This past Wednesday the Roosters and Chicks competed at the MRVC Conference championships hosted in Richmond, Missouri. The MRVC meet consists of teams from Oak Grove, Harrisonville, Odessa, Excelsior Springs, Warrensburg and Pleasant Hill. Schools from the east (Holden, Lexington, Knob Noster, Richmond, and Lafayette County) compete in the same race but are separated electronically by chip and not included in our west results.
The course at Richmond is a two-lap course with uneven ground and rough footing in places. It is most known for two large and steep hills near the 1 mile and 2.5-mile mark that challenge athletes of all ability levels. Temperatures were fantastic for racing but the athletes competing in the MRVC race had to deal with a very strong wind blowing from west to east. The chicks got things started with an early race time of 2pm. Going into the conference meet, the Chicks were ranked a distant third behind Warrensburg and Excelsior Springs. We knew that Warrensburg was out of our reach with the shear talent that they have so we set our sights on giving Excelsior a run for their money. We had faced Excelsior Springs two or three times already this year and lost each time. However, we knew if we could break up their pack between their 3 and 6 runners that our girls would have a chance. Unfortunate injuries limited our roster size to 5 girls, the minimum amount needed to score as a team. Even with five girls, Stephanie Conway was running with a knee brace from an injury that happened at the Excelsior course. Our girls got off to a conservative start and could be seen near the back of the race in the first half mile. As the race progressed, our girls began to move up and pass groups of runners, including those from Ex Springs. Aubrey Scott positioned herself in the top 10 and moved ahead of Excelsior’s number one runner. Right before the large hill after the 2-mile mark, Megan Swinney and Kat Hoffman had established their position slightly behind Excelsior’s #2 but ahead of their number three. This meant that our girls had a lead through three runners and needed our number 4 and 5 girls to finish ahead of Excelsior’s number 5 for the win. Going up the last hill, Stephanie Conway grimaced in pain followed closely by senior Jasmine Brown. To my excitement, both girls were ahead of Excelsior’s #4 runner practically sealing the deal if they held their placed. Once notified of their team’s position, the girls continued their charge and finished strong. As expected, Warrensburg cruised to victory with a score of 17 points (just 2 points away from a perfect score). Pleasant Hill Chicks scored 59 points to earn second place compared with Excelsior Springs who finished third with 67 points. Odessa was the fourth team scoring 97 points. The boys attempted to use a similar strategy of starting near the back of the race and using left over energy to move up in the second half of the race. Unfortunately, our boys were unable to make significant gains needed to threaten a talented team from Warrensburg. Landon Fatino led the Roosters with a second-place individual finish. Tobin Wise, back from injury, David Rivera, and Rustin Branstetter all finished close together in the 11, 12, and 13 spots in the race. Caden Walker, Colin Paris, and Dakota Middleton formed a second pack that finished together in 19th, 21st, and 22nd. The Roosters earned an MRVC plaque as the second-place team falling to Warrensburg 28-57. The third-place team was Harrisonville with a score of 81. Second place is a noteworthy accomplishment, but the boys wanted to finish closer to the talented Warrensburg team. They have set a goal of getting revenge at next week’s district championship on Warrensburg’s home course. Our remaining athletes competed in the Richmond Invite following the MRVC Championship races. This year’s JV boys team has been one of the most talented and deep teams in my coaching tenure. They utilized pack running and looked impressive competing against varsity teams from non-conference schools. The pack of runners from Pleasant Hill finished 32nd, 35th, 37th, 38th, 39th, 40th, and 41st forming a sea of purple between 20:26 and 20:56. Our JV Boys placed 6th out of the 13 teams in the varsity invites and beat all other conference schools making them the MRVC JV Conference Champions. Our final four athletes competed in the Richmond JV race. Johnathan Rivera had an impressive run placing in the top 10 and earning a medal. Freshmen Brenden Bunch closely followed earning a medal for his 14th place finish. Behind them, both Jackson