"It's been a growing process physically, emotionally and mentally," Michigan cross country coach Ron Warhurst said.

Iacovelli, a 2002 graduate of Punahou, is one of the top five runners for sixth-ranked Michigan, meaning he is responsible for scoring points for his team.

Most recently, Iacovelli finished 28th in the 8,000-meter Great American Cross Country Festival on Oct. 1, in 25 minutes, 23.16 seconds. Last month, he shaved 53 seconds from his previous best time to claim fifth place at 25:01 at the 8K Spartan Invitational in East Lansing, Mich.

But it wasn't always so good for Iacovelli, who was a two-time state champion and bright prospect out of high school.

The day before his first collegiate season was to begin Iacovelli tore a muscle in his knee, an overuse injury from running, and redshirted.

During the winter break, just as he was returning to form, he contracted leptospirosis after swimming in a fresh-water pond off the Old Pali Road.

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects humans and animals, according to the Center for Disease Control Web site.

"I started feeling worse slowly, and by the time it got really bad, I was pretty beat up," Iacovelli said.

Humans may experience a range of symptoms including high fever, severe headaches, chills, muscle aches and vomiting, according to the CDC.

"Oh, it was so scary," Iacovelli said. "I couldn't eat anything, and I couldn't drink anything, and the medicine my mom gave me didn't help."

On Dec. 24, 2002, his parents checked him into a hospital.

"I was on 'the watch,' and if my blood had gotten any worse in 30 minutes, they would have put me on dialysis," Iacovelli said. "My dad (Ray) always has this huge smile on his face. I looked horrible; I looked so bad my dad couldn't even smile at me."

Although Iacovelli "didn't have the worst case ever," he dropped 20 pounds off his normally 6-foot-4, 154-pound frame, and was on intravenous needle constantly for his three-day stay at the hospital.

It took him about six months to fully recover, possibly because when he returned to Michigan, he picked up his training regimen right away.

"No one in Michigan knew what it was, and I would start workouts and be too tired to finish them," he said.

"I really didn't know, and it wasn't explained," coach Warhurst said. "It was just that he wasn't running well and that was all we looked at."

And it wasn't completely over. That summer after his freshman year, Iacovelli underwent arthroscopic surgery on his injured knee.

"We knew it hurt, but I was able to run on it," Iacovelli said. "But it created a cyst on my knee, and scar tissue.

"I got pretty frustrated that year; my sophomore year I was determined to come back."

Recovering from surgery wasn't easy, and Iacovelli said he ran "practically zero miles over the summer, and went to school pretty unprepared for the season."

It took him until the winter indoor track season to get back to his "high school form."

He recalled a meet where he was the only Michigan runner entered in the 3K, with two events remaining, and he needed to do well.

"I was kind of like our second-string guy, and I had to score points for us to win the meet," he said. "I ended up scoring the points we needed; that was my turning point."

Iacovelli continued that breakthrough into last summer, when he trained with Hawai'i Pacific runner Matt Stevens.

"He kind of helped me remember how much fun running could be," Iacovelli said. "At Michigan, you can let it become so hard because it is so intense every day. I wasn't having as much fun as I was in high school."

Iacovelli, who is a sophomore in eligibility, said he returned to Michigan this year with a better perspective.

"It feels like a gift to be able to run, because I've been through so many ups and downs," he said.

Warhurst said Iacovelli's ability to get past his injuries is what is making him so successful this season.

"Some kids never experience those setbacks," Warhurst said. "And that is why he is running the way he is now. Some kids never overcome their injuries and don't have the success they think they should have.

"He's got a lot of moxie, that's for sure."