COLUMBIA, Mo. — With a strong finish, McAuley Catholic junior Michael Parrigon crossed the line first at the Father Tolton Cross Country Invitational on Saturday at Gans Creek.
Parrigon won the varsity boys 5K with a time of 16:43, 10 seconds ahead of Fatima’s Michael Gabelsberger.
“Michael took the lead after the 3K and PR’d by a minute from last year’s race,” McAuley coach Andy Youngworth said.
McAuley sophomore Trae Veer finished 17th in 17:54.
Also for the Warriors, Will Mollnow was 42nd in 18:49 and Connor Taffner took 67th in 19:50.
“Trae Veer and Will Mollnow had career PR’s and Connor Taffner did a great job as well, running close to a PR,” Youngworth noted.
Also competing for McAuley’s boys were Max Anreder (113th), Cliff Nolan (115th) and Grant Horinek (118th).
The Warriors finished seventh out of 18 teams with 208 points.
The top four teams were Centralia (65), Fatima (66), Father Tolton (121) and Southern Boone County (128).
In the varsity girls race, McAuley senior Kendall Ramsey finished 18th with a time of 21:55 and freshman Olivia Parrigon finished 22nd in 22:06.
Also competing for the McAuley girls were Marbellie Villanueva (84th), Samantha Perrin (99th) and Riley Sears (105th).
“Kendall Ramsey and Olivia Parrigon both competed well in a field that was stacked with Class 3, Class 4 and Class 5 schools,” Youngworth said. “Marbellie, Sam and Riley ran great as well.”
Father Tolton had the top four individuals in the girls race, led by Elyse Wilmes’ first-place finish in 18:20.
The top four girls teams were Father Tolton (20), Blair Oaks (99), Fatima (101) and Osage (142).
Youngworth added he was pleased with the performance of both teams, adding running on the state meet course is always a good experience.
“Both teams had great performances at Father Tolton in what we hope will be a dry run for the state meet in November,” Youngworth said. “We ran at the 50th Carthage Invitational on Thursday and I knew we would be a little dead legged, but they fought through that and competed well.”
McAuley Catholic will be among the numerous schools competing at next Saturday’s Southern Stampede.
FULL RESULTS: TRXC Timing
