Garrett Spears came up a few seconds and a few paces short of qualifying to the Missouri Class 4 Cross Country State Championships.
Spears, a junior at MCHS, finished in 49th place at the Missouri Class 4 Cross Country Sectional Championships held on Oct. 27 at Nixa High School, missing a top-30 qualifying spot by about 30 seconds.
Spears finished the 3.1-mile course in 49th place in a time of 17:38.
"Garrett ran a very determined race," said coach Rustan Crockett. "The course was a bit soft and it was warm, so a lot of the guys were a little slower. Garrett finished higher than he was ranked. He had a great mindset going in and ran very well. I was really proud of him. He ran over a minute faster than his personal record from last year, which is impressive. I credit that to his hard work and miles he's put in during the offseason and this spring in track. He now has the 14th fastest time in McDonald County history."
Clayton Whitehead of Carthage won the race in a time of 15:36, nearly 30 seconds ahead of second place Jimmy Dietrich of Lee's Summit West.
West Plains won the team title, with Raymore-Peculiar in second.
"I think making it to sectionals was a great experience for Garrett," Crockett said. "After coming up a little short for qualifying for state but seeing how close he was, Garrett will push hard to make it a reality next year. I am already excited for him and for all of our athletes."
Sports on 11/01/2018