
O'Fallon is built to win championships. The Panthers are strong up from with Alex Riba, who pulled away from Eureka's Nathan Lambert and Parkway Central's Eric Sivill to win at the Jorgenson meet. Maybe more important, the Panthers are strong behind Riba. Nicholai Sarpy, Kevin Lapp, Jacob Becker and Patrick Perrier were breathing down the leaders' necks at Queeny Park.
While O'Fallon qualified for the state championships for the first time in more than 20 years in 2003, the jump to metro power status has been a project that began picking up speed only in the last couple seasons.
"A couple years ago, the guys decided they wanted to win a state trophy," Burnett said.
And they began doing the work to make it happen. Burnett credits last year's seniors -- Michael Scolarici, Craig Munie, Jake Slaughter, Connor Ryan and Steven Jackson -- with getting the ball rolling.
"Their freshman year, they decided they could do it," Burnett said.
Last year, the Class of 2011 powered O'Fallon to its best-ever postseason showing, winning Class 3A regional and sectional titles and finishing fifth at state.
This year's Panthers have a lot to live up to, but they have been impressive in the first half of the season, and Burnett is encouraged.
"We're healthy, we're in shape, and the guys are enthused," he said.
