For many cross country runners, the story begins and ends with the state meet.
It’s the topic of discussion as soon as track season ends. It’s the motivation behind every oppressive mile of summer training. The state meet is on the tips of tongues when practices begin in earnest, and it grows from a whisper to a full-blown din as runners tick meets off the calendar.
Scott City senior Brandon Shemonia is one of those runners who is always thinking about state, is always asked about state and can not side-step what that meet means. At the conclusion of the 2010 state meet, Shemonia was already labeled the favorite for a title in the 2011 Class 2 meet. Back-to-back runner-up finishes has left Shemonia determined, focused and ready to wear that mantle of expectation as the runner to beat.
Shemonia thought he had a good shot at the 2010 title as a junior after earning a second-place finish as sophomore, his first year to compete in the sport. He fell just short with a 16:17 to come across 10 seconds behind Drew Keefer of St. Pius X.
“I was favored and got a big head, and it cost me,” Shemonia said. “I got a little too confident. I wasn’t focused on winning; I was trying to get a good time and overlooked a lot of people.
“This year I’m running my race.”
Shemonia said he has faced some of his known competition like Herculaneum’s Ryan Jackson and Jacob Coffman. Shemonia has beaten the Herky duo twice, including most recently when he won the Notre Dame Invitational in Cape Girardeau with a 15:44. Jackson (16:12) and Coffman (16:18) finished third and fourth, respectively.
He’s also not sleeping on Lutheran-St. Charles senior Jacob Drilling, who posted a 16:04 at Forest Park.
It was that same Forest Park race when Shemonia cemented himself as one of the state’s elite runners. He moved up throughout the race and finished in the lead chase pack among some of the state’s biggest names.
Shemonia took fifth in that race with a PR of 15:26. He was sandwiched between Class 3 standout Drew White of Festus, who took third in 15:19, and Marquette up-and-comer Noah Kauppila, a sophomore who finished seventh in 15:37. Rock Bridge’s Caleb Wilfong (second) and Jordan Cook (sixth) were also in that lead group chasing Rockhurst’s Zach Herriott.
Shemonia said he was honored to run and compete with such high-level competition. He is also aware that proving himself against some of the state’s top runners is a big gesture, but he knows he must stay focused on his Class 2 competition.
“I really follow how the guys in other classes are doing, but we have a lot of solid guys in Class 2 that are overlooked I think,” Shemonia said.
The spring track season only served to fuel his hunger more with a runner-up finish in the 3,200-meter run (9:52) and a third-place showing in the 1,600 (4:22).
Those finishes coupled with his state cross country place pushed Shemonia to work harder this past summer than he ever had. Shemonia increased his weekly mileage from the 25-35 range to 45 or more this year. He also took to the weight room for the first time.
Scott City coach Travis Schiwitz said he noticed the work Shemonia put in, and so did his teammates.
“He sets the example every day by going hard, and the other kids have followed his lead,” Schiwitz said. “The kids we have put in the work with him over the summer.”
Now junior Eric Essner, senior Luke Keesee, freshman Jesse Perry and senior Tyler Adams have given the Rams a legitimate team. That has allowed Shemonia to divert some of his attention off his own performances and to scoring for the team’s sake.
“My biggest goal would be to get a team plaque,” Shemonia said. “By far, this is the best team we’ve had in three years.
“It adds to the pressure of my performance, but I feel every time I’m out there running to win it. Especially at the state meet, I’m running for points, not time.”
Schiwitz said he has to occasionally pull in the reins on Shemonia, but he added that he’s confident his lead senior will be ready when the end of the season rolls around.
“Sometimes you’ve got to let him know that he’s not going to sneak up on anybody and in fact he has a big target on his back, and he has to take everything seriously,” Schiwitz said. “We’re going to stay really focused on his training. He hasn’t peaked yet.”
Shemonia already has official college visits planned for Bradley, Illinois State and Southeast Missouri State. He has also taken a peak beyond the state meet to Nike Regionals.
But before he starts putting too much attention on the postseason and beyond, Shemonia remains dedicated to what is immediately in front of him. He squares off with White again this week in Potosi, and he said he’s hopeful the two of them can push each other beyond the meet record (15:45) set by Potosi’s own Josh Mathis. Then he’ll target lowering his PR on Farmington’s fast course.
All of which leads to the start of the state series with the district meet. Regardless of the meet, Shemonia said his strategy from here on out isn’t going to change.
“If I know there are people there, I will go for place,” Shemonia said. “If I’m by myself, I’ll go hammer it and if I die, I die.”
