Freshman Lyla Huffman etched another entry into Houston High School cross country record books on Thursday, setting yet another school record.
This time, Huffman posted a blazing-fast time of 19:02.53 on the 5,000-meter course to place second at the gigantic annual Clever Invitational hosted by Clever High School.
The massive event featured athletes from 35 high schools and 32 middle schools. While beating her own previous school record by about 23 seconds, Huffman was the runner-up in a field of 90 runners, finishing just behind Fair Grove junior Katrina Cantwell, who turned in a time of 19:01.98.
Huffman led the HHS girls to another team victory, as the Lady Tigers scored 80 points to edge Lighthouse Christian’s 84. Fair Grove took third among 10 squads with five-runner scores.
“Lyla has been nothing but phenomenal this season,” said Houston head coach Justin Brown. “She is consistently paving the path for the girls program this year. We have a few weeks till districts, and I look forward to her being exactly where she should be when that time arrives.”
Along with Huffman, three other HHS girls posted personal-record times in the race. The other four scorers for the Lady Tigers included senior Lilly Kincaid in 22nd with a PR time of 22:20.46, senior Natalie Clinton in 25th with a PR of 22:35.88 and sophomore Jessyn Allen in 30th at 23:06.84. Sophomores Adyson Dailing and Jesslyn Crawford also ran for Houston and posted PRs.
“I really feel like our girls are showing their resilience going late into the season,” Brown said. “The hard work is definitely coming to the surface. It definitely seems like the girls are all about to peak at the right time, and that’s exactly what we want to see.”
On the boys side, Houston placed eighth among 14 teams with scores, while McAuley Catholic (of Joplin) won and Fair Grove took second.
Senior Jack Sawyer paced the Tigers, coming in 28th in a field of 140 runners with a time of 18:12.34. Junior home-schooler Marcus Posant was next to finish for Houston, placing 33rd with a PR time of 18:25.38, while sophomore Christopher Meier came in 58th with a PR of 19:49.23, senior Jackson Evetts ran 66th at 20:00.67 and sophomore Gage Smith came in 70th with a PR of 20:08.56.
McAuley Catholic senior Franklin Veer won the race with a time of 16:02.68.
“Our boys are really coming on right now,” Brown said. “You can definitely see the shift and how the boys are starting to get their times lowered. But we still have a lot of work to do before districts.”
HMS BOYS REMAIN UNBEATEN
Houston Middle School’s boys team remained undefeated for the season by winning for the seventh time in as many outings, this time scoring fewer points than 11 other squads with scores at the Clever meet.
HMS runners dominated the race, taking four of the top-five spots in the field of 100 runners.
Eighth-grader Oliver Choate took first with a time of 10:18.42 on the 1.9-mile course, while eighth-grader Charlie Benoist was second, eighth-grader Liam Stickel placed third and seventh-grader Rocky Gilbert finished fifth. Seventh-grader Dominic Stice rounded out Houston’s score in 51st.
“The middle school boys have been absolutely amazing this season!” Brown said. “You talk about toughness, grit and determination – that’s what these boys bring to the table every single race. Going into the last meet of the year being undefeated is nothing short of amazing.”
Only two HMS girls ran in the meet – both seventh-graders – as Hayden Jones finished seventh and Adrian Sholtz placed 40th in a field of 79.
Houston runners will compete again on Tuesday at another big meet: The annual El Dorado Springs Invitational. The meet offers a preview of the course where HHS athletes will compete in the Class 3 District 2 championships meet on Saturday, Nov. 1.
The Missouri Middle School State Championships meet is set for Oct. 25 at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland.
“I can’t wait to see what these boys can do there!” Brown said.
