On Saturday September 14th cross country teams from across the Midwest will once again meet at Forest Park for this the 8th Annual Forest Park XC Festival presented by SSM Physical Therapy.
This week we look back at 10 memorable moments from the previous 7 races.
#1 2012 Girls Green Division (Werner, Long, Fischer all break course record) - Sometimes words just seem inadequate to describe how exciting something is. Check out this video clip and I’m sure you will see why we choose this moment as the #1 memorable moment from Forest Park.
#2 2006 Varsity Boys (Thebeau, Mathis) – In the early days of the Festival, the varsity races were combined. By the time the Varsity Boys race took off the course had been slightly adjusted and ran about 25 meters short. Despite the shortcut the Potosi duo of Josh Thebeau and Josh Mathis going 1-2 ranks as another great Forest Park memory.
#3 2011 Boys Green Division – Although he won a state championship in 2010, Zach Herriott of Rockhurst wanted badly to win one at Forest Park. In a rematch of the top 2 finishers from 2010, Herriott defeated Caleb Wilfong of Rock Bridge to set the recognized 5000 meter course record in a time of 15:10.10
#4 2011 Girls Green Division (Long) – The Festival has grown through the years and literally thousands of athletes are competing. In 2011 the XC world anticipated the arrival of Hannah Long whose 8th grade performance at the Festival of Miles had raised expectations of what she might be able to do in high school. Long seized the moment and crossed the line in what was then a meet record of 18:00
#5 2006 Varsity Boys (Potosi) – Led by the 1-2 punch of Thebeau and Mathis, the Trojans also brought home Swearingen, Niggleman and Forbes all in the top 12. Their team score of 30 stands as the lowest score of any team at the Festival.
#6 2008 Girls Green Division (Jefferson City) - For the #6 memory I choose a team’s #6 runner. Hillary Weaver of Jefferson City finished 40th and was the 6th girl on her team to cross the line. What makes her performance significant was she was the tie-breaking runner that gave Jefferson City the victory of Kickapoo.
#7 2010 Varsity Boys Green – (Wilfong) – In 2009 a sophomore from Rock Bridge named Caleb Wilfong finished 15th at the State XC meet. However, his victory at the Festival in 2010 was a springboard to a decorated final two years of his high school career that ended with an individual and team championship in 2011.
#8 2009 Boys Green (Hoover) – Someone forgot to tell Caleb Hoover he ran for a Class 1 school. Proving that elite athletes can come from anywhere, Hoover’s victory over guys from all classes in a meet like Forest Park was just one of many memories of his career at College Heights Christian.
#9 2010 Girls Green (Quigley) There have been some great battles over the years at Forest Park (Werner/Long, Herriott/Wilfong, Thebeau/Mathis) but in 2010 Colleen Quiqley did it alone. In a signature performance, Quigley won the festival by 54 seconds.
#10 JV Girls White – (Mitulski) – The top 9 on this list have been about some really great performances. For the final spot I choose a recent memory from last year in the Girls JV race not may not have been the fatest time ever run but her story and enthusiasm was one I won't forget. Emily Mitulski began running the day before school started. In her first ever race, she went on to defeat 153 other runners. The photo above and interview below are something I'll always remember.
MoMileSplit Coverage of the 2013 Forest Park XC Festival
MoMileSplit Coverage of 2013 Forest Park XC Festival
Forest Park XC Festival Information