ST. CHARLES - Two Edwardsville High School grads dominated the open 26.2-mile Cowbell Marathon female race on Sunday and also recorded a qualifying time for next year's Boston Marathon.
Julianna Determan, also a recent Missouri Southern State University graduate, dominated the group in the open female division of the marathon with a first-place time of 3 hours, 8 minutes, 32 seconds, a 7:11 average mile pace. Determan was eighth overall out of 404 male/female runners.
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Savannah Brannan, a recent University of Illinois-Springfield grad, placed third in the female division of the marathon with a time of 3 hours, 20 minutes, 20 minutes, 58 seconds. She averaged a time of 7:40 per mile for 26 miles and was 13th overall in the 404-person male/female field. It was the first marathon attempt for both women, and both earned a spot in the prestigious Boston Marathon in 2023. The two each eclipsed the 18-34-year-old female qualifying time of 3 hours and 30 minutes.
Julianna and Savannah both recently finished outstanding Division II college cross country and track and field careers. The girls were both All-Conference selections in cross country and outdoor and indoor track and field. Julianna and Savannah started their running careers together in sixth grade at Liberty Middle School in Edwardsville and both qualified for the state cross country meet in junior high and in high school.
Julianna said winning the marathon on Sunday was pretty exciting.
"The time period since I graduated in May has been the first time in my running career that I've gotten to decide how and what I train for, so I really wanted to have fun with it," she added. "I knew I had an opportunity to do well in this marathon without a lot of stress on my performance. Savannah and I kind of decided last summer this would be our post-college goal and I am happy we were able to do it together."
George Patrylak and his wife, Roxanne, and University of Illinois-Springfield head men’s and women’s cross country and track and field coach Mike Pence were all in attendance to watch their athletes perform. George has had a storied career as the Edwardsville High School distance coach, producing champions every year. Pence is recognized as an up-and-coming college cross country and track and field coach and was a competitor in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials this year.
George Patrylak said he and Coach Dustin Davis were super proud of both Julianna and Savannah for not only Sunday’s effort but their college career performances.
“They are both very unique stories,” the coach said. “They were both solid high school runners and both went to really good Division II colleges with very knowledgeable coaches. They took off in college and had very successful college careers. They still have passion and fire for running and as young as they are at age 22 they now have both qualified for the Boston Marathon. That is a major accomplishment.”
Over the summer, Savannah won the female division Abe's Olympic Triathlon Springfield, IL., and also completed and placed in a triathlon in Benton Harbor, Mich., and qualified for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii.
George says Julianna and Savannah both have bright futures ahead in distance running and Savannah will be highly competitive in triathlons with her running/swimming talents, as she has incorporated biking into her training.
“We were able to see the girls at five to six spots during the race and they did a wonderful job,” George said. “Julianna’s mother posted some pictures of the girls before the race and at the finish and they were all smiles and extremely happy to have each other there.”
