COLUMBIA, Mo. — Joplin’s Jennalee Dunn earned all-state recognition by finishing 18th in Class 5 at Saturday’s MSHSAA Cross Country Championships at Gans Creek Cross Country Course.
A junior, Dunn toured the 5-kilometer course in 19 minutes, 11 seconds.
Dunn got out fast, as she was in sixth place at the 1,000-meter mark. Dunn was in 13th place after 2,000 meters and was in 16th at the 4K mark.
The top 25 runners are recognized as all-state.
Two other girls from Joplin competed.
Freshman Allie Keizer finished 50th with a time of 19:58. Keizer passed eight runners in the final 1,000 meters. Sophomore Sage Mitchell was 124th in 20:58.
Liberty-Wentzville’s Ally Kruger took first in 18:03.
In addition to Dunn, three other runners from the region earned all-state honors. Kickapoo’s Klarie Brown finished 11th (18:51), Republic’s Mihane Nambara took 21st (19:23) and Nixa’s Alicen Ashley was 25th (19:31).
Lafayette (Wildwood) was the team champion with 80 points and Parkway West was second with 89.
CLASS 5 BOYS
Joplin’s boys finished 12th in the Class 5 team standings.
No Joplin-area runners were able to earn all-state honors (top 25).
Joplin sophomore Hobbs Campbell was the top local finisher with a 34th place showing with a time of 16:30.
Also for the Eagles, Evan Matlock was 51st (16:41), Micah Bruggeman was 76th (16:56), Ian Horton took 100th (17:20), Zaben Barnes finished 128th (17:38), Nicholas Horton was 131st (17:43) and Ashton Ventura finished 150th (18:22).
Carthage had two runners compete. Tigers junior Mariques Strickland finished 62nd in 16:46, while senior Malcolm Robertson was 94th (17:14).
Rock Bridge’s Matthew Hauser was the winner in 15:34. Kickapoo’s Tyler Harris took fourth in 15:46.
Rock Bridge won the team championship with 109 points.
Note: Look for a separate story on Saturday’s Class 1 races.
