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(Photo: Twitter @longhornXC)
Parkway West Wins Under The Lights; West Plains is 2nd Twice
In our Preseason Power Rankings, we placed the Parkway West boys #1 and on Saturday they proved why. Led by Matyas Csiki-fejer's 9th place finish, the Longhorns put 5 boys in the top 25 and within 27 seconds of each other. Blake Selm was 11th and Andrew Lofgren was just behind him in 13th. As we've seen, their spread is absolutely their claim to fame. Entering the season, the top 4 Longhorns who returned were within 8 seconds of each other. (16:08-16:16). Zane Yates has already dropped 10 seconds and looks to be that 5th man they needed to stay at the top spot throughout this season. Kyle Andersen is their current #4 man, just ahead of Yates at the moment, but owns a 16:18 PR. Individually, Ben Stasney of West Plains was actually the top finisher among Missourians, finishing 4th overall in 15:48. Stasney led his Zizzers to a 2nd place overall finish as a team behind Parkway West. Festus was the 3rd Missouri team across the line and 4th overall. Max McDaniel was the 2nd Missourian across the line, kicking his season off well with a 9:49 2 mile at Fleet Feet Arnold and now a 16:02 at Memphis.
(Photo: Ted Paduck)
On the girls side, West Plains nearly came away with a win of their own. They were a mere three points behind the winners - Germantown Houston High School - and very well could have done it if Mia Harris hadn't stumbled before the line and lost a few places as a result. Nevertheless, West Plains showed that they still have a very strong top 3 with Harris, Kaylee Hatley, and McKenzie Bergman, but with their 4 and 5 both finishing better than 21:15, they're already in a better spot than 2016 and look poised to build off of their stellar season last year. Francis Howell girls were 4th for the 2nd straight year, even after losing 4 of their top 7 from last year. Erin Gilbert led the way with a 19th place finish and freshman Ally Hoppe was their #2 on the day. With Gilbert in front at 19:52, Howell's 2-6 are all within 22 seconds of each other and includes 3 freshmen and a junior. It appears they may be making a push to reclaim their success from the early part of the decade. Mariah Lister was the top Missourian with her 19:18 5th place finish. The Grain Valley junior had a strong 2017 debut and looks to be rejuvenated from her injury that derailed her sophomore campaign. She will continue to be one to watch as we move through 2017.