Cassville cross country is speeding through its competition this season, with the girls winning their last three meets as of Monday, and the boys taking first in their last and second in the previous.
On Sept. 13, Cassville ran a hilly, curvy Monett course as if it were flat, producing first-place finishes for the girls team and second place for the boys.
Caleb Leach led the Wildcats with a time of 18:22.10, a full 20.20 seconds ahead of the runner- up. Jolie Evans also earned a first-place medal, finishing the course in 22:33.30.
Two days later, on top of both teams taking first, Leach won first in the Hollister meet with a time of 17:04.85, and Evans placed third in 20:14.52.
“Caleb and Jolie are both seniors and have been running cross country since middle school,” said Courtney Kirk, Cassville cross country coach. “They have a good concept of cross country and lots of experience, and they have been training all summer and putting in the work. I don’t tell them what to do or how to push themselves. They push themselves and are really self-motivated.”
Kirk said that experience pays dividends on the courses, as they have run them all.
“They know when you get a bunch of runners together in groups, it’s a different spin,” she said. “You can’t get boxed in, and you want to run inside on turns without getting boxed in. They are good at making these situational decisions in races.”
As for the teams, Kirk said the recent showings by the girls boys emphasize how strongly the season has progressed.
“I have a really great group of boys that have really taken ownership of this season,” she said. “It’s one of these things where I coach, and sometimes I have to back them down and say, ‘Hey, it’s an easy pace day, which means we run together and talk.’ They always want to push the pace.”
With a large contingent of seniors replacing the zero seniors last season, Kirk said that season ownership is a product of the team’s leaders.
“Last year, we didn’t have any seniors, so many of these guys stepped up and gained that experience, as well,” she said.
The Lady Wildcats or a similar, but different breed.
“These girls compete well,” Kirk said. “They are very competitive. Dakotah and Kayli [Anderson] are sisters, so they are competitive within each other. Jadyn [Williams] ran track in the spring and coach [Erin] Flehmer got her out for cross country. In practice, she runs and does fine, but you put her in a meet and she is super competitive — she run-runs. It’s a different atmosphere on the course when they all get together.”
Looking forward, Kirk said expectations are high for both teams, and there will be challenges.
“I would love to take the boys and girls teams to state,” she said. “I think we have the ability, but we have tough competition and will have to work for it.”
The top five schools in Cassville’s 22-team Class 3, District 2 will take a team to state, and there are some unknowns in the field.
“Righty now, on the boys’ side, Lamar is always tough,” Kirk said. “We’ve seen them at meets this year, and we keep coming in second behind them, but by just a few points. Any given race day, that could change.
“This is also a bigger district, so some teams we are not as familiar with, like Strafford and Osage. They have good athletes, so we will have to keep our eye out.”
Full Monett meet results include:
Caleb Leach, 1st, 18:22.10
Ethan Bohmke 9th, 19:33.40
Charles Elliott 10th, 19:55.80
Jacob Hudson 11th, 10:02.70
Mason Gautney 14th, 20:05.80
Jacob Martinez 20th, 20:42.20
Evan Butler 38th, 21:55.50
Simon Gates 51st, 23:07.90
Jolie Evans, 1st, 22:33.30
Dakotah Anderson, 9th, 24:08.00
Tori Mitchell, 12th, 24:40.30
Jadyn Williams, 13th, 24:54.60
Kayli Anderson, 19th, 26:13.80
Evelyn Elliott, 34th, 28:50.00
Elizabeth Butler, 11th, 25:02.10
Claire Reuter, 15th, 26:36.80
Trever Garnett, 4th, 11:58.10
Peyton Anderson, 39th, 13:30.80
Daniel Sledden, 120th
Lydia Cupps, 36th, 16:19.20
Brooklyn Krallman, 75th, 19:49.80
Results from the Hollister meet include:
Caleb Leach, 1st, 17:04.85
Charles Elliott, 10th, 18:17.12
Mason Gautney, 12th, 18:32.56
Ethan Bohmke, 16th, 18:35.46
Jacob Hudson, 18th, 18:44.32
Jacob Martinez, 28th, 19:37.03
Evan Butler, 41st, 20:28.22
Simon Gates, 87th, 22:43.20
Dustin Harris, 120th, 32:34.69
Jolie Evans, 3rd, 20:14.52
Dakotah Anderson, 6th, 21:23.92
Tori Mitchell, 17th, 22:50.72
Jadyn Williams, 20th, 23:06.09
Kayli Anderson, 21st,23:15.92
Evelyn Elliott, 43rd,26:07.94
Elizabeth Butler, 66th, 29:46.08
Claire Reuter, 72nd, 32:47.79
Trever Garnett, 1st, 12:25.41
Peyton Anderson, 25th, 14:00.58
Daniel Sledden, 117th, 19:57.65
Lydia Cupps, 43rd, 17:59.75
Brooklyn Krallman, 80th, 22:50.42
