CARTHAGE, Mo. — Carthage’s Mariques Strickland was the top local individual and the Webb City boys were the top local team at the 47th annual Carthage Invitational cross country meet on Thursday at the Carthage Golf Course.
A junior, Strickland toured the 5K course in 17 minutes, 5 seconds to finish in third place.
“I thought he ran really well,” Carthage coach Andy Youngworth said of Strickland. “He made a move with about a mile left where he separated himself from some really good runners. I think today should give him some confidence.”
The only runners to finish ahead of Strickland were Mountain Home’s duo of Whit Lawrence (16:40) and Andrew Westphal (16:53), who finished first and second, respectively.
With four of the top seven runners, Mountain Home finished with a team score of 28 to top the standings.
With three runners in the top nine, the Cardinals finished second in the team standings (55), with Carthage third (63).
Youngworth said he was satisfied with his team’s showing.
“Mountain Home was loaded and we knew they would be because we saw them at a running camp this summer,” Youngworth said. “And we know Webb City has some really good runners too.”
WEBB CITY TAKES SECOND
Webb City coach Dustin Miller was pleased with his squad’s overall performance.
“Our boys really wanted to prove themselves today,” Miller said. “We had some good practices this week and I really hammered them Tuesday. I’m proud of their effort. The effort was off the charts. But we didn’t race that well. Our place wasn’t what we’re capable of, but the effort was there so I can live with that. I think our boys are going to do big things later on. We just need the confidence to know we can do it regularly.”
Webb City’s Roman Borboa, Joseph Dawson and Dustin McLallen crossed the line sixth, eighth and ninth, respectively, to pace the Cardinals. Borboa finished in 17:26, with Dawson crossing the line at 17:31 and McLallen finished in 17:41.
Also for the Cardinals, Owen Weller took 14th, while Samuel Winesburg was 18th and Angel Banda-Antillon finished 20th.
“Our top two returners have been banged up lately,” Miller said, noting Dawson has been sick recently and Weller is coming off an injury. “So for today, I’m just really proud of their effort.”
OTHER CARTHAGE RESULTS
After Strickland, Carthage’s Miguel Solano took 12th (17:55), Joseph Wyrick was 15th (18:02), Richard Contreras finished 16th (18:04) and Coltyn Herrera took 17th (18:04).
Carthage’s Malcolm Robertson was 21st, Ty Lewis took 23rd, Landen Schrader was 42nd and Joel Pugh was 48th.
“I was pleased with our pack,” Youngworth said. “We’re not very consistent, but that’s okay. Our No. 3 runner last week was our No. 6 this week. Our No. 7 moved up to No. 5. But that’s good. That shows we have depth. If a guy has a bad day, someone else picks them up.”
The event featured only light rain at times. That was good news for Youngworth.
“I got up last night about once an hour to check the forecast and it wasn’t looking good,” he said. “So, today was a good day.”
CARL JUNCTION RESULTS
The Carl Junction boys finished fifth as a team with 127 points, with Collin Emmert leading the way with an 11th place finish in a time of 17:48.
“Most of my boys were pretty good for the most part,” Carl Junction coach Kyla Walnofer said. “This is a hard course for them. We are not used to as many hills where CJ is, but I thought they ran well.”
Also for the Bulldogs, Logan Carnes finished in 24th with a time of 18:49, while Brock Feken crossed the line in 30th place in a time of 19:22. Kellen Bradley was 36th, Jack Lawson took 38th, Luke Battagler finished 50th and Caleb Graham was 56th.
“I do have a couple of young kids on varsity who came out and did well, Jack Lawson and Brock Fecken,” Walnofer said. “Brock has been out for a while for quarantine, and he came out and ran a really good race for being out.”
Note: Lucas Davis contributed to this story.
CARTHAGE INVITATIONAL
BOYS
Team Standings
Mountain Home 28, Webb City 55, Carthage 63, Glendale 98, Carl Junction 127, Reeds Spring 206. Incomplete team: Bolivar.
Top 15 runners
1, Whit Lawrence, Mountain Home, 16:40; 2, Andrew Westphal, Mountain Home, 16:53; 3, Mariques Strickland, Carthage, 17:05; 4, Hilton Newell, Glendale, 17:08; 5, Ky Bickford, Mountain Home, 17:18; 6, Roman Borboa, Webb City, 17:26; 7, Hendrix Hughes, Mountain Home, 17:27; 8, Joseph Dawson, Webb City, 17:31; 9, Dustin McLallen, Webb City, 17:41; 10, Samuel Rinehart, Glendale, 17:48; 11, Collin Emmert, Carl Junction, 17:48; 12, Miguel Solano, Carthage, 17:55; 13, Tyler Firment, Mountain Home, 17:58; 14, Owen Weller, Webb City, 17:58; 15, Joseph Wyrick, Carthage, 18:02.
FULL RESULTS: Carthage Invitational Cross Country Meet
