The expectations are extremely high for the Joplin High School cross country team this fall.
It’s not hard to see why.
For starters, Joplin returns a solid core from last year’s boys team that competed at the Class 5 state championships after a runner-up finish at the district meet following a third-place showing in the Central Ozark Conference.
“We’d be lying if we said we didn’t have high expectations this season,” Joplin coach Dustin Dixon said. “We’re coming out of a really great spring where we qualified for the state track championships in five different events on the distance side. It was a track season where our boys distance runners scored over half of the team’s total points at the conference meet. So we have really high expectations. We believe this team can vie for a podium spot at the end of the season in Class 5.”
Junior Hobbs Campbell is expected to lead the way for the Eagles. Last fall, Campbell finished 12th at the conference meet, 13th at the district event and 34th at the state meet.
Campbell is coming off a stellar spring, as he placed sixth in the 1,600 at the Class 5 state track meet and was a district champ in both the 1,600 and 3,200.
Three other Eagles are back after placing in the top 17 at last fall’s COC Meet — seniors Zaben Barnes and Evan Matlock and sophomore Ian Horton.
Barnes finished 13th at the conference meet and was seventh at the district meet, while Matlock took 14th at both the COC and district meets and Horton placed 17th at the conference event and 16th at the district meet.
Also back is senior Nicholas Horton. He’s another athlete who gained plenty of varsity experience last year, as he placed 23rd at the district meet.
Campbell, Matlock, Barnes, Ian Horton and Nicholas Horton all competed at last year’s state cross country meet.
“That’s invaluable experience,” Dixon noted. “They know what it’s like to deal with the pressure and expectations of going into a district meet and advancing to state. They competed well and we were pleased with their effort.”
Senior Max Russell and freshman Grey Edwards are two others who are competing for a varsity spot for the Eagles, who must overcome the loss of the graduated Micah Bruggeman.
DUNN WILL LEAD JHS GIRLS
Joplin’s girls also have the goals set high this fall.
The JHS girls return a solid core from last year’s squad that won the Central Ozark Conference Meet and just missed taking a full team to state after finishing third at the district meet.
Of the seven girls who ran at last year’s conference meet, six are back this fall for the Eagles.
Senior standout Jennalee Dunn is expected to be one of the region’s top female distance runners this fall.
Dunn was the runner-up at both the COC and district meets in 2020. She took 18th at state, earning all-state recognition.
Dunn is coming off a stellar track season, as she placed eighth in the 1,600 and 11th in the 800 at May’s state track meet.
“She’s excited for the season and she’s been getting looks from a lot of NCAA Division I programs,” Dixon said, adding Dunn recently visited D-II powerhouse Adams State. “She’s fit, we have high expectations for her and she has high expectations for herself.”
Also back for the JHS girls are returning state qualifiers Sage Mitchell and Allie Keizer.
A junior, Mitchell took 10th at last year’s conference meet and was 12th at the district event before concluding the season alongside the state’s best.
Just a sophomore, Keizer placed 12th at last year’s COC Meet and finished 10th at the district meet before crossing the line 50th at the state meet.
“We have high expectations for Allie and Sage,” Dixon noted. “We’re excited about those three leading the way for our girls team.”
Juniors Mairi Beranek, Cylee Gilreath and Jackaline Triplett also return with prior varsity experience and should contribute nicely this fall.
“We’re trying to defend a conference title on the girls side and we have high expectations all-around for our program,” Dixon said. “Our kids are excited and our kids are ready after putting in good work over the summer. I think all of our kids are just ready to get after it.”
The Eagles will unofficially kick off the season on Aug. 28 with a practice meet at Joplin South Middle School. The races are slated to begin at 9 a.m. Squads from Webb City, Carl Junction and Carthage will also be participating.
