By Don Eskins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
It was a big day, and a very challenging one, for the 16 teams that showed up in Bolivar on Saturday to compete for this year’s Class 4 District 2 Championships and a trip to the 2021 state XC meet.
But when all was said and done it was the Willard boys and West Plains girls claiming this year’s district titles.
The Willard Tigers scored a meet-low 74 points to win this year’s boys event. Placing second, and just five points behind this year’s district champion, was Webb City. Third place went to West Plains and fourth to Bolivar.
All four teams will advance on to this year’s state meet. The district’s top 30 placers all earn All-District honors.
“Our boys ran really hard today, on a muddy course that made running very difficult,” said Willard head cross country coach David Matthews. “But tactically, they did pretty much what they’ve been doing all season long.”
“They’ve worked very hard this year and put in the mileage they’ve needed to get where they are today,” he said. “But they’ve also developed a great comradery along the way and I think that’s played a very big role in their success.”
Finishing first for the Tigers, and fourth overall, was Thomas Shuster who crossed the finish line in a time of 16:45.09.
“Today’s race was a crazy muddy race for sure. I’m just glad I finished well today, as did the rest of our team,” said Shuster. “We’ve been building this team for the past two years and we’ve worked hard to get to this point in our season. Today we got a district championship, the hard work is paying off.”
This year’s Class 4 individual champion was Rolla’s Nathaniel Pohlsander who crossed the tape at 16:03.37. Second place went to Bolivar’s Cale Thiessen with at 16:30.67 with Jefferson City’s Thomas Roehi finishing third in a time of 16:40.84. Webb City’s Dustin Brockmiller, with a time of 16:47.15, finished fifth.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MEET
On the girls’ side, the West Plains Lady Zizzers scored a district meet low of just 31 points to grab this year’s Class 4 District 2 title. Second place went to Webb City with 85 with the Bolivar Liberators finishing third at 120. Fourth place went out to the Rolla Bulldogs with 121.
As with the boys, the top four finishers all advance on to the state meet. The district’s top 30 placers earned All-District honors.
“I’m super proud of these kids, they ran hard and they ran as a team in an effort to collect this year’s district title. As a result of that, now they get an opportunity to move on to state,” said Zizzer head coach Alicia Gunter.
Last year West Plains won the Class 4 state title, this year they’ll get a unique opportunity to repeat.
“We’re all going to be saying a prayer or two,” said the West Plains coach. “Not to win, but for an opportunity to reach our potential and to run our best. The rest will be up to us.”
“We always just take things one day at a time,” said West Plains’ district champion Jordan Kanotla. “I’m just grateful we got the win today and an opportunity to run for a state repeat next week.”
This year’s Class 4 District 2 top five finishers were: 1. Jordan Kantola 19:37.57- West Plains, 2.Jayna Gunter 19:39.93- West Plains, 3. Abigail Street 19:48.08- Webb City, 4. Riley Hawkins 19:55.88- Webb City and 5. Brayden Kantola 20:07.61- West Plains.
Class 4 District 2 Area ‘Top 4 Boys’ teams
Willard first: 4. Thomas Shuster 16:45.09, 13. Nolan Hansen 17:14.09, 16. James Sly 17:28.97, 18. Gary Adams 17:36.31, 27. Alex Keeling 17:53.89, 30. Wyatt Bricker 18:02.92 and 42. Carlos Abrams 18:32.26.
Webb City second: 5. Dustin Brockmiller 16:47.15, 7. Roman Borboa 16:57.24, 8. Evan Stevens 16:58.94, 28. Jose Bando-antillon 17:53.90, 33. Blake Vaughn 18:17.19 and 36. Mason Hedger 18:24.04.
West Plains third: 9. Brodie Callahan 17:02.12, 17. Drew Steward 17:32.49, 19. Carson King 17:36.56, 24. Ridge Smith 17:48.46, 26. Hoyt Stiner 17:50.09, 46. Kyler Gunter 18:52.69 and 47. Parker Rhoads 18:58.40.
Bolivar fourth: 2. Cale Thiessen 16:30.67, 21. Payson Reisner 17:40.06, 23. Brody Ingold 17:47.11, 35. Gavin Crawford-Yates 18:23.72, 39. Solomon Manis 18:26.05, 53. Evan Everson 19:15.59 and 57. Bradley Cole 19:38.37.
Class 4 District 2 Area ‘Top 4 Girls’ teams
West Plains first: 1. Jordan Kantola 19:37.57, 2. Jayna Gunter 19:39. 93, 5. Brayden Kantola 20:07.61, 11. Kyia Wesibrod 20:56.56, 13. Kaylee Lambe 21.11.73, 14. Addison Sanders 21:13.59 and 16. Daphnie Dollins 21:18.80.
Webb City second: 3. Abigail Street 19:48.04, 4. Riley Hawkins 19:55.88, 18. Alanna Bundy 21.23.22, 31. Isabelle Lopez 22:16.62, 36. Emily Countryman 22:41.12, 64. Lauren Kuechler 24:09.01 and 71. Elliett Capron 24:30.25.
Bolivar third: 10. Julia Jump 20:54.45, 15. Ayden Spotila 21:17.05, 30. Sierra Fox 22:02.03, 33. Sydney Waters 22:23.93, 43. Abigail DuVall 23:00.52, 60. Paige Pendergraft 24:01.55 and 74. Anna Jensen 24:43.58.
Rolla fourth: 6. Isabelle Frost 20:39.58, 8. Bridget Ragan 20:47.20, 19. Kathryn Hirtz 21:27.79, 44. Emma Taylor 23:00.79, 54. Megan Gorman 23:43.32, 55. Mallory Moats 23:47.76 and 81. Apryl Decker 25:08.24.
