With 24 state championships between them, the boys (13) and girls (11) cross country teams at Herculaneum High are capable each year at adding to their trophy case.
At Gans Creek in Columbia last November, the Blackcat girls finished second in the state in Class 3, while the boys were pushed off the podium – the top four teams – for the first time since 2020. The Herculaneum boys won their last state title in 2021 but were eighth last fall.
As if the Blackcats needed any extra motivation to start a season, all they have to do is look a few miles away at Festus, their rivals in the Jefferson County Activities Association. In terms of combined state titles in the county, the Tigers can boast they’re second with 14.
Head coach Kyle Davis has led both Blackcat teams to state crowns (the girls won in 2012). He said when he was out of town, the boys and girls teams did a mass workout at a local gym. After they were done, they went to a restaurant where the Festus girls were having a fundraiser. Davis and Festus girls head coach Wes Armbruster are as good friends outside of their sport as they are when the gun sounds and the race begins. The Tigers are the defending Class 4 and JCAA champions.
“Usually, it’s us chasing (Festus) but they’ve made us better,” Davis said. “The beauty of cross country is there’s a little more camaraderie than in other sports.”
Davis understands the historic importance each season offers.
“Our baseline goal this year is the podium,” he said. “Both of our teams want to go after it all.
“It goes with the territory here. When you have a program that has the intense history that we do, you don’t want to lower the bar. There’s no such thing as a rebuilding year here. You have to be instantly ready to contribute while at the same time staying grounded and enjoying the sport and each other.”
With 113 points, Herculaneum was a distant second to defending state champion St. Charles West, which scored 51. Teams are allowed to bring 10 runners to the state meet. Seven of those compete and the top five scores count toward the team score. Of the 10 Blackcats that went to state last year, only one (Madison Roberts) was a senior.
The top four Blackcat runners appear to be set going into the first day of practice Monday. Running as a freshman in 2024, Amaya Ferguson was the top state finisher for Herculaneum in 17th in 20:33.6. The top 30 runners are awarded all-state medals. Juniors Finley Hamtil (23rd, 20:40.9) and Emerson Reeves (26th, 20:48.1) were all-state for the Blackcats. Davis’s daughter, senior Claira Davis (38th, 21:17.9) looks to crack the top 30 this year.
“We’ve got three or four girls that are fighting for the fifth spot,” Kyle said. “The girls really want to win. They’ve got everybody back. They don’t want to be second. We’ve been the best we could be several times at state and finished second. It wouldn’t be overachieving in my mind for the boys to win it all. We’re going to see if they know what it takes to get it done.
“The girls psychologically are super tough. The boys physiologically are very talented. They’ve got to get tougher. That’s a cliché but if there’s ever been any time in my 14 years I’ve had to use that it’s now. They’re committed to each other and committed to train.”
The Herculaneum boys state roster was also maxed out, but the biggest subtraction is 2025 graduate Nate Wright, the team leader for years and two-time state medal winner. A freshman that was part of the Blackcat state champion in 2021, Wright has signed to run at Pittsburg State University in Kansas. Wright is the nephew of Festus boys head coach Bryant Wright.
“He leaves a giant legacy,” Davis said. “These guys looked up to him. He gave them something high to aim for. They miss him and have been trying to get him to come in some evenings and train with them. He’s the standard as far as being a competitor and that’s what these guys have to find.”
Herculaneum has plenty of experience returning. Senior Ethan Grosbauer is a top 3,200-meter runner from the track and field team. Senior Brandon Marshall has been top five since his sophomore year. Senior Nathan Clampet PR’d by over 40 seconds in the 3,200 this spring. Senior Joe Stahl ran at state last year, and sophomore Owen Davis, Kyle’s son, competed at state.
Wright’s absence created a void at No. 1 for the Blackcats. Kyle Davis said freshman Noah Fitzgerald could leap frog right to the top.
“He is a competitive monster,” Kyle said. “If anyone looks like a young Nate Wright, it’s him. He’s not scared of anybody. When the gun goes off, you’re going to get his best. He won every (middle school) race and set every course record last year. He’ll be good for this group. It will be a wakeup call.”
Living up to the standard set at Herculaneum is hard. Juggling new lineups to reach the state level is hard. How about coaching two of your children at the same time.
“It’s a different dynamic than I thought,” Kyle said. “Let’s put it this way, my wife has to often tell me to cool the jets and be dad at home. I grew up with my dad (Steve) as my coach and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. When I went to college, I thought how nice it was to have my dad coach me.”
Both Blackcat teams start off on the two-mile course at the Jackson Invitational on Aug. 30. Their first race on a 3.1-mile course is at the Dexter Invitational on Sept. 6.