Mugeche Remains Undefeated; Blue Springs, Rockhurst, Parkway West Rumble at Rim Rock
It was a showdown for which we had all been waiting. Webb City Ryan Riddle, the preseason #1 in Class 4 and, subsequently, the state, squared off against the young man who has since overtaken that #1 spot: Blue Springs senior Victor Mugeche. Riddle took it out hard and took the lead early. Mugeche trailed for a good portion of the race, running in a group that included some Kansas and Colorado athletes, his teammate Oaklee Hauschild, Rockhurst's Tom Seitzer, and Hickman's Chandler Gibbens. Right around the 2 mile mark, though, is when Mugeche made his move and he eventually ended up with the 15:27 victory, 5 seconds ahead of Denver East senior Harrison Scudamore. Hauschild ended up being the 2nd best Missourian on the day, finishing in 15:48, a full 8 seconds ahead of Riddle. Seitzer came across in 16:03 and Peter Campbell was the 4th Missourian across the line. Four of the first five Missourians were from Blue Springs or Rockhurst. Ten Missouri boys broke under 16:30. The team score in the Gold Varsity division, though, ended up being the biggest story. Blue Springs took home the victory on this day, but Rockhurst was just four points behind them. These two teams have been neck and neck all season. Blue Springs avenged their loss to the Hawklets at Forest Park, but the score remains 2-1 Rockhurst with the result from Greg Wilson Classic. Further, both teams who lost to Kansas's St. Thomas Aquinas at Greg Wilson have now avenged that loss at Forest Park and even more significantly at Rim Rock. Parkway West, the current Class 4 #1, ended up falling to Blue Springs and Rockhurst, but not by much. The Longhorns were led by Matyas Csiki-fejer and averaged 16:36 with a 51 second 1-5 split. Without a solid front runner, Parkway West could not keep up with the 2 front runners that Blue Springs and Rockhurst had, but their pack and team depth was, once again, better than the others. In a smaller race, the results may have shaped out differently, but on the day, it was pretty clear that these three Missouri teams mean business.
The best Missouri team in the Crimson race was Nixa as they continued on their strong start to this season. Just behind them was yet another solid KCMO team - Kearney. Clayton Whitehead of Carthage was the fastest of the individual Missourians with his 16:40, followed by Kearney's Mason Marshall and Nixa junior Christian Blake Procell.
The Varsity Blue division featured a sterling race from Maryville's Caleb Feuerbacher. He was the top Missourian in the race and ran 16:54. Smithville, though, continued their run of success and was the top Missouri team, taking 2nd, just ahead of Joplin. Jonah Palmer led the Warriors with his 17:02. He was the Forest Park White Division champion two weeks ago, leading Smithville to their dominating victory. Their 18:11 average is looking very good coming out of Class 3 District 8 and they could be sneaky in November if they all put it together at the right time.