COLUMBIA, Mo. — McAuley Catholic junior Michael Parrigon finished fourth in Class 1 to lead a strong area contingent at the 49th MSHSAA Cross Country Championships on Friday morning at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course.
Parrigon toured the 5K course in 16 minutes, 28 seconds.
Finishing ahead of Parrigon were West Nodaway’s Riley Blay (15:48), Marion C. Early’s Landon Duchscherer (15:55) and Dora’s Cade Nold (16:26). Blay won for the third straight season.
Parrigon’s showing is the best state finish in program history for the McAuley boys. Max Ostmeyer finished 17th in 2016 and Parrigon was 21st last year.
“I thought he could be in the top five,” McAuley Catholic coach Andy Youngworth said. “The kid from Dora is really good. And I’m not going to use this as an excuse, but it’s a fact that Michael played two soccer matches this week, including last night. Max Anreder also had to deal with that. Both ran well. I thought Michael was in a good position for most of the race.”
In addition to Parrigon, three other Joplin area runners finished in the top 30 to earn all-state honors in the Class 1 boys race.
Jasper junior Leland Harris placed 20th in 17:40, while McAuley’s duo of Trae Veer (17:42) and Will Mollnow (17:43) finished 22nd and 23rd, respectively. Veer is a sophomore and Mollnow is just a freshman.
“Will passed 11 or 12 guys in the last 400 meters to medal,” Youngworth noted. “He had a great finish.”
Thomas Jefferson had two athletes competing — freshman Liam Cook finished 34th in 18:03 and junior Braden Honeywell-Lynch was 45th in 18:12.
Also competing for McAuley were Alex Bohachick (102nd), Connor Taffner (111th), Cliff Nolan (137th) and Max Anreder (141st).
The Warriors finished fifth out of 15 teams in the Class 1 standings with 136 points. The top four teams take home a trophy.
For the Warriors, it was a memorable day.
“We had three state medalists and that’s the first time that’s happened in school history,” Youngworth said. “Last year we had two medalists and that was the first time that had happened. I’m really pleased.
“I think the boys were disappointed we took fifth. We were six points away from fourth and nine points away from third. Going in, I felt like there were three or four schools that could finish anywhere from third to sixth. But I thought our kids ran well. We worked really hard this year, from August 7th to today. And that doesn’t include the time in the summer. We put in a lot of time and effort and I think it showed.”
Of note, all of McAuley’s boys will return next season, as there are no seniors on the roster.
Hermitage (74), Van Buren (97), Oak Ridge (127) and Vienna (130) were the top four teams.
There were 170 runners in the boys race.
CLASS 1 GIRLS
Liberal freshman Ally Barton finished third in the Class 1 girls race with a time of 20:17, leading the Bulldogs to a runner-up finish in the team standings.
South Nodaway’s Mya Wray was the Class 1 champion in 19:11 and Stoutland’s Mallory Shaw was the runner-up in 20:15.
Earning all-state recognition with their respective top-30 showings, McAuley Catholic senior Kendall Ramsey finished ninth in 20:46, while Liberal junior Taylor Swarnes was 10th in 20:53 and McAuley freshman Olivia Parrigon placed 11th in 20:56 to give the Warriors five all-state performances on the day.
Liberal’s Abby Barton finished 30th and teammate Bailey Couch was 34th, while Thomas Jefferson’s Macie Shifferd finished 40th and teammate Sarah Mueller was 52nd.
Also competing for McAuley were Riley Sears (69th), Marbellie Villanueva (91st) and Samantha Perrin (129th).
The top four teams were Chadwick (60), Liberal (98), East Carter (112) and Paris (130).
The runner-up showing is the best state finish in school history for the Liberal girls, who were fourth in 2017.
McAuley finished eighth in the standings with 169 points.
“Our girls really had a great meet,” Youngworth said. “We went from 13th last year to eighth this year. Olivia finishing 11th as a freshman is great. It was Kendall’s fourth state appearance and second medal. She actually ran faster this year than last year but finished one place lower this year. There are a lot of good runners in Class 1. I’m proud of all of our girls. Riley Sears had a good day. That’s another freshman who put together some really good workouts and those translated into faster times at the meets. Marbellie and Sam ran well and will both be back. Kendall is our only senior. You can’t replace her. She’s a great kid.”
There were 143 runners and 13 full teams.
CLASS 2 BOYS
Competing in Class 2 on Friday, College Heights Christian sophomore Colton McMillan finished 28th in 17:25 to earn all-state honors. McMillan was the lone area product to earn all-state recognition in the Class 2 boys race.
Also competing for CHC were sophomore Owen Horton (101st) and freshman Connor Jordan (106th).
Diamond’s Wyatt Housh (88th), Purdy’s duo of Jayden Griffis (104th) and Logan Manwarren (105th) and Pierce City’s Joseph Leavitt (132nd) also competed.
Woodland’s Reed Layton was the Class 2 champion in 16:25.
The top four teams were Woodland (96), KC Lutheran (137), New Covenant (168) and North Platte (175).
There were 169 runners and 16 full teams.
CLASS 2 GIRLS
Pierce City sophomore Emma Hunt finished 12th in the Class 2 girls race with a time of 20:16. Hunt was the lone local runner to earn a top-30 finish in the Class 2 girls race.
Also competing from the region were Sarcoxie’s Laney Dorris (72nd), Pierce City’s Lauren Blackburn (83rd), Purdy’s Courtney Patterson (86th), Sarcoxie’s Ariel Wilson (95th), Pierce City’s Ginger Leavitt (102nd), Sarcoxie’s trio of Lily Garrison (124th), Jordyn Misner (139th) and Natasha Garcia (149th) and Pierce City’s Emily Haasse (154th).
Brentwood’s Kensington Curd was the Class 2 champion in 19:24.
The top four teams were Lafayette County (111), Woodland (138), Hermann (142) and Stockton (143).
There were 157 runners and 16 teams.
Notes: College Heights Christian will have girls competing in Saturday’s Class 3 race at 9:45 a.m.
The Class 4-5 races are also scheduled to be held on Saturday, with local schools Carl Junction, Webb City and Joplin set to compete.
