By Cody Thorn (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Daelen Ackley fell a little bit short of his quest to three-peat as a state championship on Saturday at the Class 3 MSHSAA Cross Country Championships in Columbia.
The El Dorado Springs senior was the runner-up despite leading the race in three of the kilometer splits, ultimately coming in behind Southern Boone County’s Connor Burns.
Ackley crossed in 15:36.2, while Burns got through at 15:13.5 after losing to Ackley by a second in last year’s race.
Ackley’s first title (2019) and first medal – fourth as a freshman – came in Class 2.
“I’m a little disappointed but I can’t really change anything,” Ackley said.
He closed his with a 3:21.9 split on the final 1K, an 18-second drop from his split in on the 4K.
The El Dorado Springs standout will now turn his focus on track and field in the spring for a rematch with Burns.
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But first up will be him signing with Notre Dame on Wednesday. He chose a chance to run for the Fighting Irish after taking visits to a few other Division I programs.
“Coach (Sean) Carlson has a great plan for me and they have great guys,” Ackley said. “The team is very supportive in everything.”
Ackley was joined on the medal stand by teammate Connor Goatley, as the junior was 18th place. East Newton’s Gabe Bergen (8th), Kelton Sorrell (10th) and Chase Sorrell (13th) were all-state, as was Buffalo’s Sean Walker (15th).
The East Newton trio helped pave the way for the Patriots to bring home another state trophy, taking third.
This was the third third-place finish for the Newton County school (2000, 2019). Jake Holt’s squad was in 12th place after the initial kilometer and worked their way up to seventh and then fifth and was in third place over the final 2K.
In the girls Class 3 race, El Dorado Springs’ Hannah Klaiber, a junior, and freshman Audrey Goatley earned all-state by placing 11th and 17th, respectively.
Klaiber was fourth in the race last year but was never able to crack the top 10 at any checkpoint this year. Goatley moved up 20 spots from her low-point of 37th place after the opening kilometer.
El Dorado Springs took 10th in the team standings.
Lamar’s Kirsten Potter took 13th place, after spending most of the race between 10th and 13th place.
