By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Redemption proved to be a major theme at Saturday’s Class 5 district championships.
The Nixa boys raced to an overall team competition, while Republic’s Gracie Troester won the girls individual title.
Both advance to next week’s state championships looking to atone for last season’s results.
BOYS RACE
For the Nixa boys, 2023 has been a season of redemption.
Last season, after claiming the Central Ozarks Conference title, the Eagles finished in a disappointing sixth place at the district meet and failed to qualify for state.
For head coach Lance Brumley, this season’s challenge was simple and direct.
Just. Move. On.
Paced by individual winner Aaron Ashley (15:32.32), Nixa did exactly that.
Teammates Logan Richart (10 – 15:55.04), Reyes Martinez (12 – 15:59.83), Devon Kemp (19 – 16:07.42) and Zane Novinger (23 – 16:14.94) posted 65 points to outdistance second-place Raymore-Peculiar’s 88-point finish and claim the overall team title.
“I’m proud of these young men, and I can’t even hardly put the words out there,” Brumley said. “A lot of the same kids that ran here last year – they knew all year long, that’s what we’ve been working on; to not let that happen again. To come out of that with a district championship for the first time since 1995, that’s amazing.”
Ashley worked a strategic cat-and-mouse game from the start, opting to hang back a bit and maintain contact with the leaders. He crossed the halfway point nestled near the back of an 11-runner group and then worked his way into position over the next mile.
Somewhere around 800 meters to the finish, Ashley made his move and opened up a sizable lead on the field. While a pair of Ray-Pec runners moved with him, they were unable to counter Ashley’s finishing kick.
“He’s been working a lot with one of our assistant coaches on his strategy stuff,” Brumley said. “And he was just kind of biding his time a little bit, and I felt good about him being in that pack – he’s a competitor. If you put him in there with some sub-15 kids, he’s going to jump right in there with them. That’s just part of his competitive nature, and I love that.”
Webb City placed fourth overall as a team and will also represent the area at the state meet.
GIRLS RACE
While an out-of-area school, Raymore-Peculiar, may have captured the overall team title at Saturday’s Class 5 girls district race, the day belonged to Gracie Troester.
The Republic junior has largely run alone and from the front this season, seldom finding challenges from within the field.
Saturday wasn’t one of those races.
Troester and Ray-Pec’s Ashlyn Smith waged a tight battle throughout the 3.1 mile course. In the final quarter mile, however, Troester’s speed proved to be the difference-maker in a one-second victory and 18:12.80 finish.
“I went out pretty fast, and then Ashlyn came back and we were fighting for the front for the first mile and a half,” Troester said. “She finally took the lead at about two miles, and I was like, ‘oh, this is a little hard.’”
Troester settled into a more comfortable pace while keeping contact with Smith over the next 400 meters, then made her move as the pair headed into the woods.
Crediting her 800-meter track speed, Troester (Republic’s record holder in the event) was able to hold off Smith’s final push down the stretch and capture the win.
“It comes in handy when you run the 800,” Troester said. “I took off as fast as possible and I passed her, and I just didn’t let her pass me again at the end.”
While Troester will be ranked as one of the top Class 5 runners at the state meet, her goal is simple.
Earn a state medal.
The top 30 individual finishers in each class receive medals – a feat that eluded Troester last season after a disappointing race.
“My goal heading up to Columbia is I definitely want to medal at state,” Troester said. “I’m not really worried about placing as long as I get a state medal. I’ve been working for that the past few years, and to be able to do that would be amazing. Last year, I was ranked, and I didn’t medal – I had a horrible race – so just to come back and redeem myself would be amazing.”
In the team overall competition, the area qualified three schools, as Webb City (second), Kickapoo (third) and Ozark (fourth) all advanced to the state championships.
