The Roosters and Chicks cross country team traveled to MSSU to compete in the Southern Stampede. The course is well known for producing fast times and we went in with the mindset of achieving just that.
After the collegiate races finished up in the morning, the Chicks took to the starting line against teams in the small school division. Just prior to the race, the clouds began to clear and temperatures quickly rose. Aubrey Scott led the group through the halfway point in 40th place but faded in the last half to a 52nd place finish. Behind her, our trio of freshmen pushed each other beyond anything we have seen this season. Kat Hoffman stunned us coaches, and even herself, by shaving 2 minutes and 20 seconds off her 5k best! Stephanie Conway closely followed with a 1 minute and 39 second personal best. Avery Lawrence finished her first 5k in 25:08 which was 17 seconds faster per mile for a longer distance than her opening 2.1 mile at the beginning of the year. As the girls were finishing up a cold front blew in dropping temperatures and blocking the sun. This helped create ideal racing conditions for the Rooster squad. The boys competed up a division in the large school race which featured 380 runners from 44 complete teams. The front of the race was stacked with talented runners making this meet much more competitive than our state competition. Landon Fatino charged through the one-kilometer mark, just under school record pace. At the mile, conditions were still so crowded that Coach Yoder was only able to spot 6 of the 9 Roosters that passed. Fatino continued to maintain record setting pace through 4 kilometers. He faded slightly up the hill between 4k and 3 miles requiring a miraculous kick to out due Matt Haffner’s time from the mid 2000s. Landon moved his legs as fast as he could and cross the line in 16:14, just 3 seconds off Haffner’s record mark. Fatino’s run places him 2nd all time in school history. He has a few more opportunities this year to run flatter courses that could produce a record mark though it is clear that Haffner’s record will be in jeopardy Landon’s senior year. Behind Fatino, the rest of the Rooster squad battled through the masses to produce a number of personal bests. Tobin Wise showed his health is improving by setting a 10+ second PR in 17:26. Freshmen Rustin Branstetter and Mavrick Crider looked impressive finishing in 18:50 and 19:02, respectively. Caden Walker stated that his knee pain is starting to feel better and his run proved that as he took off nearly 50 second from last year’s time. Colin Paris and Jackson Hunt both sprinted down the final straightaway to break the 20 minute barrier. Just behind them, Johnathan Rivera looked outstanding shaving off 1 minute and 30 second from his best time set last week. For some reason unbeknownst to me, the JV races were competed over 3 kilometers (just under 2 miles) instead of 5 kilometers. Two Roosters took to the line and competed well over that distance. Brenden Bunch placed 139th in the field of 250+ runners in a time of 12:28. That pace, if ran over 5 kilometers, would equate to a nearly 3 minute PR for 5k. Jackson Crouse continued his steady improvement covering the 3k distance at an average pace of 9:49 per mile. A handful of athletes were missing from this meet due to conflict with a band competition. We will return at full strength next week in Columbia, MO for the Gans Creek Classic. That meet will be a preview of the new state course and set the tone for our chances to advance out of Class 3 District 7. Warrensburg, Pembroke Hill, and Clinton look to be the early teams to beat on the boys side. The girls have a tall order to qualify individually with Pembroke Hill, Warrensburg, and Sion taking up many of the 15 individual spots. In the coming weeks we will need to change our mindset from running fast times on race tracks like Joplin and prepare for tougher running on the hills of Grain Valley and Excelsior Springs. Results: Girls Varisty 52 Aubrey Scott 22:41 99 Katherine Hoffman 24:40 101 Stephanie Conway 24:43 104 Avery Lawrence 25:08 Boys Varsity 35 Landon Fatino 16:14 144 Tobin Wise 17:26 289 Rustin Branstetter 18:50 307 Mavrick Crider 19:02 308 Caden Walker 19:02 342 Colin Paris 19:55 345 Jackson Hunt 19:57 356 Johnathan Rivera 20:17 361 Parker Elkins 20:30 JV Boys (3 kilometers) 139 Brenden Bunch 12:28 275 Jakcson Crouse 18:18
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Coach Paul StahlHead Cross Country and Assistant Track Coach at Pleasant Hill High School Archives
November 2019
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