The O'Fallon boys track and field team had been making steady progress all season, but the Panthers fell a bit short of coach Ron Koch's expectations at Thursday's Class 3A Moline Sectional.
The Panthers qualified in three events for this weekend's state meet in Charleston. Junior Nick Barrett won the discus (161-10), senior Michael Scolarici was second in the 3,200-meter run (9:15.39) and the 3,200-meter relay finished second in 7:55.32. O'Fallon was sixth in the team standings with 44.5 points.
"It wasn't a great day for us," said Koch, who hoped to have qualifiers in several other events.
Prior to the sectional, O'Fallon athletes who had already met or were close to reaching the state qualifying mark were:
- Connor Ryan, Alex Riba, Patrick Perrier and Jake Slaughter in the 3,200-meter relay. Senior Craig Munie (in place of Perrier) was part of that team when it ran a season-best 7:58.47 at the St. Clair County Meet on May 11.
- Scolarici in the 3,200 (9:18.63) and the 1,600 (4:21.00).
- Ryan in the 800 (1:57.93).
- Darius Mosley in the 300 intermediate hurdles (40.42).
- Riba in the 1,600 (4:18.93).
- Tae'Mon Franklin in the long jump (22-2 1/2).
- Greg Belter in the triple jump (44-6 1/2).
- Barrett in the discus (159-10).
- Zac Whetstone in the pole vault (13-9).
"On the season, we did quite well at times," Koch said. "We had the best group of distance runners in school history but had no senior sprinters. Two years ago, we had the best group of sprinters in school history.
"We continue to excel in multiple events. Obviously, the distance team scores a majority of team points, but we had state qualifier hopefuls in quite a few events."
Scolarici missed his junior track season and most of his senior cross country season with microtears in his right Achilles' tendon.
"When I came back in cross country, I felt pretty much 100 percent," Scolarici said. "This year, I'm pretty happy with what I've accomplished, although I hoped to get some better times in the 3,200."
A four-year state qualifier in cross country, Scolarici placed seventh as a junior and 13th as a senior. As a sophomore in 2009, he finished 10th in the 3,200 at the state track meet.
"For state, I want to get as close as I can to nine minutes in the 3,200, which would be two 4:30 miles," Scolarici said. "If I can achieve that, it would be a highlight for the season."
Scolarici will attend Saint Louis University to study biomedical engineering as a pre-medical major. He plans to compete in cross country and track.
"For track, I'm waiting to see where the coaches will put me, but I'm thinking I'll start at 3,000 (meters) for indoor meets," Scolarici said.
Belter, also a senior, fell short in his bid to go to state in the triple jump.
"I started off pretty good, although I've struggled a little bit lately," Belter said. "My hamstring has been bothering me. Overall, I'm happy with my season.
"I'm not really one of those guys that can just go out there and jump, so I had to work on technique a lot. I pride myself on that."
Belter will attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, but isn't sure if he'll compete on the track team.
"If I do, it would probably be as a walk-on," said Belter, who will major in business or marketing.
Whetstone, meanwhile, reached the state qualifying mark of 13-9 in the pole vault at the Southwestern Conference Meet on May 11. Like Belter, he wasn't able to translate those results into a state meet appearance.
"My best before was 13-6 and I got that last year, so I didn't really improve much the early part of this season," said Whetstone, a senior. "But I improved when it mattered.
"My top of the pole technique has gotten better. I started doing it my sophomore year and I remember my first jump - it was scary."
Whetstone also plans to attend SIUE and will study criminal justice. At this point, he's not expecting to be on the track team.
"If I can get an offer (from another school), I'll probably go there just for money purposes," he said.