Crouse and Michael Maasen concluded their seasons with massive personal records. Jackson ran 27:36 which took off almost 2 minutes from his previous best. Michael completed his first hilly 5k and bested last weeks’ time by 38 seconds. On Saturday, November 2nd, our runners will take to Warrensburg, MO for the Class 3 District 7 races. Athletes that place in the top 15 positions will advance to the state meet in Columbia, MO. For the team to qualify, the Roosters will need to place in the top 2 team positions. We will not be running a full girls squad to allow injured athletes an opportunity to recover without causing further damage to their body but hope to have our individuals qualify out of the tough female district. Results MRVC Championship Girls 6 Aubrey Scott 22:41.3 *All Conference 13 Katherine Hoffman 25:08.1 14 Megan Swinney 25:12.9 19 Stephanie Conway 27:22.1 21 Jasmine Brown 27:26.8 1 Warrensburg 17 2 Pleasant Hill 59 3 Excelsior Springs 67 4 Odessa 97 MRVC Championship Boys 2 Landon Fatino 16:57.2 *All Conference 11 Tobin Wise 19:15.7 12 David Rivera 19:20.8 13 Rustin Branstetter 19:23.8 19 Caden Walker 20:08.1 21 Colin Paris 20:25.2 22 Dakota Middleton 20:33.4 1 Warrensburg 28 2 Pleasant Hill 57 3 Harrisonville 81 4 Excelsior Springs 103 5 Odessa 106 6 Oak Grove 114 Richmond Varsity Boys 32 Carson Case 20:26.1 35 Mavrick Crider 20:28.8 37 Keagon Madison 20:36.8 38 Kolton Kincaid 20:37.8 39 Jackson Hunt 20:42.0 40 Wesley Tibai 20:46.4 41 Parker Elkins 20:56.4 1 Smithville 42 2 Lawson 73 3 West Platte 88 4 Marshall 128 5 Van Horn 157 6 Pleasant Hill 169 7 Kingsville 178 8 Hardin-Central 214 9 Polo 238 10 Maysville 250 11 Lexington 253 12 Harrisonville 291 13 Oak Grove 326 Richmond JV Boys 9 Johnathan Rivera 21:28.4 14 Brenden Bunch 22:57.1 32 Jackson Crouse 27:36.5 36 Michael Maasen 32:50.8
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Weather conditions at the Warrensburg Invite were nearly perfect with temperatures in the mid 60s on a clear and sunny afternoon. At this point in the season, our athletes have begun to back off the volume and increase intensity in preparation for the conference and district meets. We were hoping for fast times and good performances which many of our athletes accomplished.
The JV boys got things started in a field of 100 runners with 10 complete teams. At first, the boys started near the middle of the pack and then established positions at the front of the race led by Senior Wesley Tibai. As the athletes moved to the halfway point, the Roosters packed four runners in the top 20. Parker Elkins led the charge in the second mile followed closely by Jackson Hunt and Mavrick Crider. Keagon Madison, Johnathan Rivera, and Brenden Bunch were working hard in the 5-6-7 positions on the team to pass dozens of athletes in the last mile. When all was said and done, the top seven scoring Roosters placed 4th, 5th, 13th, 21st, 26th, 29th, and 32nd. Unfortunately, times were irrelevant as the leading pace car took a wrong turn forcing athletes to run an estimated 3.3-3.4 miles instead of the standard 3.1 mile distance. However, the Roosters JV brought home a big win against perennial powerhouses like Grain Valley, Bolivar, Warrensburg, and Pembroke Hill. Jackson Crouse and Michael Maasen battled the clock in their second to last races of the season. Jackson Crouse ran almost a minute faster on the longer version of the course than his previous 5k personal best! Michael Maasen showed his strength and improvement from injury by completing the (longer than) 5k distance for the first time. The Warrensburg officials corrected the course marking and ensured that varsity races would be run at the proper distance. The varsity boys race was incredibly crowded making it difficult for athletes to move up in the early stages. David Rivera sprinted to the front in a duel with Warrensburg’s top runners but ended up paying the price for his early pace. He faded throughout the race but still managed a personal record time for his efforts. Caden Walker, Rustin Branstetter, and Dakota Middleton worked together passing other teams en masse during the 3rd mile. Caden Walker broke through the 19 minute barrier for the first time in his career followed closely by Rustin and Dakota. Colin Paris and Carson Case rounded out the top 5, both earning personal best times. Kolton Kincaid rounded out the top 7 runners placing just ahead of Warrensburg’s #6 and 7 runners. The Roosters rested our top 2 runners who were attending a leadership conference but still managed to place 6th in the 25 team field. Conference