CARTHAGE, Mo. — With six runners finishing in the top 13, the Webb City girls cross country team claimed the team championship at the 47th annual Carthage Invitational on Thursday at the Carthage Golf Course.
The Cardinals finished with a team score of 31, while Mountain Home (46) and Carthage (65) were second and third, respectively, in the team standings.
“I’m just so proud of their effort today,” Webb City coach Dustin Miller said of his girls. “We had a rough day at the SWCCCA Meet last week, so they bounced back. They ran with more confidence today. They’ve put forth the effort, the miles and the time in practice, and they work extremely hard. They needed a meet like this. They ran smart and they ran tough. I’m so proud of them.”
Webb City’s Riley Hawkins and Hally Philpot crossed the line third and fourth, respectively, to pace the Cardinals.
Hawkins finished in 21 minutes, 39 seconds, with Philpot just one second behind.
“Riley and Hally ran really well,” Miller said. “They’ve been pretty close in practice.”
Also for the Cardinals, Abi Street was sixth (22:00), Elliett Capron finished 11th (22:55), Mileah Metcalf was 12th (22:59) and Isabelle Lopez took 13th (23:06).
Mountain Home’s Marcie Cudworth (20:39) and Rylee Patterson (21:13) finished first and second, respectively.
CARTHAGE RESULTS
Lauren Wilson and Kimberly Hernandez led the host Tigers by finishing eighth and ninth, respectively. Wilson crossed the line at 22:45, with Hernandez close behind at 22:51.
“Those two both ran really tough,” Carthage coach Andy Youngworth said of Wilson and Hernandez. “All of our girls ran tough. We only get on this course once a year, so it’s still new to a lot of them. It’s also the only course that’s hilly. Everything else is flat.”
Carthage’s Keysli Elias was 17th in 23:20, Hadley McBride finished 23rd with a time of 24:15 and Morelia Reyes was 24th in 24:16.
Youngworth noted he always looks forward to the annual event.
“This is a true cross country meet,” he said. “I appreciate the parks and rec and the golf course giving us this site for a day and a half. It’s a unique environment and this event dates back to the 1970s. It’s been a good day.”
CARL JUNCTION RESULTS
Carl Junction took fourth as a team after scoring 100 points.
“I think we kind of struggled a little today,” Bulldogs coach Kyla Walnofer said. “With kids being out because of quarantine stuff, it has been kind of rough, but I think we did well with everything we’ve been going through.”
“We need some more mental toughness with harder courses to get out of our comfort zone a little bit,” Walnofer added. “This is one of those courses that kind of shows them where they are at.”
Hannah Franks was the top finisher for the Bulldogs, finishing in 10th place in a time of 22:51. Riley Briggs placed 25th in a time of 24:25.
“Hannah Franks and Riley Briggs work really hard, and they stepped up today (with Ally Montez out),” Walnofer said. “They finished really well.”
Alexis Carpenter (25:07), Olivia Wallner (25:32) and Sadie Burchett (25:43) finished 29th, 30th and 31st.
Audrey Fletcher placed 33rd in a time of 26:14, while Bailey Feken finished in 35th in a time of 26:54.
Note: Lucas Davis contributed to this story.
CARTHAGE INVITATIONAL
GIRLS
Team Standings
Webb City 31, Mountain Home 46, Carthage 65, Carl Junction 100, Glendale 104. Incomplete teams: Bolivar, Springfield Central, Hillcrest, Reeds Spring.
Top 15 runners
1, Marcie Cudworth, Mountain Home, 20:39; 2, Rylee Patterson, Mountain Home, 21:13; 3, Riley Hawkins, Webb City, 21:39; 4, Hally Philpot, Webb City, 21:40; 5, Rebaccah Loya, Hillcrest, 21:54; 6, Abi Street, Webb City, 22:00; 7, Avery Baker, Central, 22:30; 8, Lauren Wilson, 22:45; 9, Kimberly Hernandez, Carthage, 22:51; 10, Hannah Franks, Carl Junction, 22:51; 11, Elliett Capron, Webb City, 22:55; 12, Mileah Metcalf, Webb City, 22:59; 13, Isabelle Lopez, Webb City, 23:06; 14, Lillian Griffith, Glendale, 23:11; 15, Jordan Ritenburg, Mountain Home, 23:12.
FULL RESULTS: Carthage Invitational Cross Country Meet
