By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
CLEVER — Riley Arnold was the fastest girl at the Class 2 District 2 cross country meet on Saturday morning, winning the race and leading her Blue Eye team to another district title.
She also won the race to the parking lot.
Arnold crossed the finish line at Clever High School shortly after 11:19 a.m., completing the five-kilometer race in 19 minutes, 36.64 seconds. After a brief pause to catch her breath, the senior briskly walked a few hundred feet to the parking lot and hopped into a waiting car.
In addition to being a three-time state cross country champion, Arnold also happens to be one of the best players on the Blue Eye volleyball team that was scheduled to face South Iron in a state quarterfinal at 3 p.m. in Annapolis — a roughly 3-1/2 hour drive from Clever.
At 11:22 a.m., Arnold was on the road.
“We knew it was coming — a possibility if we kept winning,” Arnold said in a brief interview while hustling to the car. “I’ve always just kind of been on the go. I’m just excited. I love playing two sports in the fall. I’m just really excited for the opportunity again tonight.”
Blue Eye’s volleyball team lost, 3-0, as South Iron advanced to the Final Four. But Arnold said the razor-thin margin between the race, drive and volleyball match did provide some extra incentive for her to run as fast as possible on a rain-soaked and muddy course.
She finished 36 seconds ahead of any other competitor, an eternity in a cross-country race.
“I knew as soon as I finished, I had to go,” she said. “Just trying to finish as quick as I could.”
Arnold’s finish spurred the Bulldogs to a fourth consecutive district championship, as Blue Eye had four of the top 27 overall finishers and finished with 58 points. That total was 19 clear of second-place Stockton, which won the boys team title with a meet-best 42 points.
“She’s the hardest worker we’ve seen (in) this girls program year after year after year,” Blue Eye coach Jacob Thompson-Krug said. “It was great to see that hard work continue to pay off.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE RACE
Spokane’s Lily Hunsucker, the eventual No. 2 finisher, gave Arnold a challenge during the first half-mile, which Thompson-Krug said isn’t something that has been common this year.
The race after the race, though?
“That’s nothing new for her,” Thompson-Krug said. “Starting with her freshman/sophomore year, having to run in districts and then hustle to a volleyball game. She’s just that type of competitor. Today is nothing new. There’s no added stress. She’s done it in the past and it was successful. She just handles it really well, one competition at a time.”
Clever High School hosted three separate district meets on Saturday, each of them with a boys and girls race. The other two meets had the boys race start on the hour and the girls race start 45 minutes later, but Class 2 was reversed and had the girls run first.
Thompson-Krug wasn’t sure if the Class 2 start times were adjusted because of the timing of the Blue Eye volleyball game, though he was glad the schedule worked out that way.
“I don’t know for sure, but I do know that it was switched,” he said. “And if it was for that situation, I think it’s great that as cross country coaches we can make changes for our athletes. Because, really, this competition — and all levels in (the Missouri State High School Activities Association) — is for the athletes and giving the opportunity to showcase their skills and all of their hard work that they’ve been putting on all season.”
The coach was also thrilled with the performance of Olivia Cardenzana (fourth place), Michelle Palumbo-Lins (16th), Braylynn Siercks (27th), and Alexis Litel (44th), who helped Blue Eye take home the team title and qualify for next Saturday’s state meet in Columbia.
“These girls, they’ve earned it,” Thompson-Krug said. “They’ve put in the time. To be a successful cross country team, you don’t have an off-season. You have breaks in between your training, but you’re continually running. Track season, winter, summer — these girls have put in the time these last four years in order to accomplish this and they’ve never been satisfied. They just want to be keep being the best version of themselves every season. It’s a great accomplishment for them and it’s a great memory they’ll be able to take with them.”
The Stockton boys will also look back on Saturday fondly, after they avenged last year’s one-point loss at the district meet with a convincing 19-point victory over Blue Eye.
The top four teams — and top 30 overall finishers — all advance to the state meet, but Tigers coach Ryan Pate said last year’s result was fresh on the team’s mind heading into the race.
“It’s exciting,” Pate said. “I think the guys are happy about it. We were talking yesterday (about) just making sure we brought home the right plaque. Last year, we let one slip away so it’s pretty nice.”
Stockton was a young team with four sophomores last year, but ended up finishing second in the state. The extra year of experience has helped them excel throughout their junior seasons.
Colby Adams (sixth), Max Brown (seventh), Aaron Bradshaw (eighth), Braden Postlewait (12th) and Dakota Duncan all finished in the top 14 as the Tigers generated a statement win ahead of the state meet.
“They just really bought in this summer,” Pate said. “Worked really hard. I think they’re ready to go next week.”
