On Saturday, November 5th, the MSHSAA State Cross-Country Championships were held at Oak Hills Golf Center in Jefferson City. After prevailing as District Champions the previous weekend in Bowling Green, both the boys’ and girls’ teams competed. The races were all 3.1 miles.
The Class 1 Varsity Boys’ race began at 11:50 A.M. Joseph Rethemeyer, sophomore, finished 1st for the team with a time of 17:27. Finishing overall 10th, Rethemeyer was awarded All State honors. Tim Madden finished in 30th place with a time of 18:26. Martin Lewis ran a time of 19:00 and finished in 51st place. Riley Otten ran a time of 19:11 in 65th place. Ryan Blankenship finished in 74th place with a time of 19:24. Bubba Gale finished in 78th place with a time of 19:26. Dalton Gerdes finished in 99th place with a time of 19:47.
The boys’ team ended with a team score of 135 points, coming in 3rd place. 16 full teams and a handful of solo runners competed at this level. New Haven’s boys’ team in previous years (2014 and 2015) have won 4th place, and have now finally pushed past and won 3rd.
The Class 1 Varsity Girls’ Race was at 1:00 P.M. Julia McIntyre, sophomore, finished 4th overall with a time of 19:58. Grace Allgaier ran a time of 22:58 and finished 30th overall. Lydia Lagemann finished in 65th place with a time of 24:02. Lucy Roth and Emily Lewis crossed the line within seconds of each other, with Roth at 24:05 and Lewis at 24:06. Lucy was 68th and Emily finished 69th. Cece Malone finished in 141st place with a time of 29:20, and Audrey Ford, with a time of 29:58, placed 145th.
Grace Allgaier, freshmen, noted, “It was really exciting because this has been our biggest goal all season -- to place in the final four at State. It was the 1st plaque in 20 years and I felt like everyone did a really good job.”
Emily Lewis, senior, stated, “It’s such a good feeling after running cross country for 6 years to finally make it up on that podium at State. It was so special to stand there with my team who has spent all season striving for this goal. It was even more special to hold the trophy with Lucy Roth, who’s been my running partner for almost 8 years.”
The girls’ team scored a total of 134 points, winning the 3rd place title. The New Haven girls’ team hasn’t earned this high of a ranking in State since 1996 when they came in 3rd. In 2014 and 2015, when the girls’ team qualified for state, they placed 6th and 8th overall.
Congratulations, XC Shamrocks, on a great season! We’re so proud!