When the six seniors who ran their last race Saturday for the Festus boys cross country team were freshmen, head coach Bryant Wright had a message for them.
“I told them they had a chance to be one of the best teams we’ve ever had and they stuck with me,” Wright said.
Seniors Brendan Pratt, Noah Hunter, Drew Faerber, Charlie Samarzich, Ross Baumer and Matthew Thomas took Wright’s advice to heart. Along with sophomore Max McDaniel, the Tigers scored 56 points and won their third straight Class 3 championship at the Oak Hills Golf Center Saturday in Jefferson City.
“I’ve watched them grow up,” Wright said Saturday as he prepared to lead his team back to the podium to accept the program’s fifth state title. “That’s what’s cool about it.”
Springfield Catholic junior Stephen Kielhofner outran defending Class 3 champion Ben Naeger of Ste. Genevieve to take first place in 15:36.61, 12 seconds ahead of Naeger. McDaniel finished fourth (16:13.48) for the second straight season.
“I didn’t race the way I wanted to,” McDaniel said. “I was about 10 seconds slow on the first mile.”
Pratt (ninth place, 16:23.93) was the next Tiger to cross the finish line. He was followed by Hunter (13th, 16:29.08), Faerber (21st, 16:40.95), Samarzich (26th, 16:43.82), Baumer (27th, 16:44.85), and Thomas (36th, 17:09.02).
Ste. Genevieve had three of the top seven runners – seniors Schuyler and Nathaniel Ogden were sixth and seventh respectively – but still finished 12 points off the pace for the team title.
“We knew (Ste. Genevieve) had a great team,” Faerber said. “They always do. We’re always close to each other. We just wanted to race and give 100 percent. If we do that and they beat us, they deserve to.”
Faerber finished 26th at state last year, one spot shy of all-state honors. He had one thing on his mind Saturday.
“Don’t finish 26th,” he said. “And win that state medal. That’s what drove me at the end.”
Baumer missed winning an individual state medal by two places – an amazing performance considering the tall senior had never run cross country before this season.
Baumer, previously known as a baseball player for Festus High and the Festus Post 253 American Legion team, said he decided to go out for cross country after he broke his wrist playing ball earlier this year. He said he wasn’t intimidated by the Tigers’ status as a cross country powerhouse.
“It’s an awesome feeling,” Baumer said after he and his teammates found out they had won state again. “We’ve been training for this the whole season. It’s a good feeling to make (Wright) proud.”
“Ross wanted to be good,” Wright said. “He shows up to race every day, and he’ll give you 100 percent and that’s all I can ask.”
With two top-five finishes, McDaniel said he realizes he’ll have to become more of a leader next season because of so many seniors leaving.
“I’ve learned a whole lot of leadership skills from my teammates,” McDaniel said. “Coach Wright really straightened me out. I was kind of a goofball, but he made me a better person and made me faster.”
The other medal winner from the county in Class 3 was Herculaneum freshman Jonathon Coffman, who finished 15thin 16:33.39. Blackcat junior Loki Cortner came in 34th in 17:06.97.
“(Coffman) had a tremendous season,” Herculaneum head coach Kyle Davis said. “Loki battled injuries and sickness this year and it caught up with him today.”
De Soto senior Cole Koch was the other Class 3 boys runner from the county. He finished 46th in 17:21.78.
In Class 4, senior Luke Allison and juniors Kevin Koester and Colton Vaughn ran for Hillsboro. Koester was 31st (16:20.12), Allison 79th (16:52.88) and Vaughn 80th (16:53.42).
Jefferson seniors Garrett Kassen and Jacob Letendre finished 43rd (18:04.55) and 108th (19:07.25) respectively in Class 2 and Crystal City junior Devin Friedmeyer was the only county representative in the Class 1 boys race, placing 140th in 20:37.84.