Festus scored 17 points and won its 14th straight Jefferson County Activities Association boys cross country championship Saturday, on its home course at Larry G. Crites Memorial Park.
That’s good news for fans of the team that’s stalking its seventh straight state championship and ninth overall (all in Class 3). The Tigers have moved up to Class 4 in the newly expanded five classes of competition approved by the Missouri State High School Activities Association.
But the bad news for the rest of Class 4 is that the best may be yet to come for the black-and-gold juggernaut.
“I think they have more to give. They worked hard today,” said head coach Bryant Wright, the architect of all nine titles. The only other schools with more boys cross country state crowns are West Plains (13) and Herculaneum (12). The Blackcats remain in Class 3 and the Zizzers are staying put in Class 4.
In typical fashion for the conference race, the Tigers concentrated more on individual placement than times and their tight pack running produced five of the top six finishes on the 5-kilometer (3.1 mile) course. Aside from occasional gusts of wind, the racing conditions were ideal with clear skies, warming temperatures and a dry course.
Festus sophomore Ian Schram took the individual championship in 16:27.56; he previously won the Bowles Invitational Sept. 19 on the same course in a personal-best 15:56.98. Right behind Schram on Saturday were a parade of his teammates: junior Nathan Wolk (second, 16:33.16); junior Jacob Meyers (third, 16:36.32); sophomore Cullen Krieg (fifth, 16:49.12) and junior Anthony Pittmann (sixth, 16:54.32). Juniors Peyton Willis (ninth, 17:12.44) and Josh Thornborrow (13th, 17:50.02) were the Tigers’ sixth and seventh finishers.
(Note to dynasty-watchers: No seniors in that Festus top-seven.)
“I came into this thinking, I want to be a champion,” Schram said. “It means a lot more to look back and see my teammates nearly score a perfect meet (15 points).
“We didn’t take the lead until about two miles. We didn’t race for time. We raced to win. We’ve been listening to Coach (Wright) this season and have had a blast doing it. When the time comes (at state), we’ll surprise a lot of people. We had about a dozen alums come watch us today and the running culture here is so strong.”
That’s probably because season after season, Wright convinces his harriers – he’s also head coach of the Festus girls team – they can meet the standards set by past teams. Sometimes he and other coaches run alongside them in training sessions.
“My coaching is better done not running, especially when we’re doing intervals,” Wright said. “It’s better for me to see the whole thing. We have three coaches who can run with the kids.”
Turnover of the roster usually determines whether or not teams can sustain state championship viability. All of the members of the 2018 state champions have graduated. Krieg, Meyers and Wolk are the three remaining Tigers from last year’s team that won state. Krieg was sixth in 15:59, Meyers was 21st in 16:28.9 and Wolk was 35th in 16:53.4.
“Nathan is one of those kids who has slowly progressed over the past three years and has turned into a quality runner,” Wright said. “As a coach, you talk to them about working hard and it will all pay off, maybe not as an underclassman, but it will as a junior and a senior. They start to think, ‘If I could just stick with it and do what the guys before me have done, hopefully I can improve like they do.’”
The addition of Pittmann to the varsity might be the wild card the Tigers need to “seven-peat.”
“He made a commitment this past year,” Wright said. “He’s trained hard and it’s hard for me to express to these kids how awesome they’ve been. Their immense effort is hard to put into words.”
Festus will compete in District 1 at Arnold City Park on Oct. 31. The top two teams and 18 individuals in each district will qualify for the state championships at Gans Creek Course in Columbia on Nov. 5-7. Should the Tigers advance out of districts, they’ll run at 11 a.m. on Nov. 6. Festus will be out of school the week of the state championships, and Wright said because the state race is on Friday, and not on Saturday as is typical, his runners will have to change their training schedules.
Living up to the past champions is on all of their minds.
“That’s been a big deal for them,” Wright said. “They want to follow the footsteps of the teams before them. I want to impress on them, we’re worried about them becoming state champions, not getting the seven in a row. Their (winning a title) is just as important. I don’t want seven in a row to overshadow their title.”
With so many Festus runners out in front, the real battle in the JCAA boys competition was for second place between Hillsboro (second, 75 points),
De Soto (third, 80) and Herculaneum (fourth, 87). The Hawks had four runners in the top 20, while the Dragons had four of the top 19 finishers.
Hillsboro sophomore Josh Allison was fourth in 16:37.01 to lead the Hawks. He was eighth in the JCAA a year ago.
De Soto junior William Kaempfe, a conference and state medalist last year, was the first Dragon to finish Saturday, placing seventh in 16:54.79. Kaempfe ran a school-record 16:08 at the Fort Zumwalt North Twilight meet earlier this year, breaking Nathan Henry’s mark of 16:20 in 2011.
De Soto head coach Aaron Young said three years ago, the Dragons didn’t have a single runner below 18 minutes.
“Will has the ability to get into the 15s,” Young said. “He worked harder than every kid I’ve ever coached this summer.”
Herculaneum senior Cody Glisson, who was eighth in the state last year, finished 10th in the conference for the second straight year, this time clocking 17:26.01.
