CARTHAGE, Mo. — Abi Street and Evan Stevens were both all alone as they approached the finish line in their respective races at the 49th annual Carthage Invitational.
The Webb City duo claimed individual championships in convincing fashion on Thursday at the Carthage Golf Course.
The pair of Cardinals cruised to first place finishes in their 5K competitions, as there were no other runners close by when they finished touring the course.
A senior, Street won the girls race in 19 minutes, 40 seconds, nearly two minutes faster than the runner-up, as Rogers’ Olivia Davis crossed the line at 21:23.
“I felt good today and our team did really well as a whole,” Street said. “There’s a lot of good girls here, so I’ll be honest, I was pretty nervous. I stuck with my game plan and I just ran my race. I always hope to do as well as I can. I don’t really realize that I’m all alone at the end because I’m just zoned in. I don’t really pay attention to that. I just try to race my race.”
Street went to the front early in the race and continued to pull away from the competition.
“Abi had some company for the first kilometer or so and that was great,” Webb City coach Dustin Miller said. “Then she was solo once again by the end of the race. Abi is really fit right now. Hopefully next week at MSSU Abi will get to showcase her skills against some solid girls. I know she’ll be ready to go, so it will be interesting to see how she does there.”
Street is now 2-for-2 this fall, as she cruised to a first place finish at last Saturday’s SWCCCA Invitational in Bolivar in 19:07. She won that race by 20 seconds.
“I’m excited about the start to the season,” said Street, who placed fifth at last year’s Class 4 state meet. “I think our team will be really strong this season. Our freshmen are really stepping up and that’s motivating me, too.”
Street wasn’t the only local runner to perform well on a warm Thursday.
Webb City’s Brooke Hedger finished fifth in 22:31, while Carthage’s Maggie Boyd took sixth in 23:05 and Webb City’s Rachel Miller placed ninth in 23:31.
Carl Junction’s Alexis Carpenter finished 13th, Webb City’s Kristina Bundy placed 15th and Carl Junction’s Audrey Fletcher and Delaney Harris were 16th and 17th.
Webb City’s Holly Capron finished 18th, Carl Junction’s Sadie Burchett placed 20th, Webb City’s Emily Countryman was 21st, CJ’s Klohe Burk took 24th and Carthage’s Katy Witherspoon placed 25th.
There were 50 runners in the girls race.
With four runners in the top 15, Webb City was the girls team champion with 35 points.
“We had three freshmen score for us today and sophomore Rachel Miller PR’d today on this course,” Coach Miller said. “She’s a monster and she has dedicated herself to the training. She has a positive mindset and it shows. Bundy, Hedger and Capron are starting to figure things out, so I’m proud of them. Our girls got out well, which was our big emphasis. We competed well and put ourselves in a position to get the team win. That’s exciting for us.”
Rogers (41) and Carl Junction (68) finished second and third in the team standings. Glendale (107) and Carthage (110) rounded out the standings, as Springfield Central, Hillcrest, Parkview, Willard and Thomas Jefferson did not have full squads competing.
STEVENS SHINES
Webb City’s Evan Stevens is off to a great start to his junior season.
Stevens went to the front right away and never looked back on the way to a first place win on Thursday.
Stevens toured the course in 16:46. The runner-up, Willard’s Nolan Hansen, finished in 17:23.
“Overall, I thought I ran all right,” Stevens said. “I went out a little fast and faded on the hills a little bit, but I guess that’s to be expected. I went to the front right away and wanted to make people race me. It feels good to be all alone like that at the end. It makes me feel like I came out and did my job. It’s always awesome to finish first.”
The individual win comes after Stevens placed third overall at last weekend’s SWCCCA invite in Bolivar.
“Evan had a great day,” Miller said. “He’s fit. I’m really excited to see what he can do next week with some top athletes competing at Missouri Southern. We’ll see if he can hang with some of those guys. There were some great athletes competing here today, too.”
After Stevens and Hansen, Webb City’s Mason Hedger finished third in 17:31.
“Mason went out harder than he did last week, and it paid huge dividends for him,” Miller said. “He had a shot at second, but Nolan held him off. I’m really proud of Mason. He’s figuring out how to race.”
Thomas Jefferson’s Kip Atteberry was fourth with a time of 17:40, Carthage’s Caleb Fewin finished seventh in 18:11, Carl Junction’s Jack Lawson placed eighth in 18:20 and Carthage’s duo of Miguel Solano (18:23) and Eddy Fuentes (18:25) finished ninth and 10th, respectively.
Also, Carthage’s Michael Lanyon and Devin Smith finished 17th and 23rd, Webb City’s Dakota Grove was 26th, Carl Junction’s Alexander Allison took 28th and Webb City’s Andrew Dawson was 30th.
There were 73 runners in the boys race.
Carthage (60), Rogers (62) and Webb City (77) were the top three teams. See a related story on Carthage’s team victory.
Willard (84), Glendale (86), Carl Junction (153) and Springfield Central (173) rounded out the top seven.
Miller noted his squad’s finish in the standings will provide extra motivation going forward.
“I was really proud of the way the guys got out,” Miller said. “Our back end, our No. 3-4-5, they got out well but didn’t move up. We had some self-doubt creep in. We didn’t perform well in the last mile and it showed. We deserved to get beat today. It’s unfortunate, but it’s early in the year and we’ll learn, and we’ll be better.”
TJ’S ATTEBERRY FARES WELL IN ’22 DEBUT
Competing against athletes from much larger schools, Thomas Jefferson’s Kip Atteberry fared well on Thursday, placing fourth in 17:40.
“I’m always more interested in my time and I wasn’t super happy with it today,” Atteberry said. “This is a tough course. And this is my first 5K of the season. I was unhappy with my time, but I’m very happy with my place. That’s a lot better than I did last year.”
Atteberry finished fourth at last year’s Class 1 state meet and earned all-state honors in three events at last May’s state track meet. With that, Atteberry has the goals set high for his senior campaign.
To Atteberry, Thursday’s performance is a solid starting point.
“It’s a pretty good start to the season,” Atteberry added. “I’m almost a minute faster than I was here last year. And I’m pretty excited about this season. I have big goals in mind.”
Atteberry will be among the local athletes who will compete at the Southern Stampede on Sept. 13 at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course. Squads from Webb City, Carthage and Carl Junction will also compete at MSSU’s annual event.
CARTHAGE INVITATIONAL RESULTS: Carthage Invitational 2022 – Meet Results (milesplit.com)
