Cross-country for the Sweet, running is a family affair
ALL IN THE FAMILY—Emily Sweet (center) has been enjoying a successful cross-country season for the Euclid Panthers. Her biggest fans are dad and mom, Matt and Laurene Sweet (standing) and kid brothers Anthony (kneeling, left) and Thomas (right).
This fall, Emily Sweet has clearly been the brightest star on the Euclid Panther cross-country team. She’s hit the finish line in first place in four major invitational meets--and she’s placed second in two other prestigious events, including the recent “Legends Meet” in Trumbull County.
Next, she’s off to the Lake Erie League championship race at Forest Hills Park this weekend. That’s the same venue where she scored a major triumph earlier this season, crossing the finish line in first place in 19 minutes, 21.36 seconds, in the McDonough Invitational hosted by Villa Angela-St. Joseph. Against a strong field, Emily pulled ahead of the other top female runners after negotiating the daunting hill about midway through the difficult course.
Her goal for the upcoming LEL meet?
“I hope to beat the time that I ran in the McDonough Invitational,” she says with a shy smile. She is also pondering the possibility of qualifying for this year’s state cross-country meet at Scioto Downs near Columbus.
If she makes it to Columbus, it won’t surprise people who are familiar with her running career. Thanks to a vigorous summer training regimen, she’s steadily improved her race times this fall. Her success may also have something to do with her family’s interests, and its genes.
Emily’s mother, Laurene, is a triathlete who finished among the top 10 female competitors in the Cleveland Triathlon two years in a row. Laurene, who has often risen at 5:30 a.m. to get in a training run, has also finished among the leaders in several 5K races. However, back surgery last August has forced her to put her running on hold for the time being.
But the genetic connection doesn’t end with mom. Emily’s grandmother, Kathleen Korosi (Laurene’s mother), was a premier runner in her day. In fact, she still is. Back around the 1970s, Grandma Korosi placed third overall in one of the Revco Marathons. “My mother is 64,” Laurene notes, “and she still runs marathons on a regular basis. She’s still faster than many people in their twenties.”
Then there are Emily’s siblings. Older brother Zack Sweet, now a sophomore at Ohio State, was a regional qualifier in cross-country while running for the Euclid Panthers. And two kid brothers, Anthony and Thomas, compete in cross-country for their elementary school, St. John of the Cross.
Finally, there’s Emily’s dad, Matt Sweet. A one-time varsity swimmer at Euclid High, he hasn’t done much running lately, he admits, although he has competed in 5K races in the past. These days, his primary role in the family’s running adventures is that of No. 1 Cheerleader and bus driver, transporting family members to various races across the state.
In the near future, Matt will be driving to the Lake Erie League (LEL) meet on Oct. 16, the Division I district meet at Lakeland Community College on Oct. 23, the regional cross-country meet at Youngstown Boardman on Oct. 30, and, hopefully, to the state meet the following week.
If Emily is fortunate enough to earn another trip to Columbus, she qualified for the state track meet last spring in the 1600 meters and as a member of the Panthers’ 4x800 relay, she’d like to set a new personal record (PR) on the fast Scioto Downs layout. Her current PR is the 18:51 mark she posted in the Strongsville Invitational in late September. She also clocked an 18:53 in winning the big-school division in the prestigious Gilmour Invitational.
Once the cross-country season is over, Emily will switch gears and begin training for another sport, swimming. As one of the top performers on the Euclid High girls’ team last winter, she swam in “every event but the breaststroke” and qualified for the district meet as a member of the Panthers’ 400-meter freestyle relay.
Running? Swimming? It may not be long before Emily begins following in her mom’s footsteps by competing in those grueling triathlons. However, for now, she’s simply hoping to do well in Saturday’s LEL meet.
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PHOTO CAPTION for the “Sweet Family” story: (photo dropped off Sunday night)
ALL IN THE FAMILY—Emily Sweet (center) has been enjoying a successful cross-country season for the Euclid Panthers. Her biggest fans are dad and mom, Matt and Laurene Sweet (standing) and kid brothers Anthony (kneeling, left) and Thomas (right).