Day: September 16, 2023

The Southern Stampede brings out the best in Joplin High School senior Ian Horton. 

For the second straight year, Horton recorded a personal-best time at the annual cross country gathering.

Competing in the Green Division, Horton crossed the line third overall with a new personal-best time of 15 minutes, 23 seconds on Saturday morning at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course on the campus of Missouri Southern State University.

“I’m really happy,” Horton said. “It’s still early in the season and I was just two seconds off the school record. I have a lot of training left, so I feel like I’m in a good spot. And I PR’d by 20 seconds today. My previous PR (15:42) was here last year…so about 20 seconds faster this year.”

In the annual event’s large school division, the only runners to finish ahead of Horton were Blue Springs’ Keagan Enicks (15:14) and Nixa’s Aaron Ashley (15:19).

“Going into the race, one of my coaches told me to hang and bang,” Horton said. “I wanted to hang with the top group, not leave too early, and just go from there.  

“I love this course, too, it’s basically a home meet for us,” Horton added. “And we had great weather. It was just a great competitive environment with all the fans here. It was a great day to race.” 

Horton, who finished 16th at last year’s Class 5 state cross country championships, said Saturday’s performance was one to remember. He added the showing is something he’ll look to build on, as well.

“I’m pretty confident I can get the school record,” Horton said. “I’m feeling really fit right now and I’m feeling confident.”

Horton wasn’t the only Joplin athlete to have a good day.

Joplin junior Chance Tindall finished 16th in 15:55, giving the Eagles a pair of runners in the top 20, both of whom recorded a time under 16 minutes.

Eagles junior Grey Edwards was Joplin’s third finisher, crossing the line 73rd.

The JHS boys finished 17th in the team standings for first-year head coach Dora Eastin, who replaced Dustin Dixon this fall.

In the Green Division’s girls race, Joplin senior Katherine Schaefer finished ninth with a time of 19:03.

Schaefer is a newcomer to the JHS program. Schaefer previously attended Hollister, where she earned a pair of state medals at last spring’s Class 3 state track meet by finishing fifth in both the 800 and 1600.

Joplin’s tandem of senior Averi Burks and freshman Kyrie Britton were 96th and 97th, respectively.

STEVENS, HEDGER LEAD WEBB CITY 

The second local finisher after Joplin’s Horton in the boys race was Webb City senior Evan Stevens, who finished 15th with a time of 15:53.

Webb City coach Dustin Miller noted Stevens is not currently at full-strength.

“Evan is battling an injury,” Webb City coach Dustin Miller said. “He could have won today if he was healthy. But his injury didn’t allow that. That’s OK. It’s hard to tamper those expectations when you think you should be winning a bunch of races, but you can’t. But I thought Evan competed well for us today.”

Webb City senior Mason Hedger finished 34th in 16:15. Also for the Cardinals, sophomore Andrew Dawson took 50th.

The Cardinals finished sixth in the team standings.

“I’m really proud of Mason Hedger and Andrew Dawson,” Miller noted. “Andrew ran a monster race today. Our pack guys ran pretty well, we just have to close it up a little.” 

In the girls race, Webb City sophomore Brooke Hedger finished 15th in 19:12, while senior Emily Countryman was 34th in 19:50.

Webb City’s freshman duo of Emma McKinzie and Olivia Klotz finished 85th and 86th.

“I’m really proud of Brooke Hedger,” Coach Miller said. “She ran faster than expected today. She is really turning into a solid No. 1 runner for us. Emily Countryman has been solid, and our freshmen are learning how to race. And I know they’re going to get better throughout the season.”

The Webb City girls were ninth in the standings. 

“For the middle of the season, and with a really hard training cycle right now, I’m proud of our guys and our girls,” Miller said. “And I look forward to seeing us progress the rest of the season.” 

THIS ‘N THAT 

The huge meet featured a large number of local squads. 

Carthage’s Eddy Fuentes finished 59th in the boys race in 16:34 and Carl Junction’s Jack Lawson took 78th in 16:41. Carson Newell was Neosho’s top finisher (97th).

Nixa won the team title on the boys side.

On the girls side, Carl Junction’s top performer was Marissa Newman (143rd), while Carthage was led by Jennifer Rodas (153rd).

Harrisonville’s Kayleigh Norris was the girls medalist in 17:43. Rogers, Arkansas, won the girls team title.

There were 341 runners in the boys race and 270 runners in the girls race.

SOUTHERN STAMPEDE FULL RESULTS: http://www.milesplit.live/meets/569796

Well aware of his surroundings, East Newton senior Chase Sorrell looked right at home on the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course on Saturday morning.

A varsity veteran who has competed on the MSSU course for several years, Sorrell won the Southern Stampede’s Gold Division boys race with a time of 15 minutes, 40 seconds.

