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Much like they ran all season, the 1979
Centralia High School team had a strong
start and kicked it in at the finish. "It
was a young team that just kept getting
better," said coach Rod White.
"They were "The Little
Engine That Could". The CHS
harriers of 35 years ago swept their way to
a perfect 5-0 record in dual and triangular
meets and finished first in eight of 10
invitationals to post a 205-10 record in
head-to-head competition during the regular
season. "We
had our share of injuries that year,"
said White. "But other kids were
always there to step up." The
season began with a first-place finish at
the 20-shool Granite City North Invitational
with Steve Truitt and Mike Crouch both
finishing in the top 10. Two days
later, Centralia put Truitt, Mike Schulte,
Crouch, Jim Holway and Kyle Fortney in the
respective two through six slots in winning
a triangular meet with host Belleville West
and House Springs, MO by a 20-45-60 margin. The
Orphans then claimed two invitational crowns
in winning the 25-team Triad meet and took
first in a 14-school field at the Belleville
West Invitational. Crouch was 9th and
Truitt 10th at Triad while Truitt, Schulte
and Holway were all first in their
respective races at West, which had each
team's No. 1 runner competing against one
another, then all the Nos. 2, etc. In
the Orphans' first home appearance on the
Foundation Park course they turned in a
perfect score in a 15-38 dual meet win over
Belleville East. Truitt was first in
16:27 with Holway, Kyle Fortney and Crouch
accounting for the remainder of the
scoring. Two days afterward the
Orphans won a dual meet at Mt. Vernon 20-40
as Schulte, Holway, Truitt, Crouch, Kyle
Fortney and Brette Dorris took the second
through seventh places behind Mt Vernon's
Nick Whiteside. Centralia
then claimed first in a pair of 15-team
invitationals at Edwardsville and Flora
book-ended by a tri-meet at home with Mt.
Vernon and Salem. Schulte was 6th and
Truitt 8th to lead the way at Edwardsville
while Schulte was 5th and Truitt 8th at
Flora as the Orphans surged past Mattoon
49-72 for team honors. At
Foundation Park Centralia scored a 20-48-68
win over the Rams and Wildcats as Schulte
posted a 16:08 timing. He was second
to Whiteside while Truitt, Holway, Kyle
Fortney, Crouch and Dorris grabbed the next
six spots. Centralia
had one final home meet - that with Herrin -
and even with the top six not counting in
the team scores, the Orphans still won by a
comfortable 20-38 margin. With
the Peoria Invitational and a preview of the
state meet on the Detweiler Park course just
around the corner, the Orphans warmed up by
taking the AA division of the Effingham
Invitational as Schulte (2nd), Truitt (16th)
and Kyle Fortney (9th) all finished in the
top 10. Centralia claimed first place
by a 50-point margin. At
Peoria, Centralia was third, but it was the
Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the state in York of
Elmhurst and Maine East that finished ahead
of the Orphans. Centralia was the only
Southern Illinois school to place in the top
10. Truitt led the Orphans with a 16th
place finish in 15:07, Schulte 22nd in 15:12
and Kyle Fortney 36th in 15:29. After
taking the 7-team Harrisburg Invitational
with all seven runners finishing in the top
11, the Orphans were 9th of 37 schools at a
tough Mattoon meet that was won by
Homewood-Flossmoor and Rich East was
2nd. Schulte was the Orphans' top
finisher in 14:37, good for 15th. A
week later at Benton, Centralia won its 12th
consecutive South Seven Conference
championship by puttng all seven runners in
the top 11 as Schulte took 2nd, Truitt 4th,
Kyle Fortney 5th, Dorris 7th, Holway 8th,
Crouch 9th and Karl Fortney 11th. The
Orphans' team point total of 26 was topped
only by the 1971 (17) and 1976 (22) teams. Centralia
returned to Benton for an invitational prior
to the start of postseason and claimed first
place by a wide 39-125 margin over
Carbondale before going back to Harrisburg
for the district. Once there the
Orphans bested Mattoon 37-78 for first place
honors as Schulte took 3rd and Truitt 4th. In
the sectional at Alton, the Orphans' top
finishers were Schulte 10th, Truitt 12th and
Dorris 13th en route to a 71-103 verdict
over Mattoon for team honors and a state
berth. On
a cold and windy day at Detweiler Park
Centralia took seventh in the state finals,
led by Truitt (69th in 15:19), Kyle Fortney
(71st in 15:20), Schulte (77th in 15:23) and
Dorris (78th in 15:24). The Orphans
were the only team south of Interstate 80 to
place in the top 10. Truitt
was named Harrier of the Year, Schulte was
named Most Improved and six of the first
seven were named to the Southern Illinois
Coaches Association All-South team.
Craig Freels served as assistant coach and
other runners who contributed during the
season included Derek Johnson, Dan Holloway,
Brian McCall, Jay Runion, Jack Shelton, Mike
Owens, Perry Mordini, Brand Kemp, Roger
Sherman, Greg Crundwell, Brian Terry, Wally
Hartshorn and John Bowman. Team
manager
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