Dustin Dixon and the members of the Joplin High School boys cross country team set a number of lofty goals at the beginning of the 2021 season.
Dixon’s Eagles achieved one of those goals on Tuesday night in Nixa.
And for the first time in program history, a boys cross country team from JHS has captured a conference championship.
With four runners finishing in the top 14, Joplin won the Central Ozark Conference Championships at Inman Elementary School.
Joplin finished on top of the standings with 58 points. Branson (89) and Willard (92) were a distant second and third, with Nixa (97) and Webb City (101) next in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
“We set a lot of goals at the start of the season and winning a conference championship was one of them,” Dixon said. “This is the first conference championship in program history of any kind, whether Ozark Conference or COC. We came into tonight pretty confident given how we had run this season. This was our fourth team win of the season and it’s just a testament to the work these boys have done. They had a really great track season last spring and we came into the season with the expectation of winning this meet and contending for a state championship. That’s still the goal. Tonight was the first step in the championship season.”
Webb City had won seven straight conference championships entering the season. But this year, the Eagles would not be denied, as five JHS runners finished in the top 23.
“Our boys ran great,” Dixon said. “The difficulty of winning this conference is a testament to the teams in it. Beating a team like Webb City is no easy task. But we knew we had the pieces this year. We came out and ran well. And they did it tonight. But now we look forward to next weekend’s district championship and state. We’ll see what we can do.”
Joplin was led by Hobbs Campbell’s second place finish. Campbell crossed the line at 15 minutes, 50 seconds. Neosho’s Kaden Cole took first in 15:49, just nipping Campbell for the individual medalist.
Also for the Eagles, Nicholas Horton finished eighth (16:33), while Zaben Barnes took 11th (16:41), Chance Tindall finished 14th (16:52) and Ian Horton was 23rd (17:16).
“Chance stepped up huge and had the race of his life,” Dixon said of the freshman. “We needed him and he showed up.”
Webb City’s Roman Borboa (16:21) and Dustin Brockmiller (16:23) finished fifth and sixth, respectively, while Evan Stevens was 12th (16:45).
Carthage’s Mariques Strickland finished 27th, while Carl Junction’s Collin Emmert and Brock Feken took 30th and 31st.
Carl Junction’s Jack Lawson was 33rd and Webb City’s Mason Hedger finished 34th.
Neosho’s Carson Newell finished 37th and teammate Connor Jordon was 40th.
DUNN LEADS JHS GIRLS TO RUNNER-UP SHOWING
Republic claimed the girls championship with 74 points, followed by Joplin (82), Nixa (87) and Webb City (90).
Dixon was pleased with his team’s showing.
“The girls team has been so disjointed all year,” Dixon said. “We’ve been missing kids at various meets for various reasons. On paper, we were projected to be anywhere from fourth to seventh and they got second place. They nearly defended last year’s title. They ran great.”
Joplin’s Jennalee Dunn was the runner-up with a time of 18:57. Nixa’s Alicen Ashley took first in 18:50.
“Jennalee ran awesome tonight and lowered her school record again,” Dixon said.
Webb City’s duo of Riley Hawkins and Abi Street finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Hawkins crossed the line at 19:10, with Street finishing in 19:37.
Neosho’s Riley Kemna placed eighth in 19:54, while Joplin’s Allie Keizer finished 11th in 20:15.
Webb City’s Alanna Bundy finished 13th, Joplin’s Sage Mitchell was 15th and Neosho’s Chloe Wood took 16th.
Carl Junction’s Alexis Carpenter finished 18th and her teammates Hannah Franks and Sadie Burchett were 21st and 22nd.
Neosho’s Bailey Miller was 23rd, Joplin’s Mairi Beranek finished 24th, Webb City’s Isabelle Lopez took 28th and Joplin’s Averi Burks was 30th.
Carthage’s Katelyn Witherspoon finished 31st and Carl Junction’s Ally Montez was 34th.
Carl Junction’s Bailey Feken placed 38th and Webb City’s Emily Countryman took 40th.
District meets are scheduled for Oct. 30.
COC Cross Country Championships
Boys team standings: Joplin 58, Branson 89, Willard 92, Nixa 97, Webb City 101, Ozark 145, Neosho 172, Republic 190, Carthage 211, Carl Junction 223.
Girls team standings: Republic 74, Joplin 82, Nixa 87, Webb City 90, Ozark 111, Carl Junction 133, Neosho 143, Branson 176, Willard 221, Carthage 261.
FULL RESULTS: COC XC Championship-2021 2021 – Meet Results (milesplit.com)