New Covenant Academy’s Tanney Talley won the individual district championship, finishing the boys race in 16 minutes, 7.61 seconds. That was about 35 seconds clear of Blue Eye’s Ryan Cardenzana in a race that was otherwise exceptionally tight.
The final team berth came down to a three-way battle that Southwest won with 147 points over Mansfield (148) and Hartville (149), with just two points separating the three schools.
The final individual spot went to Alton’s Trenton Cunningham, whose time of 18:53.57 was one-tenth of one second faster than 31st-place finisher Gabe Whitman of Marionville.
GIRLS TEAM SCORES
1. Blue Eye*, 58
2. Stockton*, 77
3. Mansfield*, 80
4. Spokane*, 92
5. Hartville, 94
6. College Heights Christian, 125
7. Thayer, 164
8. Alton, 167
No other school had at least five runners
*State qualifier
GIRLS STATE QUALIFIERS
1. Riley Arnold (Blue Eye), 19:36.64
2. Lily Hunsucker (Spokane), 20:12.92
3. Clemmie Taylor (Hartville), 21:36.11
4. Olivia Cardenzana (Blue Eye), 21:39.24
5. Jayli Johnson (College Heights Christian), 21:56.36
6. Logan Jones (Mansfield), 22:04.75
7. Faith Clark (Mansfield), 22:09.52
8. Isabella House (Sparta), 22:13.44
9. Madison King (Spokane), 22:24.13
10. Summer Bittle (Houston), 22:41.79
11. Hannah McCrosky (Cabool), 22:46.25
12. Audrey Harris (Thayer), 23:01.92
13. Cally Bowyer (Southwest), 23:12.09
14. Abigail Kiley (Stockton), 23:18.71
15. Katie Brennan (Cabool), 23:19.98
16. Michelle Palumbo-Lins (Blue Eye), 23:21.67
17. Lauren Blackburn (Pierce City), 23:22.65
18. Ilandria Shuler (Pleasant Hope), 23:25.22
19. Gracie Vestal (Conway) 23:26.50
20. Nikayla Hare (Stockton), 23:28.79
21. Allison Hall (Ash Grove), 23:32.11
22. Sigrid Bo (Spokane), 23:34.72
23. Lauren Jones (Mansfield), 23:34.73
24. Kristen Ely (Houston), 23:35.61
25. Emma Black (Stockton), 23:39.54
26. Elizabeth Lang (Seymour), 23:41.74
27. Braylynn Siercks (Blue Eye), 23:44.39
28. Allie Benoist (Houston), 23:47.13 0
29. Karizma Hurst (Alton), 24:02.27
30. Madi Carson (College Heights Christian), 24:05.13
BOYS TEAM SCORES
1. Stockton*, 42
2. Blue Eye*, 61
3. Alton*, 102
4. Southwest*, 147
5. Mansfield, 148
6. Hartville, 149
7. Cabool, 158
8. Pleasant Hope, 197
9. Sparta, 239
10. Seymour, 258
11. Gainesville, 284
12. Conway, 296
*State qualifier
BOYS STATE QUALIFIERS
1. Tanner Talley (New Covenant Academy), 16:07.61
2. Ryan Cardenzana (Blue Eye), 16:42.13
3. Zane Hull (Pleasant Hope), 17:11.48
4. Jadon Weaver (Blue Eye), 17:15.71
5. Christian Long (Southwest), 17:19.88
6. Colby Adams (Stockton), 17:35.80
7. Max Brown (Stockton), 17:38.51
8. Brady Corder (Mansfield), 17:44.72
9. Aaron Bradshaw (Stockton), 17:46.47
10. Caden Uthe (Southwest), 17:46.57
11. Tucker Combs (Alton), 17:52.63
12. Braden Postlewait (Stockton), 17:58.14
13. Hunter McKinney (Houston), 18:00.37
14. Dakota Duncan (Stockton), 18:04.44
15. Roman Ray (Blue Eye), 18:12.46
16. Bryce Ozbun (Purdy), 18:16.10
17. Cory Miller (Alton), 18:20.64
18. David Kendall (New Covenant Academy), 18:21.91
19. Bryson Benson (Seymour), 18:23.27
20. Josh Shockley (Cabool), 18:25.94
21. Nate Jennings (New Covenant Academy), 18:27.50
22. Jay Brennan (Cabool), 18:32.03
23. Braxton Bolfing (Mansfield), 18:33.82
24. Logan Simpson (Hartville), 18:35.50
25. Zachary Jones (Hartville), 18:36.91
26. Houston Parker (Blue Eye), 18:41.56
27. Talon Phillips (Sparta), 18:44.30
28. Alex Labrier (Blue Eye), 18:46.97
29. Braeden Boyd (Blue Eye), 18:47.89
30. Trenton Cunningham (Alton), 18:53.57