rivals Warrensburg proved that they are the team to beat at the MRVC. We have a game plan that can bring us success but will need each athlete to step it up and do their part in order to win. The girls race featured Aubrey Scott, Megan Swinney, and Kat Hoffman. Aubrey utilized a controlled start and big moves past the mile and 2 mile mark to work her way through the pack. She placed 22nd overall and was the 11th finisher to cross the line from our district. Her time of 21:57 was a season best. Senior Megan Swinney had a fast first mile which made for a challenging finish. However, the hope of a personal record drove her to keep fighting. Behind Megan, freshmen Kat Hoffman was hanging on as best as she could with specific instructions to keep up with Megan. Near the 3 mile mark both ladies were side-by-side sprinting to the finish in an effort to break 24 minutes for the first time. Kat ended up with the better kick running 24:00.60 followed by Megan in a time of 24:04. Both times were personal records. The team travels to Richmond next Wednesday for the MRVC Conference championships. Following that, we return to Warrensburg to take on the Class 3 District 7 Meet. At that competition, the top 2 teams and top 15 athletes will stamp their tickets for a trip to the state meet. Results JV Boys - 3.3-3.4 Miles 4 Jackson Hunt 21:40.3 5 Parker Elkins 21:43.2 13 Mavrick Crider 22:21.9 21 Wesley Tibai 22:36.2 26 Keagon Madison 22:51.3 29 Johnathan Rivera 23:09.0 32 Brenden Bunch 23:13.7 87 Jackson Crouse 29:21.0 93 Michael Maasen 33:28.7 1 Pleasant Hill High School 58 2 Stockton High School 63 3 Grain Valley High School 72 4 Lexington High School 111 5 Bolivar High School 126 6 Pembroke Hill School 134 7 Nevada High School 153 8 Oak Grove High School 196 9 Harrisonville High School 213 10 St. Michael the Archangel High School 279 Varsity Boys - 3.1 Miles 26 David Rivera 18:32.4 43 Caden Walker 18:58.0 46 Rustin Branstetter 19:04.4 49 Dakota Middleton 19:08.6 67 Colin Paris 19:32.0 78 Carson Case 19:51.1 110 Kolton Kincaid 20:51.3 1 Grain Valley High School 56 2 Warrensburg High School 95 3 Stockton High School 150 4 Lexington High School 180 5 Bolivar High School 188 6 Pleasant Hill High School 211 7 Harrisonville High School 249 8 Pembroke Hill School 260 9 Excelsior Springs High School 264 10 William Chrisman High School 344 Varsity Girls - 3.1 miles 22 Aubrey Scott 21:57.7 56 Kat Hoffman 24:00.6 58 Megan Swinney 24:04.4 The Roosters and Chicks were on short rest this week at the Excelsior Springs Invitational. The course is one of the most difficult routes we run on all year long. Changes this year had athletes circle back and forth along three fairways which included over 300 feet of elevation gain. For comparison, the state course at Gans Creek has 80 feet of elevation over the same distance. The Chicks squad were the first to test out the hills. Aubrey Scott pressed to the front of the pack early in the race and held on to a top 10 spot in a field containing a large number of conference and district competitors. Megan Swinney was back in the line up and used her fitness to maintain a medal position throughout the race. Freshmen Kat Hoffman narrowly missed the varsity medals for the second meet in a row but showed grit and determination to move up in the second half of the race. Lastly, Jasmine Brown looked fantastic in her second 5k breaking her personal best by over one minute. The varsity boys had another successful outing. Landon Fatino went through a fast mile in 5:04 and held on for a 2nd place finish in a field of 156 runners. Behind him, the Roosters pack grouped up and continued to challenge each other trading positions multiple times in the last mile and a half. Caden Walker, Rustin Branstetter, David Rivera and Dakota Middleton made up the remaining 5 scorers placing 21st, 25th, 26th, and 36th. All of those athletes earned medals. The boys placed 2nd overall out of the 22 complete teams. They lost to Maryville 90 - 97 which was a significant improvement from earlier in the year. At Ray-Pec, Maryville won the meet besting Pleasant Hill 72 - 46. The squad continues to work hard on improving their grouping and pack running which will bode well as we approach the conference and district championships. The last race of the day was the JV boys. They witnessed firsthand the difficulty of the course while watching the varsity races but showed no fear as they approached the hills. Colin Paris and Kolton Kincaid established positions at the front of the race. Keagon Madison and Jackson Hunt started off in the middle of the pack and used their fantastic finishing speed to move up in the top 20 spots. Johnathan Rivera, Wesley Tibai, and Brenden Bunch conquered the hills while running respectable 5k times. The Roosters JV placed 3rd out of 7 teams and were first among non-Class 4 schools. 