ROXANA - Roxana High School girls distance coach Scott Edwards describes Janelynn Wirth, who recently graduated, as the “greatest female distance runner to ever come out of Roxana.”
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Wirth just completed a brilliant career with 13th place in the 3200 meters at the IHSA Class 2A Girls State Track and Field Meet in Charleston. She finished second in her heat.
“Janelynn is all about details, and she does everything she was supposed to do and then some,” Coach Edwards said. “I have never had an athlete so dedicated.”
For her tremendous performance at state and the sectional track meets and leadership for the Shells, Janelynn Wirth is the Midwest Members Credit Union Athlete of the Month for Roxana High School.
Coach Edwards said Janelynn’s contributions to the Shells' cross country and track programs over her four years were historic with her records and constant strong performances.
Janelynn said overall she was happy with her state 3200-meter run and her time of 11:51, even though it wasn’t a P.R.
“I went for it and went for the time,” she said. “I was excited to be there. Over the past year we had a lot of obstacles in the way with COVID-19, but we held on to faith and kept running through everything. I am glad to have an opportunity to be there.”
Janelynn will attend Eastern Illinois University next year on a track and cross country scholarship. She wanted to impress the track coaches at Eastern and it is obvious she did with her state race. She said she has been competitive with Lydia Roller over the years, and she is glad to be part of such a talented group of area girls.
Janelynn said in recent days she has been around seniors talking about their sports careers ending, and she said that is so sad.
“I am very, very fortunate to continue being an athlete and doing what I love to do in sports for another four years,” she said.
The Roxana distance star is also an extraordinary honor student. Coach Edwards said he sees the sky as the limit for what his star distance runner can accomplish both in cross country and track and academics at Eastern Illinois University.
Chris Rhodes also contributed to this story.
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