PAXTON — Junior Malcolm Taylor has become the first Uni boys cross country runner to qualify for the state finals since Drew Hauffe advanced in 2003.

Taylor placed 12th out of 142 runners at the Class 1A Paxton-Buckley-Loda sectional Saturday morning, running the 3-mile course in 16 minutes, 32.8 seconds.

The Illineks as a team finished ninth out of 18 scoring teams. That wasn't high enough to make it to state (only the top five teams advanced), but it was a major improvement over last year's 14th-place finish at the Stanford Olympia sectional.

"The course was nasty," said Taylor, who missed qualifying for state last year by less than 2 seconds. "It was wet and bumpy, and my back bothered me a little bit. But I ran better than I have in a while, and I made it. I got my goal — I’m going to state. I’m happy about it. It means a lot to me. It means a lot to Doug [head coach Doug Mynatt]. He pointed out yesterday in the team meeting that I had a good chance — I was so close last year."

To advance to state individually, a runner must be among the top seven finishers who are not members of a qualifying team. Taylor ranked fourth among this year's individual qualifiers (see list below).

Last year Taylor was the eighth-highest placing individual at the Stanford Olympia meet who was not on a state-bound team. He missed the final qualifying spot when he finished 11th behind 10th-place Justin Jones of Oakwood. Jones claimed the seventh spot by turning in a time of 16:19.9, while Taylor ran the course in 16:21.

But on Saturday, physical discomfort or not, Taylor had no intention of going away disappointed again.

"He was running a little hurt," Uni coach Doug Mynatt said. "Seeing him grabbing for his back after the 2-mile mark put a little bit of worry in me, but I just tried to make sure he stay relaxed and maintained his place because he was in 12th place right then. He held that to the finish. Looking at the field up until that point I knew he was in pretty good shape as far as the runners in front of him being on qualifying teams."

Taylor will compete Saturday in the Class 1A finals at Detweiller Park in Peoria. The race begins at 10 a.m.

Although this will be the first time Taylor has competed in the cross country state meet, he has run in the track state finals the past two springs as a member of Uni's 4x800-meter relay team, which placed seventh in Class A last year.

"It’s good to see," Mynatt said of Taylor's accomplishment. "He deserves it. He had a good season last year — he just came up short. He had a great track season this past year. So it’s a good way for him to end his cross country season. And it’s good to get one of our guys back to the state meet."

Hauffe, the last Uni male runner to advance to Peoria, finished in 81st place at the 2003 finals.

As a team, the Illineks saw their season come to an end Saturday, but 2007 represented significant progress as the boys finished five spots higher in their sectional and three spots higher in their regional compared to 2006.

"They ran much more as a team this year," Mynatt said. "That’s nice to see. That’s what it takes. It’s a shame we were in such a tough sectional."

Host school Paxton-Buckley-Loda won the meet with 92 points, while ninth-place Uni finished with 222 points.

All five of Uni's scoring runners finished in the top 70. After Taylor, sophomore Nathan Smith placed 49th (17:26.0), freshman Buck Walsh 51st (17:27.8), junior Isaac Chambers 68th (17:53.6), and senior Austin Rundus 70th (17:54.8).

Rounding out the Illinek contingent were senior Jacob Olshansky in 81st (18:18.7) and sophomore Jack Snyder in 107th (19:15.9).

"I think everybody did really well," Taylor said. "We thought we would do about this well, and we did, so that’s good."

With five of the team's seven top runners back next year, Mynatt sees further improvement in store for the team.

"I'm definitely looking forward to it," Mynatt said of the 2008 campaign. "I certainly want to see how the season ends since it’s not over yet, but looking ahead to next year, the seniors are leaving us in good shape. It will be nice to see what they can do."

With one week left, the attention on the boys side now turns to Taylor and the state meet.

"He’s getting some massages, doing a little physical therapy for his back and his hamstrings, so it’s just a matter of maintaining his level of health right now," Mynatt said. "Hopefully he’s relaxed physically and getting sharpened up mentally for that race. He’s been on that stage at the state track meet now, so he’s got that going for him. But it’s a different arena, a different animal, so we’ll see how he does."

CLASS 1A PAXTON-BUCKLEY-LODA SECTIONAL MEET AT A GLANCE

TOP FIVE SCHOOLS

• 1st: Paxton-Buckley-Loda, 92 pts
• 2nd: Beecher, 104 pts
• 3rd: Cumberland, 114 pts
• 4th: Shelbyville, 134 pts
• 5th: Unity, 140 pts

SEVEN ADVANCING INDIVIDUALS

• Matt Feldhake, Effingham St. Anthony, 2nd, 15:39.6
• Brent Rhodes, Monticello, 7th, 16:11.0
• Brad Blomer, Teutopolis, 10th, 16:19.0
• Malcolm Taylor, Uni High, 12th, 16:32.8
• Drew Blaase, St. Joseph-Ogden, 13th, 16:33.3
• Alan Hollingsworth, Monticello, 16th, 16:35.3
• Eric Bostlemann, Teutopolis, 18th, 16:36.2

UNI HIGH RESULTS

• Team: 9th (out of 18 schools), 222 pts
• Malcolm Taylor, junior, 12th, 16:32.8 (12 pts)
• Nathan Smith, sophomore, 49th, 17:26.0 (43 pts)
• Buck Walsh, freshman, 51st, 17:27.8 (45 pts)
• Isaac Chambers, junior, 68th, 17:53.6 (60 pts)
• Austin Rundus, senior, 70th, 17:54.8 (62 pts)
• Jacob Olshansky, senior, 81st, 18:18.7
• Jack Snyder, sophomore, 107th, 19:15.9

MORE PHOTOS: CLASS 1A PAXTON-BUCKLEY-LODA SECTIONAL MEET

Malcolm Taylor finds himself in heavy traffic near the start of Saturday's PBL sectional meet. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

Sophomore Nathan Smith (right) and senior Jacob Olshansky (left) duel with Chris Starr of St. Joseph-Ogden. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

Freshman Buck Walsh (490) chases down Ryan Thompson (451) of SJO. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

Senior Austin Rundus (left) and junior Isaac Chambers kept pace with each other for most of the meet. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

Sophomore Jack Snyder (488) returned to action after missing several meets due to injury. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

Taylor rounds a corner as Director/Principal Steve Epperson (left) cheers him on. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

Taylor eyes Drew Blaase of SJO. Taylor would finish five-tenths of a second ahead of Blaase, and both runners would advance to state as individuals. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

Walsh (490) and Smith (487) stayed close throughout the race. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

Smith would keep his lead and finish in 49th place, while Walsh trailed by 1.8 seconds in 51st place. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

The addition of track runners Chambers (483) and Olshansky (484 in background) gave the team valuable depth this year. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

Walsh (490), an up-and-coming freshman, ran the course in 17:27.8. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

Chambers (483) and Rundus (485) clocked in at 17:53.6 and 17:54.8, respectively. They will join Taylor and Olshansky on the state-finalist 4x800 relay team this spring. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

Olshansky (484) ran the course in 18:18.7. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

Taylor will run in the state finals Saturday at Detweiller Park in Peoria. He is the first Uni male runner to make it to state since Drew Hauffe in 2003, who finished 81st that year. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)