65 degrees, sunny, hilly, decent footing Results Varsity Girls 9 Aubrey Scott 23:10 32 Megan Swinney 25:04 48 Kat Hoffman 26:37 54 Jasmine Brown 27:24 Varsity Boys 2 Landon Fatino 17:32 21 Caden Walker 19:28 25 Rustin Branstetter 19:34 26 David Rivera 19:35 36 Dakota Middleton 19:49 50 Carson Case 20:29 78 Mavrick Crider 21:22 1 Maryville High School 90 2 Pleasant Hill High School 97 3 Christ Preparatory Academy 114 4 West Platte High School 168 5 Oak Grove High School 195 6 Harrisonville High School 210 7 Lexington High School 215 8 Excelsior Springs High School 229 9 Marshall High School 257 10 Knob Noster High School 274 JV Boys 13 Colin Paris 20:44 15 Kolton Kincaid 20:46 17 Keagon Madison 21:03 19 Jackson Hunt 21:03 28 Johnathan Rivera 21:39 31 Wesley Tibai 21:58 37 Brenden Bunch 22:24 49 Parker Elkins 22:57 1 Central (St. Joseph) High School 17 2 Blue Springs South High School 48 3 Pleasant Hill High School 82 4 Christ Preparatory Academy 91 5 Cameron High School 152 6 Harrisonville High School 170 7 Oak Grove High School 181 2-Mile Time Trial 1 Jackson Crouse 19:20 2 Michael Maasen 21:58 The Roosters and Chicks avoided the heavy rain forecasted for Saturday at the Grain Valley Invitational. Due to rain early in the week, several parts of the course were underwater. The staff at Grain Valley did a great job preparing the course by adding bridges and hay to certain spots on the course. However, the mud and puddles were unavoidable.
Due to a conflicting band competition and injury, the Roosters varsity squad was missing their #2, #3, and #5 runners. The theme that has been consistently repeated this year is the need for the #4-10 runners to move up in the pack to help lower the team score. On Saturday, the runners did just that. Landon Fatino continued his successful season by winning the small school division. Freshmen Rustin Branstetter had an outstanding performance placing 6th. Caden Walker also moved up to a medal position by placing 14th overall. Seniors Dakota Middleton and Colin Paris rounded out the top 5 scoring athletes placing 16th and 23rd, respectively. Sophomores Jackson Hunt and Johnathan Rivera were the 6th and 7th runners for the Roosters placing 24th and 29th in the field of 95 runners. The Roosters squad placed four runners in the top 16 positions which helped them score a total of 58 points. This bested district rivals Pembroke Hill by 35 points and earned Pleasant Hill 1st place out of 11 complete schools. The Chicks squad had three girls compete in the varsity race. Junior Aubrey Scott looked strong throughout the course and placed 4th overall in a time of 22:57. Freshmen Stephanie Conway powered up the hills and set a new personal best despite the mud running a time of 24:04. This helped her earn her first high school medal placing 6th overall. Kat Hoffman moved up over 8 places in the last mile of the course chasing a medal but narrowly missed doing so placing 17th in the field of 49 runners. We have short rest between this meet and our next competition at Excelsior Springs on Tuesday. That meet will be good preparation for the MRVC Conference Meet. Our girls squad will be back to full strength and will look to best conference competitors Excelsior Springs on their home turf. Conditions: 65 degrees, cloudy, hilly, muddy Results Varsity Boys (5k) 1 Fatino Landon 17:28.3 6 Branstetter Rustin 19:12.8 14 Walker Caden 19:54.7 16 Middleton Dakota 20:04.7 23 Paris Colin 20:28.9 24 Hunt Jackson 20:30.8 29 Rivera Johnathan 20:41.3 34 Crider Mavrick 20:59.7 39 Madison Keagon 21:20.4 50 Kincaid Kolton 21:41.2 61 Bunch Brenden 22:31.8 64 Elkins Parker 22:38.7 1 Pleasant Hill High School 58 2 Pembroke Hill School 93 3 Oak Grove High School 115 4 Lexington High School 129 5 Kingsville High School 145 6 Odessa High School 146 7 Knob Noster High School 154 8 Cameron High School 161 9 Hardin-Central High School 226 10 St. Paul Lutheran High School 229 11 Lone Jack High School 253 Varsity Girls (5k) 4 Scott Aubrey 22:57.6 6 Conway Stephanie 24:05.0 17 Hoffman Katherine 25:22.8 JV Boys (2 miles) 32 Jackson Crouse 19:55 JV Girls (2 miles) 20 Jasmine Brown 18:33 |
Coach Paul StahlHead Cross Country and Assistant Track Coach at Pleasant Hill High School Archives
November 2019
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