Six runners, five boys, and one girl, will compete this Friday, Nov. 8, in the Missouri Class 5 State Cross Country Championships at Gans Creek in Columbia.
South junior Madilynn Conklin. DENNIS SHARKEY/Citizen Photo
Park Hill South junior Madilynn Conklin is the only local girls’ runner heading to Gans Creek. Conklin finished sixth at the Class 5 District 4 Championships this past Saturday, Nov. 2, at Jesse James Park in Kearney. Conklin ran a time of 19:23.7, which was about three seconds behind fifth place, and her time was more than 12 seconds faster than seventh place at the district championships.
Conklin competed at the Gans Creek Classic on Sept. 27 in the girls’ elite division and finished fifth with a time of 18:44.0. As a sophomore, Conklin finished 12th in the Class 5 championships with a time of 18:23.6.
Five guys runners finished in the Top 30 on Saturday to qualify for the state race led by South junior Thomas Garrett, who finished seventh with a time of 15:54.79. Last year, Garrett finished 20th at the Class 5 championships with a time of 15:40.1.
The other runners will be making their first appearance at the state championships. Park Hill senior Jakob Johnston will be headed to Gans Creek with a 13th-place finish with a time of 16:22.81. Teammate and fellow senior John Mattivi is also running for the Trojans after finishing 26th with a time of 16:40.03.
A pair of South juniors, Grant Windmeyer and Cole James, are headed to Gans Creek. Windmeyer finished 25th with a time of 16:39.25, and James qualified with a time of 16:44.62, which was good for 29th place.
