LIBERTY, Mo. — Quentin Worley is closing in on a historic moment for Park Hill South.
The senior runner took third place at the Class 4 Sectional 4 meet on Saturday, Nov. 2 at the Warriors Best Friend/Wildflower Course near Liberty North.
His win streak ended after taking the conference and district titles the previous two races but he has positioned himself in a good spot for the upcoming Class 4 MSHSAA State Cross Country Championships that will be held on Saturday, Nov. 9 in Columbia.
“I was happy with my race and I’m happy I get to go back to state,” Worley said. “There wasn’t much doubt, it was expected. I know that sounds cocky but last year was different and it might not happen. I was 22nd last year and this year, I was a mile in and thought if they had bad races and I have a good race, I could win, but third was a good guess. It was a good race, but an expected race.”
Worley finished the 5K race in 16 minutes, 25.70 seconds and came in behind Blue Springs’ Brock Wooderson (2nd, 16:19) and Rock Bridge’s Matt Hauser (1st, 16:08).
The trip to state will be the third for Worley, who improved to 139th as a sophomore to 40th last fall.
CODY THORN/Citizen photo
Park Hill South’s Quentin Worley, second from right, runs near the front of the pack of the Class 4 Sectional 4 meet held on Saturday, Nov. 2 in Liberty.
Now, he has a chance to get his name on an all-state wall at PHS.
There has been only one all-stater on the boys side for the Panthers, when Tucker Melles took 23rd in 2014.
“Quentin, I think will be top 10 at the state meet,” Park Hill South coach AJ Roth said. “He will be one of the best guys there. He has been with the top group in Gans Creek and he was top 10. He was competing well and I think he is ready to roll with those guys.”
Worley took 10th at the Gans Creek Classic/Pre-State meet on Sept. 28, which is the new state course.
He will be one of two Panthers at the state meet for the second straight year. This time he will be joined by classmate Max Goertzen, who took 27th.
“I’m super proud of both of those guys,” Roth said. “Max ran well. He had some issues all season just figuring out his breathing and stuff like that, but the last couple of weeks he has figured it out and came through big for us.”
The Panthers had a team at the sectional meet but finished sixth out of eight with 123 points. The top four teams moving onto state from sectional were Columbia Rock Bridge, Liberty, St. Joseph Central and Staley.
The only other qualifier on the boys’ side is Platte County’s Matthew Sullivan.
The senior ran 16:52.40 to take 17th place.
The first-time state qualifier helped the Pirates extend a runner at state streak to 13 years in a row between Class 3 and 4.
“It was a little slower than what I expected, I didn’t hear my mile or two mile (time) but it was a little slower today,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan was in the top 20 for most of the race and was 11 seconds off a top 10 finish.
“This is my first sectional I was healthy for track or cross country,” he said. “Two years ago, when I went (for cross country) I pulled something in my back and for track last year, I pulled my hamstring in the 4x800. I’m excited for state.”
Park Hill had two runners in the boys’ race but the season came to an end. Ryan Fette was 46th and Isaiah Phillips was 49th.
Girls
Platte County’s Taylor Giger will be the lone runner from the area at the state meet.
Between the Pirates, Park Hill and Park Hill South there were 11 runners that advanced to the sectionals but only the junior moved onto state.
She finished in 20:40.90, about 40 seconds faster than her showing last year when she took 42nd place in sectionals.
Earlier this season she placed second overall in the Tim Nixon Classic on the same course.
She was one of three Pirates racing in the sectionals. Ryanne Rhude took 36th and Mara Gullett was 47th.
Park Hill South had a team at sectionals, finishing seventh out of eight teams and the highest placing runner was senior Olivia Roth, who took 38th.
Park Hill’s Avery Blakley had the closest call. She ran a new personal record in 21:15.20 but came in 33rd place, five seconds away from the 30th and final qualifying spot.
CODY THORN/Citizen photo
Platte County cross country runner Taylor Giger (311) placed 16th at the Class 4 Sectional 4 race on Saturday, Nov. 2 in Liberty. The junior advanced to the MSHSAA State Cross Country Championships this upcoming weekend in Columbia;