Father McGivneys Tyler Guthrie earned all-state status with a 15th-place finish at the Class 1A state meet in Peoria as a junior and is the 2019 Telegraph Small-Schools Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.

Father McGivneys Tyler Guthrie earned all-state status with a 15th-place finish at the Class 1A state meet in Peoria as a junior and is the 2019 Telegraph Small-Schools Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.

Photo: Billy Hurst, Front Row Photo | For The Telegraph

Father McGivneys Tyler Guthrie earned all-state status with a 15th-place finish at the Class 1A state meet in Peoria as a junior and is the 2019 Telegraph Small-Schools Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.

Father McGivneys Tyler Guthrie earned all-state status with a 15th-place finish at the Class 1A state meet in Peoria as a junior and is the 2019 Telegraph Small-Schools Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.

PREP YEAR IN REVIEW: Small-School Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year Tyler Guthrie of Father McGivney

GLEN CARBON The final race of Tyler Guthries freshman season with the Father McGivney Griffins saw him hit the chute in 109th place at the Carlinville Class 1A Sectional.

That finish, in a time more than 2 minutes behind the winner, pretty much mirrored Guthries enthusiasm for the sport early in his running career.

I didnt think it was fun at first, because of the distance, Guthrie said. Having to run three miles in a race and having to run at least two to three times the amount for practice, that was overwhelming for me. I was, oh dang, I dont want to do that every day.

Guthrie managed to outgrow his disdain for distance and he is currently logging 45-52 miles a week in preparation for his senior season with the Griffins.

Ive had a great start this summer, he said. After track season with the whole pandemic, Ive been kind of doing my own thing with personal training. Ive been staying fit and healthy.

After becoming Father McGivneys first all-state performer while garnering 2019 Telegraph Small-Schools Cross Country Runner of the Year as a junior, Guthrie is taking aim at continuing the ascension as a senior.

Guthrie opened the season by beating a mega-field of 366 boys to win the First to the Finish Kickoff 5K at SIUE. He then reeled off a string of top-10 performances, including a regional victory at New Athens, before closing with a 15th-place run at the Class 1A state meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria.

That earned Guthrie all-state status the top 25 placers in each class are all-state while covering the three-mile state layout at Detweiller in 15 minutes, 20.82 seconds.

It was really an achievement for me, Guthrie said of the all-state medal. I had never been all-state before and I was proud to get there. Im just trying to hold that in the past, but it will be in my collection that say I made it to that point. And since Ill be running for McGivney this year, too, Ill be proud to have that title.

Now, Guthrie is setting his sights on joining the states most elite runners by breaking the 15-minute mark at Detweiller. McGivney coach Jim Helton believes his No. 1 runner is on that plane.

Right now, hes looking really lean and really tough, Helton said. I think he has a sub-15 in him.

With the springs track season cancelled for COVID-19 concerns, Guthrie tried to simulate a season and ran a personal-best 4:29 mile in a time trial.

That shows me that he has the mental toughness to dip under 15, Helton said. Im sure that will be his ultimate goal, as well.

Sub-15 at state he ran 15:43 to finish 10th in the Class 1A division at a September invitational at Detweiller is indeed the target at which Guthrie aims to close his prep career in November.

I believe thats within my reach, Guthrie said. I was at 15:20 last year and I did go all-out in that race. I didnt really feel like I was at full strength, but I did do my best. This year, since I understand more about how my body works and have a better understanding of how to run faster with the map of that course, I feel like I can get under 15. Ive trained for the last three, four years and Im not going to back down at this point.

Backing down has not been in Guthries makeup since he won his first race as a sophomore at the Benton Fun Run. Guthrie ran in the top 10 in seven of the Griffins 10 major meets as a sophomore and fell five slots shy of all-state with 30th-place at state in 15:38.

Guthrie was far removed from the occasional struggles of his freshman season as a junior. But he was, at times, victimized by his own aggression.

Sometimes, we had to rein him back, Helton said. He wanted to run everything a little bit too hard. Thats a tough problem to have. You can only go to the well so many times. With him, he trains out in front of everybody else and because of that fact, I felt last year he maybe ran some things a little bit harder than he needed to. This year, hes listening a little bit better. I think he learned from last year.

With the start of his senior season still scheduled more than a month away, Guthrie is convinced a big season is ahead if the pandemic allows.

I believe so, he said. I feel a lot faster than I did last year. Physically, athletically, Ive been trying to improve myself every day. So far, Im staying disciplined with my training and Im starting to see it pay off.

Guthrie lives in Edwardsville, but bypassed a Class 3A powerhouse program with the Tigers to attend McGivney. He did not have a vote in that election.

My parents wanted for me to be prepared for college and they felt Father McGivney was a good college-prep school, Guthrie said.

Has it been a good fit? So far, definitely, he said.

Guthrie plans to continue his running career at a Division I or II university in the south, preferably Florida. I like the heat down there, he said.

College cross country and track seemed like a longshot for Guthrie as a prep freshman. He is thankful to have stayed the course.

I knew the potential was there, but it was just the feeling of whether or not I even really wanted to take the path, Guthrie said. During the beginning of my junior year is when I started to really see that there was something going for me and I could see a successful way to go in cross country and track. As I started to see my times and the rate that I was improving, I saw that I could definitely get where I wanted. I didnt see it at first, but now I see it.

His parents saw it long before. When Guthrie played youth football, he flashed speed and stamina, though it was clear football wasnt his path. His parents encouraged the running path.

That gave me a push, Guthrie said. It was really for myself a little bit and I did it for my parents approval a little bit. But you have to find it in yourself. Thats where Im at now and thats why Im more comfortable running the distances I do now. I see where I want to be and nobodys going to change that because they think they want me to be a certain way. Thats why Im confident with the way I run. Its a good place.

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PREP YEAR IN REVIEW: Small-School Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year Tyler Guthrie of Father McGivney - Alton Telegraph