Tigers : History: Girls

Cross Country Home
History of the Edwardsville Girls Cross Country Program
Tiger Home • Coach's Notes • Sub-20 Club • Team Performances by Meet • Top 5 Performers by Course • Tigers at State
Home Course and Record Holders
Girls cross country in Illinois began as a 2.0 mile competition in 1979, changed to 2.5 in 1998, and equaled that of the boys beginning in 2002 when it became a 3.0 mile/5K competition.
The Tigers home course is a 5K (3.1 mile) loop located on the campus of Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.
  • The current school record holder is Courtney Smith (19:21).
  • The course record holder is Caitlin Chrisman of Carbondale (19:01).
Southwestern Athletic Conference

Edwardsville is part of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The conference includes:
  • Alton Redbirds
  • Belleville East Lancers
  • Belleville West Maroons
  • Collinsville Kahoks
  • East St. Louis Flyers
  • Edwardsville Tigers
  • Granite City Warrior
  • O'Fallon Panthers
Program History
1979: Coach Dave Shonkweiler
Cross country for girls at Edwardsville High School began in 1979, when then-coach Dave Shonkweiler had several girls first participate in the sport.
1984-2001: Coach Jim Price
The first full team was formed in 1984 under the direction of Jim Price (retired) and John Dean (retired).
The first female cross country runner to qualify for state was Juleigh Barringer in 1984. She is also currently the 800m school record holder (2:16.3).
Dean worked alongside Price coaching the girl's team between 1982-1986. Price continued coaching duties from 1986-2001. Price was assisted during this period by Tim Flamer (1999-2002), Julia Doll (2002-2003), and John Cunningham (2002).
During Price’s tenure, the team won four Madison County titles (1997, 1998, 1999, and 2002), two Conference titles (1997 and 1998), and two Regional titles (1997 and 1998). The 1998 team -- Amy Semith, Bailey Nichols, Nellie Shaul, Sarah Dortch, Suzy Nucete, Margorie Rinaldi, and Kim Cates -- was the first in school history to qualify for state.
Price also coached two individuals to berths in the state championship, Amy Semith in 1997 and Sarah Dortch in 2000. Semith is the only runner to have achieved All-State Status finishing 16th in 1998 and is currently the 1600m (5:06.6) and 3200m (11:34.3) school record holder.
2002: Coach John Cunningham
In 2002, Coach John Cunningham joined the Edwardsville cross country coaching staff. Cunningham comes to Edwardsville from Florissant, Missouri (Hazelwood Central HS), where he was a 3-time state qualifier in Class 4 cross country and a 3-time state medalist in Class 4 Track & Field (4 x 800 [2] and 800m). Cunningham attended the University of Missouri Columbia from 1994-1999, where he also participated in Intercollegiate Track & Field. He was a 6-time All-Conference performer in the 600yds and 4 x 400m Relay.
Cunningham graduated from Mizzou in 1999 with a B.S. in Secondary Social Science Education. Coach Cunningham recently completed his M.S. in Kinesiology (Sport & Exercise Behavior) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Coach Cunningham teaches Social Science at EHS. He is the Head Girls Track & Field Coach and A.L.P.H.A. sponsor. He currently resides in Hazelwood, Missouri.
Coach Cunningham joined the Edwardsville staff in 2002 just as the switch from 2.5-mile competition to 3.0-mile/5K competition was being made. Cunningham was a volunteer assistant in 2002, and was hired as assistant coach in 2003. He has served as assistant coach under Tim Flamer (2003) and George Patrylak (2004-present). Cunningham develops and conducts the training for the girls' cross country team.
During Cunningham’s tenure the team has secured four consecutive Madison County titles (2002-2006), one Southwestern Conference Championship (2005), two Regional titles (2005 and 2006), and the school’s only two Sectional title (2005 and 2006). The team reached the state meet in 2004 (29th), in 2005 with a school record 12th place finish, and again in 2006 (17th).
To date, the Tigers have won seven Madison County titles, three Conference titles (1997, 1998, and 2005), four Regional titles (1997, 1998, 2005, 2006), two Sectional titles (2005), and qualified for the State Championship four times (1998, 2004-06).
The Outlook for 2007
A new era is dawning with Cross Country making the move to three classes (AAA, AA, A) and a more difficult road to the state meet. Edwardsville will be situated in the AAA division for large schools. The future looks bright as the 2007 edition of the Tigers will return a five members of the 2006 varsity team and many of the junior varsity team that was so successful last year. The team should be bolstered by a slew of talented runners from Coach Steve Chapman’s Liberty Middle School Panthers and Coach Matt Rogers' Lincoln Middle School Wildcats.