Dragons win first JCAA cross country title since 1999
St. Pius X senior Rita Eimer cracked the 20-minute barrier for the first time with a personal-best 19:24.04 at the Stan Nelson Invitational on Sept. 12.
That run convinced her to go for her first Jefferson County Activities Association championship, and on Saturday she met her goal.
“I wanted to break 20 minutes in that race (Stan Nelson), but I didn’t think I’d do it by that much,” said Eimer, a three-time Class 2 state qualifier and 2019 state medalist (22nd).
None of the girls at Saturday’s JCAA championships at Larry G. Crites Memorial Park finished under 20 minutes, although Eimer wasn’t far off in 20:14.55. She’s the first Lancer in recent memory to win a conference title. Herculaneum’s Nautica Stricklin captured four in a row (2015-2018) and De Soto 2020 graduate Lillie Kaempfe won last fall.
With her previous success at state, Eimer’s victory Saturday didn’t catch anyone by surprise.
“I’m excited. I was going for it so I’m glad I got there,” Eimer said. “I tried to go out fast and take the lead early. I got a little tired on the hills, but my coach (John Daly) was on the top of each hill telling me to push on. At one point, I wasn’t going to look back and focus on getting farther ahead.”
A week before the JCAAs, Eimer was running in second place at the Potosi Invitational, behind Cape Girardeau Notre Dame senior Haley Smith. Trailing by 20 meters with 150 meters to go, Eimer unleashed a ferocious kick to beat Smith (35th in Class 3 last year) by a second in 20:29.77.
“She had the lead the entire time and I was trying to not let her get that much distance on me,” Eimer said. “When I started my kick, I started closing in and I got her.”
A year ago, Eimer teamed with her sister, Rachel, and cousin, Michaela, to help the Lancers qualify as a team for the Class 2 state meet, where they finished 10th.
St. Pius was fourth in the JCAA team competition Saturday with 94 points, one point better than Herculaneum’s 95. Festus, which had held off De Soto by slim margins (42-51 and 41-44) to win the last two conference meets, couldn’t do it a third time as the Dragons earned their first conference title since 1999 with 42 points, two better than the second-place Tigers.
“We had talked about it and it was the goal from the beginning of the season,” De Soto head coach Aaron Young said. “We fell just short last season. They wanted to achieve it for the program and each other. It was fantastic.”
Led by sophomore Anna Crosby’s second-place finish in 20:37.58, Hillsboro was third with 69 points. Crosby was fourth in the conference last season, but didn’t qualify for the state meet because of a hip injury.
“She definitely deserves it and she’s worked really hard,” Crosby said of Eimer. “She was definitely my motivation to work harder every week to beat her. She was going on a quick pace. I tried to close the gap on the hills until I could make my move at the end on the final stretch.”
Crosby set a PR of 20:05 at the Ed White Invitational this year.
The final turn on the course at Crites Memorial Park is a sharp hook that challenges runners trying to accelerate to the finish chute.
“You try to get that perfect position on that final turn so you’re not leaning and you don’t lose time,” Crosby said.
De Soto, coming off back-to-back state trophies (fourth in 2018 and second last year), will face Festus again in the Class 4 District 1 meet at Arnold City Park on Oct. 31. Their top runner is junior Kayla Vogelsang, who finished sixth Saturday in 21:03.54.
“I was getting back into it, so it was a little difficult,” Vogelsang said about her run. “I had my teammates behind me and I went for it and did what I could. I thought that first or second would crack into the 19:00s. We had a little wind, but not much. I’m not sure why the times weren’t faster.”
Vogelsang was 12th at state in 19:26.1 last season. She hopes to help continue her team’s success in Columbia. The Class 4 state girls race is Nov. 6 at 8:30 a.m.
“We’re hoping we can do what we did last year or better. We’re going all out for it,” Vogelsang said.
Senior Erika Mellor (seventh, 21:19.43) and junior Riley Petsch (eighth, 21:26.44) were the next two De Soto finishers. Junior Taylor Ficke, who transferred from Grandview after running at state for the Eagles last season, finished 12th for the Dragons on Saturday.
“She’s such a fantastic young lady with an awesome personality and she’s a beast,” Young said about Ficke. “She’s been working hard every single day. She will only get better the more she trains and works.”
Young said when track and field season was canceled last spring because of COVID-19, Mellor began organizing informal workouts for the Dragons.
“Erika has taken over leadership-wise,” he said. “She was a leader of getting kids and holding everyone accountable and providing transportation for the younger runners. She wants to break 20 minutes and be that leader on the course.”
Festus finished second Saturday despite having five of the top 15 finishers. The White sisters, sophomore Dari and senior Demi, placed third and 10th, clocking 20:46.75 and 21:32.32. Junior Alison Faerber was 11th in 21:38.32, followed by sophomore Lauren Hartman (13th in 21:52.66) and freshman Madison Caskanett (15th in 21:58.79).
“De Soto had three girls up front. We couldn’t close on them,” Festus head coach Bryant Wright said. “Our younger runners are probably going to have ups and downs, so you hope all their ups are on the same day because then you’ll look pretty good.”
