By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
One school was far and away the best on Saturday in the Class 3 District 2 boys cross country race at Jeremy’s Creek Golf Course in Lamar.
El Dorado Springs placed five runners in the top 14 and ran away from the field in claiming the championship – though the Bulldogs’ celebration might have been cut short by a thunderstorm and some nearby lightning.
“They shocked me,” head coach Brian Goatley said. “We knew we had a good shot of winning this thing. We just wanted to kind of fine tune, get a dress rehearsal for next week. Our boys team has never won a state plaque so we kind of have that on our radar to get done and after today I’m excited about it.”
“I was not expecting the times we had today,” Goatley said. “Our number six guy was our number four runner today. He’s running 18:28 this year and he went 17:28 today. His brother finished right in front of him at 17:30 and he’s been at 17:46 this year. We had some big time improvements, big time performances today and I think they’re psyched and ready to go next week.”
Wyatt Klaiber won the individual championship by finishing in 15:45.48, more than 16 seconds better than the second-place finisher. Braxton Watts was third, Shane Fletcher placed eighth, Sylas Fletcher placed ninth and Logan Fisk finished 14th. Their performances amounted to 35 points for the Bulldogs – 66 fewer than second place Springfield Catholic.
Springfield Catholic (101), Lamar (118) and Strafford (143) rounded out the top four to earn team qualifications for next weekend’s state meet.
Catholic was led by Kyle Hathcock’s time of 17:33.22, which was 10th overall. Clayton Eck placed 17th, Parker Foster was 20th, Gabriel Auzias De Turenne was 27th and Rocco Palazzolo was 33rd.
Lamar’s top runner was Cameron Bailey, who finished sixth in 17:12.04. Ryder Friend followed in seventh, Pierce Heins was 19th, David Dunham was 42nd and Garin Schneider was 56th.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE BOYS RACE
Strafford’s Colton Willis led the team with a fourth-place finish in 17:06.50. Jonathon Hill was 32nd, Ethan Hurtgen was 38th, Aaden Choate was 43rd and Andrew Smith was 44th.
The top 30 individuals also qualified for state.
East Newton’s Chase Sorrell (16:02.02) was second overall, Salem’s Alex Diehl was fifth, Fair Grove’s Nolen Geitz was 11th, Reeds Spring’s Max Hirschi was 12th, Fair Grove’s Luke Buescher was 13th, Aurora’s Carsen Gillam was 15th, Osage’s Colin Misenheimer was 16th, East Newton’s Nicholas Shaeffer was 18th, Cassville’s Ethan Bohmke was 21st, Willow Springs’ Carson Smith was 22nd, Ava’s Isaac Smith was 23rd, Cassville’s Michael Butts was 25th, Warsaw’s Wesley Jackson was 26th, Cassville’s Trever Garnett was 28th, Reeds Springs’ Connor Love was 29th, and Osage’s Jaysen Groll was 30th.
Osage wins close girls race
The inclement weather moved in before the girls awards ceremony, but Osage still had plenty of reasons to celebrate after winning the district title by nine points over Lamar.
The Lady Indians totaled 94 points and were led by Rosie Falter’s seventh-place finish with a time of 20:56.38. Jaidyn Tabony followed in 10th, Addison Fowler was 20th, Mary Long was 30th and Jennifer Renz placed 44th.
Their performances were enough to top Lamar (103), Clever (112) and Springfield Catholic (113), the top four teams in the standings.
Lamar’s Abigail Diggs (20:33.80) placed third individually, while LeiLani Toves was 13th, Carly Dunham was 16th, Mikayla Madison was 38th and Brenna Morey was 55th.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GIRLS RACE
Clever’s top runner was Riley Britton, who placed second in 20:16.19. Chloe Smith was sixth, Kaydence Butts was 41st, Cali Smith was 42nd and Brylie Hicks was 48th.
Katie Galligos (21:20.66) led Catholic in 12th place, while Eliana Lygrisse was 24th, Kate Hull was 32nd, Kaya McClanahan was 33rd and Macie Kelly was 35th.
Fair Grove’s Katrina Cantwell won individual honors with a time of 19:57.27, nearly 20 seconds better than the rest of the field. Cassville’s Jadyn Williams-Reed was fourth, El Dorado Springs’ Audrey Goatley was fifth, Strafford’s Jasmine Hayes was eighth and Mt. Vernon’s Rylee Simons was ninth to round out the top 10.
Also qualifying for state were Strafford’s Piper Keith (11th), El Dorado Springs’ Hanna Ridgway (14th), Mountain Grove’s Katelyn Jarrett (15th), Fair Grove’s Lyla Bell (17th), El Dorado Springs’ Christian Steuck (18th), Houston’s Kristen Ely (19th), East Newton’s Brooklyn Blanchard (21st), College Heights Christian’s Marla Anderegg (22nd), Aurora’s Drew Mayes (23rd), Reeds Spring’s Kaylee Geniuk (25th), Ava’s Jessie Shrable (26th), College Heights Christian’s Jesalin Bever (27th), Strafford’s Gina Huelskamp (28th) and Cassville’s Tori Mitchell (29th).
