LIBERTY, Mo. — More than 25 teams showed up Saturday, Sept. 1 for the first-ever Tim Nixon Invitational held at the Wildflower Cross Country Course at the Warrior’s Best Friend Training Grounds near Liberty North High School.
The meet was created to honor the memory of the longtime Blue Jays coach Nixon, who died late last year. West Plains and Columbia Hickman made the long drive to compete in the field loaded with Suburban Conference schools from all divisions.
“The meet itself was a great experience,” Platte County coach Chris Stubbs said. “I’m glad we got to be one of the first teams to run in the inaugural Tim Nixon Invitational. He was a wonderful coach and man. I remember my first season over 20 years ago and he helped me at my first meet and continued to be a mentor to me throughout the years.”
The initial start of the races were delayed by lightning for an hour, which meant instead of running separate races for the varsity — silver/gold divisions — they all ran together.
The divisions were divided by success last year, with all sectional qualifiers going to the Gold and the rest in the silver.
Park Hill took second in the girls silver division, followed by Platte County in fifth place. On the boys side, the Pirates took second place despite running without Keegan Cordova.
Park Hill South’s boys took eighth and the girls took 11th in the gold division.
The highest individual finish went to Park Hill’s Leslie MeKinnon, who took fourth, running 20:56.8 on the 5K course. Three other Trojans finished in the top 20: Brookyln Niebaum (15th), Abby Fette (18th) and Avery Blakley (19th).
"The second-place finish was a great boost to the team," Park Hill girls coach Krista Loughan said. "Many of the girls have been working really hard all summer and fall. As a team, we’ve really upped our efforts. We have a really cohesive group this fall. I am excited to see what develops."
CODY THORN/Citizen photo
Park Hill’s Ryan Fette took 32nd place for the Trojans in the silver division of the inaugural Tim Nixon Invitational held in Liberty, Mo. The race was named after Liberty’s late cross country coach.
Platte County’s Taylor Giger finished sixth and Maddie Klippenstein placed eighth. The sophomores were then followed in the team finishes by two more sophomores and a freshman.
“Our girls are showing promise,” Stubbs said. “They will continue to improve the more experience they gain.”
Smithville won the silver team title with 32 points, easily beating Park Hill’s 71. Olivia Littleton won the individual title for the Warriors, who had five in the top 15.
Smithville took the boys crown by the slimmest of margins, beating Platte County by a point, 53 to 54.
All seven runners finished in the top 25 for the Pirates, led by senior Peter Doole, who ran 18:11.5 to take eighth place. Evan McPhatter was 10th and Jackson Letcher was 11th for Platte County, a pack with a 14-second differential. In between, Park Hill’s Daniel Foster took eighth.
Matt Sullivan (14th), Blake Bjustrom (15th), Dakota Simmons (19th) and Sam Smith (24th) also finished high for the Pirates.
Park Hill’s second-highest finisher was Ryan Fette, who took 32nd. The Trojans had only four runners in the competition.
“The boys did great considering the heat and humidity,” Park Hill coach John Milholland said of the weather, that started out overcast and dreary but ended up nearing the mid-90s by race time.
In the gold race, the Park Hill South had four runners separated by 11 spots in the standings. Christian Ludtke, a senior, led the way running 17:54.9 to place 30th. Max Goertzen was 31st , Quentin Worley was 33rd and Ethan Mick was 41st.
"I was happy with the way our team competed this weekend," Park Hill South coach AJ Roth said. "We are a young team and there were a lot of really good runners out there this weekend."
Skyelar Nelson ran 21:53.8 to finish 35th and lead the way for the Panthers. Paige Snider took 42nd and Maryann Ball was 44th, shaving 40 seconds off her fastest time last year.
“We are going to look forward and work toward bringing our pack of girls closer to the front of the race to make the biggest impact on our team score,” Park Hill South coach Pam Jurgensmeyer said. “We also know that over the past two years, as the season progresses, we gain strength and perform better later in the season. This was a tough meet with really great competition that we will see again at districts. It is always nice to see what shakes out as meets progress.”
CODY THORN/Citizen photo
Park Hill’s Ryan Fette took 32nd place for the Trojans in the silver division of the inaugural Tim Nixon Invitational held in Liberty, Mo. The race was named after Liberty’s late cross country coach.
In the 293-runner boys JV race, Platte County’s Jace Trimble was 23rd. Park Hill’s Devin Robertson was 30th and James Drumright was 81st for Park Hill South, marking each team’s highest finisher. Park Hill was seventh and Park Hill South was 14th in the team standings.
Grace Hall took 35th in the girls JV race, giving Park Hill South its highest finisher. Frances Swayne of Park Hill took 49th and Norah Aagesen paced 61st for Platte County in the 255-runner field.
Park Hill South was 11th in the standings, followed by Park Hill in 13th and Platte County in 16th.