Shemonia qualifies for Pan-Am Junior meet in Columbia

Brandon Shemonia's summer couldn't be going much better.

Shemonia, a 2012 Scott City High School graduate, landed a spot on Team USA for the Pan-American Junior Athletics Championships after his third-place finish over the weekend in the 10,000-meter run at the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Pan-American Junior Athletics Championships will be held Aug. 23 to 25 in Medellin, Columbia.

"I'm really excited," Shemonia said Monday.

Especially because Shemonia thought he had fallen a bit short when he completed the race in Des Moines.

Shemonia, who had a solid freshman track season this year at SIU Carbondale, finished outside the top two qualifying spots with a time of 32:15.99.

But the runner-up did not meet the qualifying time standard. Shemonia's personal-best time of 30:37.36 set at the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championships in May did meet the standard, so he was selected for Team USA.

"I was really mad because I thought I didn't make it," Shemonia said. "But it was only about two minutes after I crossed the finish line and they told me. ... I was really happy."

Shemonia established himself as one of the state's premier high school runners in both track and cross country.

His highlight with the Rams was winning the 2012 Class 2 cross country championship after finishing second in the state during both his sophomore and junior seasons.

Shemonia then decided to continue his athletic and academic career in Carbondale, Ill., which he hasn't regretted one bit.

"It was a great year. I'm glad I chose here. I'm just going to keep improving," said Shemonia, who is majoring in math education. "I want to coach in either college or high school. ... College would be my dream job."

Shemonia made his mark on the track for the Salukis during his rookie season, finishing fifth in the 10,000 at the MVC outdoor meet.

Shemonia was also a member of SIU's conference-championship cross country team in the fall, although he redshirted.

"I was only going to be about the fifth or sixth guy so coach didn't want to waste a year of my eligibility," he said. "I hope to be about the third guy this year, and we're shooting for nationals."

In the meantime Shemonia will continue to train this summer as he prepares for his biggest competition yet -- the Pan-American Junior Athletics Championships.

"We'll take a little break, and then we'll hit it pretty hard again," he said. "I'm really looking forward to it."