Wyatt Klaiber blends in well in El Dorado Springs.
“He fits with southwest Missouri, you know the small rural towns,” said El Dorado Springs Cross Country Coach Brian Goatley.
“I like to fish and hunt,” the Sophomore Bulldog said. “I came from Iowa and my dad is from Ohio, so we kind of you know came from the country”
But he’s hard to miss when he uses his legs. At the state track finals in May, he made the podium and placed third, as a freshman.
“I just want to keep pushing my goals every meet as long as I’m breaking them god willing we will reach some places,” Wyatt said.
Oh and the places he’s gone since. Wyatt is coming off a top dog performance at the Southwest Cross Country Coaches Association Meet.
“I just decided I was going to hang on to the front runner and get myself in a good position,” Wyatt said. “Try to get him toward the end if I could.”
And that’s exactly what he did, closing in on a 30 meter gap and then taking the lead.
“I started praying and I asked [god] to give me the strength to catch him the last 100 meters of the race,” Wyatt said. “He gave it to me and I was able to take care of the race.”
Wyatt is reaching personal and school records. Following in the footsteps of another great Eldo runner.
“He has set some school records in the relays,” Goatley said. “He is following Daelen Ackley, so those records are going to be down the road, if they happen. And Daelen Ackley is currently at Notre Dame running.”
In these next three seasons, Wyatt is bound to take even bigger strides in cross country and track.