By Chris Parker
El Dorado Springs junior Daelen Ackley won his second consecutive state cross country title on Thursday with a time of 15:41.1 to win the Class 3 state title. Ackley was the champion in Class 2 last year as a sophomore. As a freshman, Ackley finished fourth overall.
Ackley was in fourth place through the one kilometer mark and third place at the two kilometer mark before taking over from there and leading the rest of the race. He had to hold off a charge from Southern Boone’s Connor Burns who finished just one second behind in second place at 15:42.2.
Lamar’s Joe Kremp ran in the top five the entire race finishing in third place with a time of 16:02.9.
East Newton’s Gabe Bergen (10th – 16:45.4), Lamar’s Ethan Pittsenbarger (12th – 16:51.9), Buffalo’s Sean Walker (23rd – 17:12.7) and Strafford’s Logan Fraker (25th – 17:17.6) all earned all-state honors.
East Newton (sixth place – 162 points) and Lamar (seventh place – 179 points) were the area’s top performing teams. Strafford (ninth place), El Dorado Springs (11th place) and Cassville (16th place) also represented the area in the team competition.
Kiersten Potter paced the area in the Class 3 girls’ race with a third place finish in a time of 19:30.7. Potter was consistent throughout never dropping below fifth place at any of the kilometer marks. She led the race through two kilometers.
Aurora had a strong day with Kaci Singer finishing ninth place in a time of 19:59.7, and Aubrey Boatwright finishing 12th with a time of 20:32.2. That helped the Lady Houn’ Dawgs reach the podium with a fourth place finish with a team score of 138 points.
Sarahy Lopez, Destin Jaramillo and Maisie Phillips rounded out the scoring for Aurora. Elizabeth Martin was the sixth runner for Aurora.
Hannah Klaiber brought all-state honors home for El Dorado Springs with a 16th place finish in a time of 20:34.2. Mt. Vernon’s Rilee Simons (19th– 20:44.4) and Strafford’s Piper Keith (25th – 21:00.9) also earned all-state finishes.
East Newton (11th place) and Strafford (14th place) also competed as teams at the Class 3 state meet.
