The Park Hill South cross country teams each have a runner who is ranked in the state’s Top 20, according to Mo-Milesplit.
On the girls’ side, junior Madilynn Conklin is ranked 14th in the state, while fellow junior Thomas Garrett is ranked ninth on the guys’ side.
South junior Thomas Garrett at Tim Nixon in August. DENNIS SHARKEY/Citizen Photo
Garrett started his season with a first-place finish at the Tim Nixon Invitational hosted by Liberty. At Gans Creek in Columbia on Sept. 27th, Garrett finished ninth in the Elite Division race. Conklin finished fifth at Gans Creek in the ladies’ Elite Division race and eighth at Tim Nixon. She finished 12th at the KCXC race hosted by Ray-Pec on Oct. 5.
Park Hill South’s Madilynn Conklin at KCXC. DENNIS SHARKEY/Citizen Photo
Neither runner competed at this past Saturday’s Kearney Invitational held at Jesse James Park. Senior Eva Salvi led the way for the ladies with a time of 22:44.4, which was good for 62nd place, followed by juniors Sophia Osterhaus and Lauren Bender, who finished 65th and 70th, respectively. Senior Elizabeth Wells finished 83rd, sophomore Maya Roe finished 87th, and senior Delaney Nash finished 107th in the varsity race.
On the guys’ side, senior Justin O’Brien led the way with a time of 17:49.8, which was good for a 51st place finish for South, followed by junior Henry Worth with a 53rd place finish, senior Zachary Hilzinger with a 73rd place finish, and sophomore Ethan Brewer, who finished 80th.