There will be a new Class 4 cross country girls champion this year following the results from the Class 4 District 8 meet on Saturday, Oct. 20 at Jesse James Park in Kearney, Mo.
Park Hill South won the team title last fall, but the Panthers were not among the top four teams to advance to the sectional round this upcoming Saturday, Oct. 27 in Liberty.
In fact, none of the three area teams competing in this district – Park Hill South, Park Hill and Platte County – will have a team moving on.
However, all three schools will have runners competing in the sectionals, the final stop before the state championships.
There were nine runners – three from each school – that advanced from the girls race.
Park Hill’s Leslie MeKinnon took 11th to account for the highest area finish, crossing in 20 minutes, 52.50 seconds. She was followed by Park Hill South’s Skyelar Nelson and Paige Snider in order, respectively, and all three earned second-team all-district honors.
Avery Blakley took 19th and Brooklyn Niebaum was 25th for the Trojans, which was sixth in the 11-team standing. The top four teams and the top 30 runners advanced.
Marisa Garcia, a sophomore from Park Hill South, was the final qualifier by taking 30th.
Platte County will have sophomores Taylor Giger, Maddie Klippenstein and Ryanne Rhude moving on. Giger took 16th, while Klippenstein was 24th and Rhude crossed in 28th place.
Liberty’s Maddie Hill won the district title for the third year in a row, while the district champion was St. Teresa’s Academy. St. Joseph Central, Liberty North and Liberty are the other three teams to move on.
In the boys race, each of the three schools will have two runners moving on.
Park Hill South junior Quinton Worley took 10th place, earning second-team all-district honors, running 16:57. He will be joined at sectionals by teammate Christian Ludtke, who took 18th.
“We did not get the outcome we wanted as a team, but I am very proud of my guys, they are a great group and guys,” Park Hill South coach A.J. Roth said. “Hats off to Staley, Liberty, St. Joe Central and Liberty North. They ran a great race. I am very pleased with Christian and Quinton. They have a goal to make it to the state meet and Saturday they showed up and made it one step closer to their goal.”
Platte County’s Jackson Letcher and Evan McPhatter placed 17th and 24th, respectively, to move on for the Pirates, which took sixth in the 10-team field. Park Hill South and Park Hill finished seventh and eighth, respectively.
Keegan Cordova finished 31st for the Pirates, less than a second off the final qualifying spot.
“Our goal is always to qualify as many kids as possible,” Platte County coach Chris Stubbs said. “We were hoping our boys could get a couple of more in the top 30 and we just missed out. We thought two of our girls would get in and two others had a shot. So overall, we were pleased. Both groups ran very well. We had a disappointing conference race and felt that we rebounded well on the same course.”
The Trojans will have Isaiah Phillips and Dan Foster, the team’s two all-conference runners, moving on after taking 26th and 28th, respectively.
Preston Wheeler of Staley won the race, the start of a 1-2-3 finish for the Falcons, the district champions. Central, Liberty and Liberty North also moved to sectionals, which will be held at the Warriors Best Friend course near Liberty North.
All three teams ran there earlier this year in the Tim Nixon Invitational. The boys race will start at 10 a.m. and the girls to follow at 10:45 a.m.