The Centralia Panthers repeat as state champions in Class Three boys cross country by the slimmest of margins.
Senior Zane Deckard finished the race Friday, Nov. 7 at Gans Creek in Columbia in 17:44.9 in 70th place. The finish was six-tenths of a second ahead of Fair Grove’s Tyler Whitehead, allowing the Panthers to finish with 94 team points, one better than Westminster Christian. Individually, Nolan Spickert finished second with a time of 15:37.5, 12 seconds behind champion Sinry Mendoza of Hollister. However, Spickert was the first competitor across the line collecting team points, while Wesley Robertson brought in seven points for the Panthers with his 16:12.9 finish. Chillicothe finished 16th, with Luke Thompson finishing tenth individually.
The Knob Noster girls will bring home fourth place after collecting 128 points. Lyla Styles led the way for the Panthers with a time of 20:11.1, while Summer Stiles finished 40 seconds behind. Among area individuals, Sophia Rivers finished eighth individually with a time of 19:48.9. Moberly finished tenth with 255 points, led by Cora Howen with a time of 20:32.8. Cape Girardeau Notre Dame won the Class Three title, while Brianna Krueger of St Charles West secured the individual title.
In Class Four, the Warrensburg boys finished 11th with a team score of 248, while the girls were 13th in their race with a total of 295 points. Luke Youngblood led the Warrensburg boys with a 25th place finish, completing the course in 16:33.1. Skyler Knight was 11th in the girls race with a time of 19:17.8.
Classes One and Two will compete Saturday morning, with the Class One Boys race beginning at 9 a.m., followed by the Class One girls at 9:45 a.m., Class Two boys at 11 a.m., and Class Two girls at 11:45 a.m.
The Class Two girls contest features defending champions Lexington, who had four of the top seven finishers at the District Four race last weekend in Platte City. Also qualifying teams for the state meet are Lafayette County and Lone Jack. Six other area schools will have individual runners competing. Stover is the lone team from our area competing for the Class Two boys title. Lexington’s Chael Lichte will look to repeat as individual state champion, with Conner Soendker also vying for another top-ten finish. The Minutemen are among eight area programs with individual competitors Saturday.
In Class One, Cairo and Kingsville will have their boys teams pursuing a state title, while ten other area schools will have individual runners. The Glasgow and Green Ridge girls are in pursuit of a state team title, with nine other area programs fielding individual competitors.