“I like the course here a lot,” Sorrell said. “It’s pretty fast with the curves and hills. You can really use the hills. And I like one lap better than two lap courses. I’m happy. I was fresh today, and this was something I’d marked on my calendar. I’m happy I was able to go out and finish No. 1.”

Sorrell went to the front early in the race and held off El Dorado Springs freshman Wyatt Klaiber down the stretch. Klaiber was the runner-up in 15:45.

“I went out and tried to see where the first pack was and I was going to hold on there until I made my move,” Sorrell said. 

Sorrell finished 34th in last year’s large school division at this event. This year, he competed against schools of East Newton’s size and captured the gold.

Sorrell, who finished third at last fall’s Class 3 state cross country meet, noted he has big goals for his senior season.

“I’m hoping to get in the top three at state again this year,” Sorrell said. “That’s my goal.”

Also of note, Chase’s older brother Kelton is a member of the Missouri Southern cross country and track program.

PARRIGON, RAMSEY LEAD MCAULEY CATHOLIC

McAuley Catholic had a solid showing in the Gold Division, which featured smaller high schools from the region.

McAuley junior Michael Parrigon finished sixth in the boys race with a time of 16:20.

After the race, Parrigon noted he crushed his previous personal-best time.

“I PR’d by 18 seconds, so I’m happy,” Parrigon said. “The race started out really fast, so I knew I needed to go at my own pace. It’s a tough course for sure…very loopy, a lot of rolling hills and cutbacks. You have to push it on the downhills and never let the guys in front of you get too far ahead. You just have to compete.”

“I feel really good about how Michael ran today,” McAuley Catholic coach Andy Youngworth said. “He ran really well at Father Tolton last week and he’s won two meets this year. I knew this would be a very good field today, so I knew it would be tough to win with some of the kids who are here. But Michael ran a 16:20, so I feel pretty good about him.”

Parrigon also plays soccer, so he’s been juggling both sports this fall. 

“It’s hard, it feels like my legs are never fresh,” Parrigon said. “We had two soccer matches this week. You get banged up in every game. But once I get out there on the course, the adrenaline kicks in and you don’t really feel any pain. 

“Our cross country team has high goals,” Parrigon added. “We put in a lot of miles this summer. We trophied as a team last year, and we want to finish even higher this year.” 

“Balancing two sports is tough,” Youngworth added. “He’s balancing both sports really well. He’s having a great soccer season. The biggest concern is injury. But it doesn’t do any good to worry about that. But he’s doing well in both sports…he’s definitely running well.”

After Parrigon, McAuley’s second finisher was Trae Veer, who finished 36th in 17:43.  

The Warriors finished 15th in the team standings.

“Trae Veer ran really well,” Youngworth noted. “Our pack guys struggled a little bit. There’s been some sickness floating around. Overall, it wasn’t a bad day. Right now, we just don’t have a lot of depth.”

On the girls side, McAuley senior Kendall Ramsey crossed the line 22nd in 20:43 and freshman Olivia Parrigon was 28th in 21:06.

“I thought our girls ran well, everybody PR’d for the season,” Youngworth said. “Kendall broke 21 minutes for the first time in her career. Kendall medaled and Olivia wasn’t too far behind her. The other three girls ran their best times of the year. We’re young, with just one senior. They have to keep working. And three of the five girls play volleyball and they had five volleyball matches this week and they have a tournament today. But they’ve handled it really well. I’ve tried to be smart about how I handle that and I’ve tried to give them some days off to just worry about volleyball.” 

THIS ‘N THAT  

In other notable finishes in the boys race, Jasper’s Leland Harris was 35th, College Heights Christian’s Colton McMillan finished 43rd, East Newton’s Nicholas Schaeffer was 45th, Thomas Jefferson’s Braden Honeywell-Lynch finished 51st and CHC’s Owen Horton was 53rd. Thomas Jefferson’s second finisher was Liam Cook (65th).

Potosi won the boys team crown.

Pierce City’s Emma Hunt was the medalist in the girls race with a time of 19:12. She finished eight seconds ahead of Webster Groves’ Parker Allen.

East Newton’s Brooklyn Blachard finished 41st, Mount Vernon’s Rylee Simons was 43rd, Nevada’s Brynley Hedges took 53rd, College Heights Christian’s Jesalin Bever finished 69th and teammate Marla Anderegg was 73rd. 

Aurora’s Drew Mayes was 71st, Thomas Jefferson’s Macie Shifferd finished 80th, CHC’s Lilly Royer was 83rd and Sarcoxie’s Laney Dorris was 84th.

Webster Groves won the girls team title. 

FULL RESULTS: http://www.milesplit.live/meets/569796