The bump up to Class 3 didn’t derail the Herculaneum girls cross country team’s plans on attaining a state record Saturday in Jefferson City.
The Blackcats finished fourth (139 points) at the Oak Hills Golf Center and tied a state record with their 13th consecutive finish in the top four. That ties Herky with another state powerhouse in the sport, West Plains, which had 13-year streaks on both the boys side (1984-1996) and girls (1988-2000). The Blackcats finished second in Class 2 the last two seasons. Bolivar won the Class 3 title Saturday with 80 points.
“We talk about our strong tradition all the time,” said Herculaneum head coach Kyle Davis, who finished his fifth season with the team. “It’s been my job to keep it going. I felt a little pressure to maintain what the (coaches) did before me. I felt like the girls ran for that tradition more than for themselves today.”
Davis said standing on the podium Saturday was the team’s goal all year.
“We knew we’d be in the mix with the other (three teams),” he said, “Our four, five, six and seven runners closed the door for us in the last mile.”
And sophomore Nautica Stricklin opened the door to what should be two more medal-winning seasons with the Blackcats after finishing fifth with a personal-best time of 19:23.53. Stricklin, the JCAA champion this fall, finished fifth in Class 2 last year.
“It feels really good. I’m happy,” Stricklin said right after the race. “I feel like I could have got top-three, but I went out too fast and that was a big thing.”
Stricklin exudes confidence and Davis said the bigger the stage, the brighter she performs on it.
“I call it natural ability,” Davis said. “She has a crazy talent for staying relaxed. If she’s ever nervous, she does a good job of hiding it, usually behind some off-the-wall joke. And that’s been good for the rest of the girls.”
Senior Danielle Prince, who finished third in Class 2 last year, was four seconds slower Saturday, but capped her career with an eighth-place finish in 19:36.52 – her third straight all-state performance. She was 33rd as a freshman in 2013 and fifth in 2014.
“Danielle’s whole career has been marked by unbelievable consistency,” Davis said. “She will be sorely missed because she’s a quiet leader who sets the tone.”
Sophomore Emily Enghauser, fourth last season at state, won her second state medal by finishing 22nd in 19:57.97.
Festus senior Lily Uding had the best finish (seventh) and time (19:29.66) Saturday of her three state medal-winning runs. Uding was a part of the Tigers’ state champion squad in 2014. The Festus girls haven’t recorded a team score the past two seasons.
“I told (the team) to go out with a question mark or an exclamation point and Lily went out with a great race,” Festus head coach Bryant Wright said.
Senior Taylor Cruzado (40th, 20:37.51), freshman Paige Treon (42nd, 20:39.64) and sophomore Allison Payne (48th, 20:46.76) also ran for Festus.
De Soto had two runners in the Class 3 race. Freshman Lillie Kaempfe finished 74th in 21:19.75, and junior Sarah Peoples clocked 21:26.96 to come in 83rd.
Two freshmen from Jefferson County competed in the Class 4 race. Seckman’s Stephanie Anthonies came in 41st in 19:49.54 while Claire Meisch of Northwest was 64th in 20:04.88.
In Class 2, three Jefferson runners qualified for state and one brought home a medal. For the second straight season, sophomore Jordan Heacock earned all-state honors by coming in 22nd, clocking 21:03.57. Her twin sister, Anna Heacock, finished 56th in her first state meet. Freshman Cheney Ervin, in a pleasant surprise for the Blue Jays, was just two spots away from a medal in 27th.
“All three of our girls started back in the pack, but they know how to race because they’re calm and cool,” Jefferson head coach Mollie Rhodes said. “By the one-mile mark they were in good position and they kept fighting from there.”
Rhodes said Jordan Heacock medaled again despite being injured.
“That was exciting for us,” Rhodes said. “We were nervous she wasn’t going to be able to do it because she was hurting. I’m proud of her that she pulled it out.”
Ervin didn’t seem to mind running with the best in the state for the first time.
“Cheney has never experienced anything like this, but the (Heacock twins) race at a high level all of the time,” Rhodes said. “For Cheney to almost medal was amazing. I don’t think there will be any stopping Cheney Ervin next year. I know she’ll get a medal.”
Crystal City’s reign as Class 1 state champion ended Saturday. The odds were stacked against a Hornet repeat when junior Abbegail Holdinghausen was unable to compete because of a hip injury. She was the Hornets’ No. 3 runner last year.
Crystal finished sixth, nine points from a fourth state team trophy.
Two Hornets captured state medals. Senior Abigail Foster, who finished 19th last year, moved up to 17th in 22:02.51. Sophomore Emma Shirley was 24 seconds behind her in 25th, capturing the last medal and all-state recognition.
“We ran here a month ago, and our first three beat those times,” Crystal City head coach Ken Jones said. “They did what they needed to do, but the other teams ran well too. (Summit Prep) finished second to us last year, and if we’re not going to get it, I hope they do because that’s a special team.”
Summit Prep, a Jefferson City school, won the Class 1 race with 66 points, 14 ahead of 2014 champion Salisbury.