During a season of tremendous success, the Houston Middle School cross country program now has a pair of two-time state champions.
At the 2025 Missouri Middle School Cross Country Championships last Saturday at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, HMS eighth-graders Oliver Choate and Myles Copley each won state titles for the second consecutive year.
In the Class 3 boys race, Choate topped a field of 143 runners with a time of 11:27.44 on the 3,200-meter course. And in the Class 3 girls race, Copley finished first in a field of 84 with a course-record time of 12:36.03.
In the process, Choate and Copley (who both won state crowns last year as seventh-graders) completed undefeated seasons, with each winning eight races in as many outings.
“It’s really special,” said Houston cross country head coach Justin Brown. “They have really dedicated themselves to the process of getting to this point. They knew what they were going to have to do this year, and they’re the types of kids who stay on it hard because they’re hard on themselves and always wanting more from themselves.
“It’s been awesome to watch how they’ve worked this season. It’s one of those things where when you see it in person instead of just hearing about it, it’s a completely different experience.”
The unbeaten HMS boys were dominant in winning the team state championship, as the Tigers had the top-four finishers and easily prevailed against 14 other squads with five-runner scores to finish 8-0 for the season.
HMS eighth-grader Charlie Benoist was the runner-up in the race at 11:52.29, while eighth-grader Liam Stickel was third at 12:01.56 and seventh-grader Rocky Gilbert came in fourth at 12:25.55. Rounding out Houston’s team score was seventh-grader Dominic Stice in 39th.
“They knew what was at stake,” Brown said, “and they went out there and got the job done. It was something special; you don’t often get to see something like that.”
Gilbert was in 15th place at one point, but passed numerous runners to take a spot in the top-four.
“We needed him to step up, and he had a great race,” Brown said.
Houston had two seventh-graders in the girls race; Hayden Jones finished 12th and Adrian Sholtz placed 33rd.
The top-25 finishers in each race earned All-State status.
The Houston High School cross country teams stand to greatly benefit in 2026 by the addition of several highly-talented freshmen.
“Time will tell,” Brown said, “but I think both of these programs are headed in the right direction.”
COPLEY WINS AT EL DORADO SPRINGS
Copley’s week also included a victory at the annual El Dorado Springs Invitational on Tuesday (Oct. 21).
She was the only HMS athlete to run at the meet and topped a field of 32 with a personal-record time of 12:16.7 on the 3,200-meter course. The runner-up in the race was almost a minute behind.
