COLUMBIA, Mo. — On a memorable day for the Joplin High School cross country program, Hobbs Campbell broke the school record for a 5K and the Eagles finished fourth in the top division at the Gans Creek Classic.
A junior, Campbell crossed the finish line in 15 minutes, 39.9 seconds on Saturday. He placed 17th in the Gold Division while taking over the top spot in the JHS record book. Andrew Beard ran a 15:46 at the Chile Pepper Festival in 2001.
Athletes from Joplin and Webb City competed in the Gold Division, which featured large schools from the state.
On the same course that will host the state championships, Joplin’s boys finished fourth in the team standings with 218 points. The top three teams were Festus (105), Rock Bridge (105) and Kickapoo (136).
“There were 101 teams in attendance and we finished fourth among most of Missouri’s best teams,” Joplin coach Dustin Dixon said. “We’re making steps in the right direction.”
Also competing for the Eagles were Evan Matlock (34th), Nicholas Horton (52nd), Ian Horton (60th), Zaben Barnes (69th), Chance Tindall (202nd) and Max Russell (238th).
Webb City finished 18th in the standings.
Leading the Cardinals were Dustin Brockmiller (42nd) and Roman Borboa (63rd). Also running for Webb City were Evan Stevens (88th), Jose Banda-Antillon (168th), Blake Vaughan (170th), Mason Hedger (174th), Samuel Weller (212th) and Daunte Smiles (281st).
GIRLS GOLD DIVISION
In the girls race, Webb City’s Abi Street placed 17th with a time of 19:03.
Joplin’s Jennalee Dunn finished 28th in 19:31, Webb City’s Riley Hawkins was 30th in 19:39 and Joplin’s Allie Keizer finished 47th in 20:01.
Also competing for Webb City were Alanna Bundy (98th), Isabelle Lopez (136th), Lauren Kuechler (160th) and Elliett Capron (183rd).
Also running for Joplin’s girls were Sage Mitchell (96th), Jackaline Triplett (161st), Meridyth Mai (171st), Avery Burks (172nd) and Masyn Briggs (173rd).
Webb City finished 17th in the team standings and Joplin was 20th. The top three teams were St. Teresa’s Academy, Rock Bridge and Lafayette (Wildwood).
More than 2,000 runners competed in the event’s 10 races.
FULL RESULTS: Gans Creek Classic (HS) (pttiming.com)
