JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Park Hill South had the top finishers in the boys and girls Class 4 cross country championship races held on Saturday, Nov. 3.
There were only six total qualifiers from Platte County in the state’s largest classification, with three in the boys race and three in the girls race at the Oak Hills Golf Center at Hough Park.
The Panthers had the most qualifiers with four total and saw Skyelar Nelson and Quentin Worley leading the way in placing.
Worley took 40th place for the Panthers, crossing the 5K race in 17 minutes, 2.78 seconds. Not far behind him was teammate Christian Ludtke in 57th place (17:14.02) and Platte County’s Jackson Letcher was right behind him in 60th (17:14.88).
Worley, a junior, came in behind Ludtke at the sectional race the previous week in Liberty but flipped the finish at the final state meet at the Jefferson City course, before shifting to Columbia next year.
CODY THORN/Citizen photos
The dash toward the finish line in this pack includes Platte County’s Jackson Letcher, far left, Park Hill South’s Christian Ludtke, center, and Jefferson City’s Thomas Roehl during the Class 4 boys cross country championships held on Saturday, Nov. 3 in Jefferson City, Mo.
It was a big improvement for Worley, who was 139th last year in his debut at state, while Ludtke was 107th last fall as both were part of the Park Hill South team competing.
The key for Worley was a late push up firehouse hill, a challenging incline toward the end of the race. Due to weather issues that kept the course from being ran on Friday, a change on Saturday meant an extra hill was added near the clubhouse.
“I would say the course is harder this year only because of the differences they had to make because of the weather,” Worley said. “Otherwise, it was much easier because I know it. I also think the difficulty of the course helps me because I’m good at hills.”
Worley was sitting near 70th place before the hills but made his move up to 40th – 15 spots off all-state honors.
“Him placing 40th this weekend was not a huge surprise to the coaches,” Park Hill South boys coach A.J. Roth said. “When Quentin has his mind set on something, he is going to get it. He had a race plan going in and executed it perfectly. As far as looking at next year, I think this was a great step for him to see where’s he at and what he can accomplish. He has already told me that he’s going to do everything in his power to make it on the podium next year and help his team get back to the state meet.
“The coaches and I are very proud of Christian and Quentin and how they performed this weekend at the state meet. These two guys have told me from the beginning of the summer that they were going to state and would do whatever it took to get there. They have worked extremely hard all season to achieve their goal and it showed.”
Letcher was a four-time qualifier and came up short in his quest to become an all-state runner. His best finish was 38th place as a sophomore.
He leaves the Pirates program with four of the 10 fastest times in school history.
“(He is) one of the best runners our program has ever had,” Platte County coach Chris Stubbs said. “I was hoping he could get a medal for his sake, but he was OK with his place and time.”
In the girls race, Skyelar Nelson and Paige Snider ran at state for the second straight year for the Panthers.
Nelson took 80th place (20:55.18) and Snider placed 91st (21:04.10). For Nelson, a sophomore, it was a big jump from last year’s 143rd place showing.
“We were pleased with both Skyelar Nelson and Paige Snider’s showing at the state meet,” Park Hill South girls coach Pam Jurgensmeyer said. “The girls both went out conservatively, and I was pleased with that. It is really easy to get caught up with the crowd and drop a too fast first mile and then pay greatly in mile three. Both girls set early season goals of qualifying individually for the state meet, and it is always rewarding to see kids who work really hard all summer and throughout the fall reach their goals.
“The girls both ran relaxed and looked strong throughout the tricky state course. I know that it also only fuels their fire for next year in getting back to the state meet as a team and qualifying individually as well.”