By the narrowest of margins, McDonald County's Garrett Spears earned a trip to the Missouri Class 4, Sectional 3, Cross Country Championships.
Spears, a junior at MCHS, finished in 29th place at the Missouri Class 4, District 6, Cross Country Championships on Oct. 20 at Raymore-Peculiar High School to qualify for Saturday's sectionals at Nixa. The top 30 finishers earn a qualifying spot.
Spears' 29th place finish was just about a second and a half ahead of the 31st place finisher.
"Garrett had a great day," said coach Rustan Crockett. "He went from being ranked about 39th to finishing 29th. That's tough to do on a day that everyone is trying to run their best and make the top 30. I am not surprised he made it. He had a great track season this spring and he ran more over the summer than anyone else on the team. I knew he was capable, but I am still impressed because in no way is it easy to do what he's done."
Spears completed the 3.1-mile course in a time of 17:48. Clayton Whitehead on Carthage won the race in 15:54.
Spears was the only McDonald County runner to earn a trip to sectionals. His teammate on the boys' team, David Lazalde, finished in 44th place in a time of 18:18. The result was a disappointing finish for Lazalde since he had been fighting off an illness for the past two weeks.
"David qualified for sectionals last year and has been running just as fast or faster than Garrett in most races this year," Crockett said. "He has been sick several days over the past few weeks. He raced sick at our conference meet and still managed to make all-conference. At districts, the competition is a little less forgiving and he fell a little short."
Rounding out the McDonald County results were Jackson Behm, 60th, 19:56; Bryce Berryhill, 72, 20:52; Tyler Moritz, 74th, 21:04; Eli Jackson, 82nd, 24:18; and Justin Smith, 83rd, 24:19.
Lee's Summit West won the boys' team title, followed by Raymore-Peculiar, Carthage, Webb City, Joplin, Carl Junction, Neosho, Warrensburg, Smith-Cotton, Willard, McDonald County, Republic and Belton.
Girls
Freshman Kalyn Stetina led the McDonald County girls' team. She finished in 44th place in a time of 22:50.
Rounding out the girls' results for McDonald County were Addy Mick, 62nd, 25:22; Brooklyn Winters, 64th, 25:54; and Azlen Smith, 73rd, 27:43.
Ginger Murnieks of Lee's Summit West won the girls' division in a time of 18:18.
Lee's Summit West also won the girls' team title by edging Raymore-Peculiar. McDonald County did not field a full girls' team.
"I thought all the boys and girls had solid races," Crockett said. "They were competitive and gave a lot of effort. As long as that's there, I can't ask for any more on race day."
Sectionals are set for Oct. 27 at Nixa High School.
Sports on 10/25/2018