By Amanda Perkins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Led by third place finisher Tyler Harris, the Kickapoo Chiefs took home a third-place trophy from the Class 5 Cross Country Championships Friday at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia.
Liberty North finished with 77 points – the same total as Kickapoo in last year’s first place finish – followed by Rock Bridge with 89, and Kickapoo with 106.
“We had some strikes against us,” said Jeremy Goddard, Kickapoo head coach. “We had everyone back from last year, which is great. But last night, Kyle (Keltner) started feeling sick and fevery, and we were pretty worried about that. He ran really great but came apart a bit the past 100 meters. He hung around to get the last all-state spot, so that was a big deal. Grant (Musick)’s blood chemistry is off and we were worried about him, but he ran great. We didn’t know if Brooklyn (Creehan) would run again, he didn’t run all summer. He came back and managed to turn it on in three months, which is pretty amazing.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE RACES
Musick finished 14th with a 15:57.7 end, and Creehan and Keltner finished 24 and 25, respectively. Colby Goddard rounded out the top five for Kickapoo with a 69th place finish in a time of 16:55.40
Goddard said he thought his team was third best coming into the race, but they had hoped on a sneak attack like they pulled off last year. “We got close,” he said. “We were closer to Rock Bridge than we were last time we ran them. We wanted to hang on to the top three, and we did that.”
Tyler Harris, senior and Drury commit, said this race was special to him.
“Our entire varsity has been seniors, and we’ve come through these four years together,” he said. “To come through this last race and for everyone to still give their best, we knew what this meant to us and it is super important.”
Grant Musick said Harris is “the best teammate in the world.” Harris shrugged it off.
“Our philosophy has always been that it is everyone’s job to lead the team,” said Harris. “We don’t have a team captain. Even though I may be the fastest, the seniors have a brotherhood. It’s not one above the other.”
Coach Goddard agreed that his seniors are a special group, one that includes his son.
“In middle school, I told them if they all stuck together and competed together, they could do something special,” he said. “We’ve had better athletes in middle school, but not a better group. I told them they could get multiple trophies, and that prediction came true. They grew together.”
Joplin’s Hobbs Campbell also finished in the top five taking fifth place in a time of 15:42.50. Campbell’s teammate Ian Horton placed 16th with at time of 15:59.90. Joplin finished sixth as a team.
In the Class 5 girls race, Camdenton’s Ellie Webb was the area’s top finisher in 38th place with at time of 19:43.40. Kickapoo finished 13th as a team while Nixa took 16th.
FULL BOYS RESULTS – CLICK HERE
FULL GIRLS RESULTS – CLICK HERE
