By Amanda Perkins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Stockton boys successfully defended their state title thanks to the efforts of Braden Postlewait (20th – 17:28.2), Max Brown (22nd – 17:29.3), Dakota Duncan (30th – 17:43.9), Colby Adams (47th – 18:11.4), and Michael Hudson (75th – 18:39.7).
“It did not go as planned as far as the scenarios we had planned the last week or so, but people stepped up when they needed to and we were able to pull it off,” said Stockton head coach Ryan Pate. “With conditions like today, it’s pretty hard to follow a race plan. We had to move quite a bit throughout 2k and 3k, and our five and six moved up probably 50 spots in the last 3k, so that was really big.”
Stockton was in fifth place at the 1k mark, 3rd at 2k, and then first from 3k on. Dakota Duncan was 59th at 1k and finished 30th, and Max Brown put in the work to finish 22nd after being in 60th at the 1k marker.
“Last year, I was 26th, behind my teammate,” said Brown. “I always use something that is going to motivate me for the whole season as soon as we start three-day work-outs in June, so for me it was always getting past that 26th spot and breaking into an all-state position. It is something that I’ve always wanted to work toward.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE RACES
Brown, a senior, said he is confident he and his teammates have left a good foundation for the future of the program. “We wanted to leave our coach with the best we could, so that meant things like cooling down at a slower pace to be with the younger classmen and make them feel involved and like part of the team. That is something the seniors did when I was a freshman, like Aaron Bradshaw, here today, Wyatt Colgrove, Jason Bradshaw, and Tyler Johnson. They all did so much to help us feel like a team.”
Pate acknowledges the deep impact of his upperclassmen. “We are losing four seniors, so to see them going out on this note, it shows what they mean to our program,” he said. “They’ve been a part of three podium teams in four years and that’s pretty special.”
Alton came up 12 points short of bringing home a team trophy, taking fifth place with a score of 170. New Covenant Academy finished ninth with 219 points. Mansfield (11th – 240 points) and Sparta (16th – 348 points) also competed in the team competition.
Alton’s Rydan Deckard was the area’s top individual finisher in the race taking seventh place with a time of 17:06.3. Mansfield and New Covenant each had two all-state finishers. Nolyn Corder (13th – 17:24.0) and Braxton Bolfing (23rd – 17:30.2) led Mansfield. David Kendall and Nate Jennings finished 24th and 25th for New Covenant in times of 17:30.8 and 17:34.0, respectively.
Stockton was also the area’s top team finisher in the girls’ race, taking fifth overall with a team total of 177. Mansfield was seventh place at 232 points. College Heights and New Covenant finished back-to-back in the team standings in 11th and 12th, respectively.
New Covenant’s Clara Trent took 12th in the Class 2 girls’ race to lead the area. She ran a time of 20:26.2. One spot behind her was Pierce City’s Emma Hunt who was 13th in a time of 20:34.7.
Skyline’s Kadence Wallace (15th – 20:42.6), Ash Grove’s Madison King (21st – 21:13.1), Stockton’s Katelyn Chism (24th – 21:23.9) and the Mansfield duo of Faith Clark (22nd – 21:13.8) and Logan Jones (23rd – 21:13.9) all also earned all-state honors.
FULL RESULTS: CLASS 2 BOYS – CLICK HERE
FULL RESULTS: CLASS 2 GIRLS – CLICK HERE
