JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – As the runners charged up Firehouse Hill, there was a glint in Caleb Wilfong’s eye.
The Rock Bridge senior could sense his moment building. He had been stalking Rockhurst’s Zach Herriott for two miles, and after the runners crested the hill, Wilfong put a charge into the race.
He powered down the side hill knowing there were only a couple turns left and he would see the finish line. Wilfong pushed through the final few hundred meters, capturing the Class 4 boys’ state cross country title with a wink and a smile.
“I felt it the whole time. I knew,” Wilfong said. “I passed him, and he’s not going to get me back. I knew it was going to happen since Forest Park.
“It’s something special that I deserve this year. I worked my ass off to get here, and no one was going to take it from me today.”
Wilfong lost out at Forest Park when Herriott built too large of a lead. Saturday on the Oak Hills Golf Center course, Wilfong attacked with a different strategy that centered mostly on his tenacity. After Wilfong crossed the finish line in 15:54, he was mobbed time and again by family, friends and competitors, and Wilfong’s embrace was emphatic with every one of them.
He was so energized from the victory Wilfong could have knocked out another 5k.
“Right now I could,” Wilfong said with a smile as he continued the procession of congratulatory hugs. “It feels amazing – indescribable. I got my teammates here, family all around, lovely ladies everywhere hugging me.”
When Wilfong made his move around Herriott, Lee’s Summit North senior Kolton Sheldon tagged along. Sheldon wanted to send a message with his runner-up finish (16:01).
“I’ve been looking at the rankings, and I haven’t been given very good rankings lately,” Sheldon said. “So my goal was to say, ‘Don’t doubt me. I’m part of that top group, and to put me out of it is not a wise choice.’
“Coach (Kris) Solsberg came up with a real effective race strategy for us, which was to break up the course into different segments and race in your part of the race through those segments. And where things fall out, is where things fall out. We accomplished our goal which was to get a trophy. That was the whole thing.”
Lee’s Summit North did move up to take a spot on the podium with a fourth-place finish with 156 points. Senior Drew Cargill moved up into third place (16:08) to help West Plains capture third with 147 points.
Rockhurst earned its first state trophy with a second-place finish. The Hawklets tallied 89 points as Herriott was able to hold on for 13th. Once he started to slide down the individual standings, the defending Class 4 champion said he pushed through the final half mile solely for his team.
“The second mile, I almost felt better than I did after the first mile and thought, ‘I might still have this race,’ but going up the first hill, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to hold on any longer,” Herriott said. “It was just about surviving after that. I knew my team needed it if we wanted to get that trophy.”
Wilfong’s celebration grew exponentially as the Bruins captured their first team title with 61 points. Rock Bridge coach Neal Blackburn said the road to the top of the podium began with the team’s third-place trophy in 2009 – the first cross country plaque the Bruins ever hoisted.
Rock Bridge sophomore Evan Schulte provided the scoring spark when he moved up into 20th past two Rockhurst runners through the final stretch of the race. Senior Jordan Cook tallied a seventh-place finish, and junior Nathan Keown just missed All-State honors in 27th. Nick Dale completed the team scoring in 36th.
Marquette sophomore Noah Kauppila led the chase group for most of the race, and he peeled off in time to ensure his fourth-place finish.
“I was trying to stay out of trouble because last year I lost my shoe. I was trying to get in a good position and not lose my shoe again,” Kauppila said. “I felt a little tired from the first mile because it took out quick, so my goal was to try to stay with Drew Cargill and that group for as long as I could.”
The girls’ race did not feature the same drama. Samantha Nightingale of Blue Springs South led wire-to-wire to defend her Class 4 title in 18:05.
“I was really nervous; I couldn’t sleep last night, and then I got here and said, ‘Hey, I’m feeling like I felt last year,’ which I knew this was my race,” Nightingale said.
Nightingale said she had been motivated to run all season for her classmate, Katie Gerstner, who had been fighting leukemia. Saturday was the first time all season Nightingale didn’t have Gerstner’s name on her foot after Gerstner got the news the cancer was in remission this week.
“I ran for her today, but knowing that she’s healed, now I’m free and I’m running for myself now,” Nightingale said.
Nightingale set off to establish a pace, and Eureka freshman Hannah Long was the only person who stayed in range for the first half of the race. Long could not keep stride with Nightingale, but she built nearly as big of a lead over third place to render the race for runner-up a moot point.
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I was in good position the first and second mile,” Long said. “I’m happy with my finish. I was trying to close in on the third mile, but that obviously didn’t happen.”
It was the first and only race between the two competitors after their initially planned meeting at Southern Stampede was rained out.
There was little drama with the team scores either as Lee’s Summit West won its fifth consecutive title. The Titans did it in different fashion this year as all five of the scoring runners were either sophomores or freshman.
Lee’s Summit West coach Jesse Griffin said that made it a little shocking as he considered the Titans underdogs coming into the race.
“There are different challenges; this is a whole new set of girls from the ones that started the first state championship,” Griffin said. “We had a fifth girl that was within 60 seconds of our first girl today, and we have not done that all year. This is the meet to do that.”
Rock Bridge secured its first girls’ plaque with 124 points for a runner-up finish. Senior Sam Garrett led the Bruins in 18th, and Blackburn said he is excited that his might spur a similar run as the boys squad, which started with a third-place finish two years ago before capturing the title this year.
Francis Howell was third with 134 points, and St. Teresa’s captured fourth with 147.
FULL COVERAGE OF THE 2011 MSHSAA XC CHAMPIONSHIP