By Russell KorandoFor the Leader
St. Pius X senior Rita Eimer cracked the 20-minute barrier for the first time with a personal-best 19:24.04 at the Stan Nelson Invitational on Sept. 12.That run convinced her to go for her first Jefferson County Activities Association championship, and on Saturday she met her goal.“I wanted to break 20 minutes in that race (Stan Nelson), but I didn’t think I’d do it by that much,” said Eimer, a three-time Class 2 state qualifier and 2019 state medalist (22nd). None of the girls at Saturday’s JCAA championships at Larry G. Crites Memorial Park finished under 20 minutes, although Eimer wasn’t far off in 20:14.55. She’s the first Lancer in recent memory to win a conference title. Herculaneum’s Nautica Stricklin captured four in a row (2015-2018) and De Soto 2020 graduate Lillie Kaempfe won last fall. With her previous success at state, Eimer’s victory Saturday didn’t catch anyone by surprise.“I’m excited. I was going for it so I’m glad I got there,” Eimer said. “I tried to go out fast and take the lead early. I got a little tired on the hills, but my coach (John Daly) was on the top of each hill telling me to push on. At one point, I wasn’t going to look back and focus on getting farther ahead.”A week before the JCAAs, Eimer was running in second place at the Potosi Invitational, behind Cape Girardeau Notre Dame senior Haley Smith. Trailing by 20 meters with 150 meters to go, Eimer unleashed a ferocious kick to beat Smith (35th in Class 3 last year) by a second in 20:29.77.“She had the lead the entire time and I was trying to not let her get that much distance on me,” Eimer said. “When I started my kick, I started closing in and I got her.”A year ago, Eimer teamed with her sister, Rachel, and cousin, Michaela, to help the Lancers qualify as a team for the Class 2 state meet, where they finished 10th.St. Pius was fourth in the JCAA team competition Saturday with 94 points, one point better than Herculaneum’s 95. Festus, which had held off De Soto by slim margins (42-51 and 41-44) to win the last two conference meets, couldn’t do it a third time as the Dragons earned their first conference title since 1999 with 42 points, two better than the second-place Tigers.“We had talked about it and it was the goal from the beginning of the season,” De Soto head coach Aaron Young said. “We fell just short last season. They wanted to achieve it for the program and each other. It was fantastic.”Led by sophomore Anna Crosby’s second-place finish in 20:37.58, Hillsboro was third with 69 points. Crosby was fourth in the conference last season, but didn’t qualify for the state meet because of a hip injury. “She definitely deserves it and she’s worked really hard,” Crosby said of Eimer. “She was definitely my motivation to work harder every week to beat her. She was going on a quick pace. I tried to close the gap on the hills until I could make my move at the end on the final stretch.”Crosby set a PR of 20:05 at the Ed White Invitational this year.The final turn on the course at Crites Memorial Park is a sharp hook that challenges runners trying to accelerate to the finish chute.“You try to get that perfect position on that final turn so you’re not leaning and you don’t lose time,” Crosby said.De Soto, coming off back-to-back state trophies (fourth in 2018 and second last year), will face Festus again in the Class 4 District 1 meet at Arnold City Park on Oct. 31. Their top runner is junior Kayla Vogelsang, who finished sixth Saturday in 21:03.54.“I was getting back into it, so it was a little difficult,” Vogelsang said about her run. “I had my teammates behind me and I went for it and did what I could. I thought that first or second would crack into the 19:00s. We had a little wind, but not much. I’m not sure why the times weren’t faster.”Vogelsang was 12th at state in 19:26.1 last season. She hopes to help continue her team’s success in Columbia. The Class 4 state girls race is Nov. 6 at 8:30 a.m.“We’re hoping we can do what we did last year or better. We’re going all out for it,” Vogelsang said.Senior Erika Mellor (seventh, 21:19.43) and junior Riley Petsch (eighth, 21:26.44) were the next two De Soto finishers. Junior Taylor Ficke, who transferred from Grandview after running at state for the Eagles last season, finished 12th for the Dragons on Saturday.“She’s such a fantastic young lady with an awesome personality and she’s a beast,” Young said about Ficke. “She’s been working hard every single day. She will only get better the more she trains and works.”Young said when track and field season was canceled last spring because of COVID-19, Mellor began organizing informal workouts for the Dragons.“Erika has taken over leadership-wise,” he said. “She was a leader of getting kids and holding everyone accountable and providing transportation for the younger runners. She wants to break 20 minutes and be that leader on the course.”Festus finished second Saturday despite having five of the top 15 finishers. The White sisters, sophomore Dari and senior Demi, placed third and 10th, clocking 20:46.75 and 21:32.32. Junior Alison Faerber was 11th in 21:38.32, followed by sophomore Lauren Hartman (13th in 21:52.66) and freshman Madison Caskanett (15th in 21:58.79). “De Soto had three girls up front. We couldn’t close on them,” Festus head coach Bryant Wright said. “Our younger runners are probably going to have ups and downs, so you hope all their ups are on the same day because then you’ll look pretty good.”