Cross country season is literally off and running, and the top teams and individuals from the county expecting to challenge for state honors are right on course.
On the 3.1-mile (5K) course at the Dexter Invitational on Sept. 6, Herculaneum High School took its boys and girls teams, while the defending Class 4 state champion Festus High School girls took more strides toward repeating in November.
With five of the top eight finishers, the Tigers won with 24 points. Second in the state in Class 3 last year, the Blackcats had five of the top 14 runners and were second with 48 points.
Third in the state last year, Festus junior Lucy Boyer was second at Dexter in 19:50.7. Notre Dame (Cape Girardeau) sophomore Martina Ressel won in 19:05. Junior Bailee Tolbert (third, 20:28.6), senior Olivia Cole (fifth, 20:45.1), junior Kendall Counts (sixth, 20:54.7) and freshman Kyndall Gildea (eighth, 21:21.6) were the other top Tigers.
“Dexter was another solid meet for our team to open the season,” Festus head coach Wes Armbruster said. “We really see 11 different athletes on our team ready for varsity races right now, so we somewhat split those athletes up (at Dexter) and at (Arcadia Valley on Saturday).”
Sophomore Amaya Ferguson (fourth, 20:44.2), junior Finley Hamtil (seventh, 21:15.0), junior Emerson Reeves (11th, 21:31.7), senior Claira Davis (12th, 21:34.5) and sophomore Rylie Pruett (14th, 21:44.0) were Herculaneum’s top five runners. Ferguson, Hamtil and Reeves were all-state (top 30) last season.
Kyle Davis is the head coach of the Blackcat boys and girls.
“The girls had a really strong showing up front, and took second to a really good Festus team,” he said. “The pack was a little bit more spread out than what we thought they were capable of, but overall (1-7) ran tough and they know what they need to work on.”
State champions in 2021, second in 2022 and fourth in 2023, the Herculaneum boys left Gans Creek in Columbia last November completely unsatisfied at being left out of the winner’s circle (top four teams). At Dexter it looked like the Blackcats were making up for lost time as they catapulted out of the gate. A perfect score is 15 points; the Blackcats won the meet with 17.
Freshman Noah Fitzgerald won in 16:45.8, and seniors Nathan Clampet (second, 17:38.8) and Ethan Grosbauer (third, 17:42.6) gave Herky the top three finishers. Notre Dame (Cape Girardeau) freshman Brendan Dial slid between the Blackcats in fourth in 17:44.7, which kept them from a perfect score because next were Herky junior Allen Wallman (fifth, 17:45.4) and sophomore Owen Davis (sixth, 17:47.8).
“None of our boys had raced that course before, but they had a really positive approach, and once they got about 1,000 meters into it, and found themselves in front, they mostly were battling each other and it looked like a team workout,” Kyle Davis said.
Closer to home in Perryville on the same day, the Northwest boys and girls cross country teams captured the team titles at the St. Vincent Invitational. The Lion boys had seven of the top 16 runners and scored 26 points. The Lion girls had four of the top 11 finishers and won with 32 points.
The top Northwest boys were senior Jackson Judge (third,17:52.85), senior Tyler Brown (fifth,17:55.57), freshman Jacob Judge (sixth,18:00.81), sophomore Jeremiah Brown (eighth,18:06.57) and junior Max Thomas-Perkins (ninth,18:09.61).
“We went in with a plan to keep at least five guys packed tight for two miles,” Northwest boys head coach Ken Campbell said. “The boys executed the plan perfectly and reaped the rewards.”
For the girls: junior Rose Nicholls (third, 20:36.02), freshmen Marlena Watkins (fourth, 20:41.67), Chloe Vandaveer (seventh, 21:56.54) and Malia Layton (11th, 22:58.71), and junior Leighton Lee (16th, 23:40.02).
St. Vincent senior Reagan Meyer won the girls race in 19:59.00. Fox freshman Sienna Harger was second in 20:22.66, and the Warriors were second as a team with 57 points. Those are promising signs for a program that hasn’t sent a runner to state since Isabella Marcum finished 12th in 2022.
St. Pius X senior Jayden Metzler won the boys race at St. Vincent in 16:38.55. Quite an achievement by itself until you consider St. Vincent junior Carter Hennemann crossed in second 48 seconds later. Metzler is one of the most decorated distance runners in the area. He was 24th in the state in Class 2 in 2024 and was a state qualifier in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs during track and field season last spring.