By Don Eskins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Kickapoo Chief boys dominated this year’s Ozark Conference Cross Country Meet, held at Inman Elementary near Nixa on Saturday, Oct. 15.
The Chiefs scored a meet-low 28 points to pick up this year’s Ozark Conference title, 33 points better than runner-up West Plains who scored 51. Third place went out to Lebanon with 93.
Leading the way for Kickapoo was Tyler Harris. Harris covered the 5K course in 15:19.75, to set a new Ozark Conference record.
“Right now I’m not sure what the old mark was exactly,” said Kickapoo head coach Jeremy Goddard. “But I have a former runner, who keeps me up on things like records, and I believe he said it was 15:23. Tyler’s 15:19.75 was an incredible time for this course.”
“Yeah, I’ve been told it was 15:23 also.” said Harris. “So being able to win today as a team, and to finish first individually while setting a new course record, feels really good.”
“I have a couple of meets left though,” he said. “And I’m hoping to drop some more time between now and state.”
Goddard said his boys, last year’s team state champion, were really looking forward to running at this year’s Ozark Conference Championship.
“They like the idea that it was being held here, at Inman Elementary, because the course is relatively flat and good for times,” said the Chief coach. “I think today’s results shows just how hard they ran.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE BOYS RACE
Five Chiefs crossed the finish line to place in the top ten. Along with Harris was, Grant Musick, second at 16:02.38, Kyle Keltner, third at 16:11.11, Brooklyn Creehan fifth at 16:28. 85 and Colby Goddard seventh with a time of 16:44.47.
“The Ozark Conference Championship is always a good meet. West Plains and Bolivar are both tough competitors,” said Goddard. “Any time you can walk off the course with a win against them is a big day.”
Capturing the girls division of the tournament were the West Plains Lady Zizzers. They were paced by freshman Emily Ritter’s 19:26.35 and scored 55 points. Grabbing second place were the Kickapoo Chiefs with 77 and Rolla, also with 77.
Zizzer head coach Alicia Gunter has been very pleased with the addition of Ritter to this year’s team.
“Emily is from California and joined us in May. I forget she’s just a freshman because of the way she conducts herself,” she said. “She has a great work ethic and has provided our team a lot of leadership. She fell right in with the Zizzer way and we’re so thrilled to have her.”
“Our girls have struggled some this year but they’ve been getting better and improving as a team every day,” said Gunter. “We’ve gotten some personal bests and today, in getting the win, they showed a lot of toughness.”
West Plains’ second best performance was turned in by Jordan Tolenaar who placed eighth with a time of 20:06.06. Addison Sanders, with a time of 20:08.46, placed ninth.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GIRLS RACE
This year’s individual champion, on the girls side, was Rolla’s Isabella Frost. A senior, she said turning in this year’s top time was special.
“I wanted to end my senior year on a high note, and today’s win makes me feel great. It was definitely one of my best performances of the season,” she said. “But our entire team has been good this year and I’m so proud of them all. Now we’ve all got to get ready for district.”
Ozark Conference Champions
Kickapoo Boys: 1. Tyler Harris 15:19.75, 2. Grant Musick 16:02.38, 3. Kyle Keltner 16:11.11. 4. Brooklyn Creehan 16:28.85, 5. Colby Goddard 16:44.47, 6. Keaton Goddard 16:55.93 and 7. Jack Creehan 17:22.49.
West Plains Girls: 1. Emily Ritter 19:26.35, 2. Jordan Tollenaar 20:06.06, 3. Addison Sanders 20:08.46, 4. Kaylea Dixon 20:38.34, 5. Daphnie Dollins 20:56.08 and 6. Kaitlyn Davis 21:22.21.
Girls Ozark Conference
Team Results:
1. West Plains – 55
2. Kickapoo – 77
3. Rolla – 77
4. Bolivar – 89
5. Camdenton – 114
6. Glendale – 153
7. Lebanon – 156
8. Parkview – 206
9. Central – 232
10. Waynesville – 254
Girls All-Conference First Team
1. Isabella Frost – 19:07.73 – Rolla
2. Klaire Brown – 19:23.61 – Kickapoo
3. Emily Ritter – 19:26.35 – West Plains
4. Ayden Spotila – 19:49.27 – Bolivar
5. Rebbeca Waterman – 19:49.69 – Parkview
6. Emma Howes – 19:59.13 – Bolivar
7. Georgi Carolus – 19:59.74 – Camdenton
Girls All-Conference Second Team
8. Jordan Tolenaar – 20:06.06 – West Plains
9. Addison Sanders – 20:08.46 – West Plains
10. Ellie Webb – 20:19.72 – Camdenton
11. Alexandria Le – 20:20.42 – Central
12. Lyla Smith – 20:23.74 – Glendale
13. Charlotte Cones – 20:24.81 – Kickapoo
14. Kendall Langley – 20:27.04 – Rolla
Boys Ozark Conference
Team Results:
1. Kickapoo – 18
2. West Plains – 51
3. Lebanon – 93
4. Rolla – 124
5. Glendale – 145
6. Waynesville – 159
7. Bolivar – 161
8. Central – 167
9. Hillcrest – 262
10. Parkview – 287
Boys All-Conference
First Team
1. Tyler Harris – 15:19.75 – Kickapoo
2. Grant Musick – 16:02.38 – Kickapoo
3. Kyle Keltner – 16:11.11 – Kickapoo
4. Cameron Martinsen – 16:14.21 – Rola
5. Brooklyn Creehan – 16:28.85 – Kickapoo
6. Hoyt Stiner – 16:33.63 – West Plains
7. Colby Goddard – 16:44.47 – Kickapoo
Boys All-Conference
Second Team:
8. Luther Supancic – 16:45.10 – Waynesville
9. Ridge Smith – 16:45.95 – West Plains
10. Brody Ingold – 16:47.50 – Camdenton
11. Jackson Free – 16:50.04 – West Plains
12. Carson King – 16:55.70 – West Plains
13. Keaton Goddard – 16:55.93 – Kickapoo
14. Peter Stunja – 16:57.78 – Lebanon
