In Missouri high school state competition on Saturday, three Jefferson County teams fell just short of bringing home state championships.
The Festus boys and girls cross country teams each finished second in Class 3 at the state meet in Jefferson City. Festus was the defending champ on the boys’ side but the Tigers could not hold off a tremendous performance by Potosi, which tallied 71 points to 90 for Festus. Tiger junior Tyler Gillam was a bright spot for his team, however, as he won the individual title with a 15:57.48 clocking on the five-kilometer course at Oak Hills Golf Center. The top runner for the Tiger girls, senior Jamie Kempfer, finished second in her race in 17:59.9, the fastest time ever for a female runner from Jefferson County on the hilly Oak Hills course. Festus had 62 points to finish second to Ste. Genevieve (46 points) in the Class 3 girls race. Herculaneum’s girls squad, meanwhile, took home the fourth place trophy in Class 2, as did Crystal City’s girls in Class 1. It’s the first state trophy ever for the Hornet girls and the first for the school in cross country since the boys finished second in Class 1A-2A in 1985.
At the state volleyball tournament at Cape Girardeau, St. Pius lost to Hermann in the championship match, 25-22, 25-18. The Lancers, who won the state title in 2011, have finished second in three of the last four years (2010, 2012 and 2013), while Hermann won the state crown for the 12th time. The Lancers finished with a final record of 30-8-2.