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Rob at bat|Clennonoffered a slight oreak with some gradual hills.Clennon picked up hisidentifying box number, 401,did some trunk-twisting exercises for half an hour and was ready to run by 10 a m He said he felt fine. No problem. He had downed a few sweet rolls prior to the race as was his custom.“I thought it was going to be a tough race.” said Clennon “I was kind of watching out for Mark Capelle who was second in the mile last year.”Clennon started well and held fourth place by the first turn. ‘‘At the top of the first hill I was with the leaders and I stayed there for a mile and a half.” Tom prefers to hang close against top competition and then come up with a big finish.His mom was proud of the way he moved out past the second hill.Then, with a half-mile to go something terrible happened to Tom. His stomach began hurting Cramps set in. Oh, no.A similar thing happened tohim earlier this season at Ottawa when he failed to finish first for the first time in many a moon.Suddenly, Winnebago’s DougDrogemuller and Momence’s Terry Donahue shot past him Clennon for first and second places, respectively in the meet. Drogemuller finished in 14:46.5.‘‘I was just trying to hold ontothird place,” said Clennon, reconstructing his thoughts over the telephone.eaves mark at state meetflennon had beaten Drogemuller and Donahue at the recent Elburn sectional%******Imp-V-V% *TOM CLENNONwhich precludes the state meet. Clennon ran 15:23 then.With Clennon’s state experience behind him. he should be extra tough his senior year. His past record shows heseldom lets up.This season he logged a 12-2 record in dual meets He broke nearly every track record he set foot on.He was unbeaten, 15-0, as a sophomore and unbeaten, 16-0, in duals as a freshman. Hekeeps the competitive edge year round by his being on Minooka's track team Clennon said self-assurance is the biggest asset for youths going out for the grueling sport of cross-country. You need tohave confidence in yourself, think you can do it.”Running just seemed to grab him. He started at the Minooka Junior High when coach Don Peterson spotted him.Tom enjoyed running the action-packed 50-yard sprint, but Peterson felt he could be just as good competing in the longer events.Distressed at first, Clennon cozied into his new niche by competing on a state-bound long-distance relay squad in his seventh grade.In eighth grade Clennon finished second in the state mile by a skimpy :02 behind the first vouth.VThe mileage has gone on In one year Tom probably hascovered the distance of Illinoisto Montana He enjoys all sports. He competes now on the basketball team ‘‘taking things easy.” When track season begins he’ll run three to five miles a day.Tom. one of eight children of Mr and Mrs. Gerald Clennon, likes to go hunting on the farm. Only a novice, he bagged a pheasant last weekend. Not bad for a 16-year-old born under the sign of Cancer, July 9.A soft-spoken person who lets his feet talk instead, Clennon looked toward next year. ‘‘Our team should get down to state,” he said. ‘‘Most of our guys are back. Only Bill Drew and Terry Smith are graduating.”Plano, for illustration purposes, placed fourth in the state team competition. Minooka, which didn’t qualify for state, beat the Reapers five times during the season.Tom Clennon must feel proud. They wouldn’t make a third place medal if it wasn't meant to be earned.
Newspaper Details
Morris Daily Herald
Morris, Illinois, US
Wed, Nov 17, 1976
Page 6
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IL, USA 18 Mar 2020
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Morris Daily Herald
