Several runners on the Houston High School boys and girls cross country teams had memorable days at the Missouri State High School Activities Association Class 3 District 2 championships meet last Saturday at Hermitage.
To qualify for this week’s state championship meet in Columbia, athletes had to finish in the top-30 in their respective races. Houston had a couple of close calls, as junior Jake Allen finished 34th in a field of 121 in the boys race with a time of 18:57.28 on the difficult 3.1-mile course, and sophomore Kristen Ely placed 33rd in a field of 94 in the girls race with a time of 23:36.89.
Meanwhile, HHS sophomore Conner McKinney picked a good day to have his best-ever race, finishing 46th overall and second for the Tigers with a personal-record time of 19:25.64 (his previous highest team finish was fifth). Next across the line for Houston was freshman Jack Sawyer, who finished 51st at 19:34.75, while freshman Warren Hinkle placed 52nd at 19:36.16. Rounding out the Tigers’ team score was junior Aiden Kelly, who came in 58th at 19:44.64. Also running for Houston were sophomore Riley Talbott (85th) and freshman Shane Yonkers (121st).
On the girls side, sophomore Summer Bittle finished second for the Lady Tigers and 41st overall with a time of 24:01.54, while freshman Natalie Clinton placed 59th at 25:48.62, sophomore Allie Benoist came in 64th at 26:19.04 and junior Miah Bressie finished 85th at 29:13.96.
The two HHS squads ran earlier this season at the diverse, hilly Hermitage venue, and the times turned in at districts by Allen, Ely and several of their teammates were more than a minute faster that before.
“We kind of had an idea of what to expect,” said head coach Justin Brown, “and the kids have put in a lot of miles since then.”
Buffalo senior Sean Walker won the boys individual district crown, sprinting around the course in only 16:27.45, while Eldon junior Zoe Martonfi took first in the girls race at 19:19.96. Eldorado Springs won the boys team district championship, while Osage won the girls title.
Houston’s boys placed 10th out of 16 squads posting team scores, while the Lady Tigers were ninth out of 11.
“It was a tough day for us team-wise,” Brown said, “but every tough defeat becomes the fuel to use next time. Even though this isn’t the way we wanted our season to end, we’ll learn from this and get better from it.”
Cross country is oddly the only HHS fall sport to have been assigned to Class 3 by MSHSAA (football and volleyball were both in Class 2). Comparing times from Class 2, Houston would have had five runners in the top-30 and had at least one team qualify for state.
“It’s frustrating,” Brown said, “but or kids went out and competed and did a great job.”
On Tuesday of last week, the Houston cross country program hosted the second annual Tiger Trail Invitational at Houston Municipal Golf Course.
The meet took place in cold, rainy and windy conditions, and fields in each race were small. In high school competition, only 12 runners competed in the boys race and 6 in the girls. Middle school races were also contested with slightly larger fields.
“The time spent working hard when nobody’s watching is what leads to success when everyone’s watching.”
HOUSTON CROSS COUNTRY COACH JUSTIN BROWN
This season was the first since cross country was resurrected in Houston in 2019 that the two HHS squads have been deep enough to produce 5-runner team scores. The boys won four meets and the girls won three.
Brown expects the program to continue growing.
“I couldn’t be more proud of what these kids did this year,” he said. “How the high school kids act and carry themselves sets the tone for the middle school kids and younger kids to follow, and I think what took place this year will be noticed in a positive way.”
Brown qualified for state in all four years of his high school career and won an individual state championship as a senior. He said some Houston runners are already making plans for offseason work.
“The time spent working hard when nobody’s watching is what leads to success when everyone’s watching,” Brown said. “We have a bunch of kids who understand that, and that if you want to get better, you have to do more than you’re doing. I think they’re going to stay motivated in the winter and come back next year with a chip on their shoulders.”
With no seniors on the boys or girls roster, both squads will have plenty of experience next season.
“Whether we’re in Class 3 again or in Class 2, we could have some pretty scary teams,” Brown said.
