Tiger Cross Country Runner Shining This Fall

The first day of school in 2010 was the first day of running for Oakville's Melissa Brown.

Her friend, Dory Kennon, talked her into trying out for cross country and one year later, Brown has developed into one of the premier runners in the St. Louis area.

"Melissa has a lot of natural ability, but she also works hard to maximize that ability," Oakville coach Bill Zimmerman said. "She had a great summer and is really blossoming this cross country season."

Brown did not do badly in her first year of cross country and track without any previous training.

She made it to the state meet as a freshman although her state meet was a bit traumatic as she finished 143rd.

"I ran into a tall metal pole which was there to separate the runners from the spectators," Brown said. "It was at the very beginning of the race and I fell down. It was bleeding and it hurt and the cold made it feel worse."

Brown had some success in the track and field season for the Tigers but again had some disappointment. The top four from each race in the district meet advance to sectionals with a chance to qualify for state. Brown finished the dreaded fifth in both of her events, the 1600-meter run and the 3200-meter run.

But Brown bounced back and had a tremendous summer, which has prepared her for her successes this fall.

"I worked very hard," she said. "I probably averaged about seven and a half miles of running per day. I feel a lot more prepared and stronger since I trained all summer."

And the results have been quite impressive. Brown has finished in the top three in all four of her runs so far. She was the individual medalist in winning the Lutheran South Invitational and the Parkway Central Invitational. She was second at the Fox Warrior Invitational, which was held Tuesday.

Her third place finish though may have been her most impressive. She was third out of 195 runners at the Forest Park Festival Invitational with a personal best time of 18:30.

"Everything has been great so far," Brown said. "One of my goals was to run under 19 minutes and I have done that so far. I also want to be in the top five of every race I compete in."

She has done that as well and now has the ultimate goal of performing well at the state meet.

"My goal now is to finish in the top 25 and be an all-state runner," Brown said.

That certainly appears to be a possibility. She just has to avoid those tall metal poles.