Photos by Chris Auckley http://motrackfanatic.com/
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Ben Naeger had some simple but lofty goals coming into Saturday’s Capital City Cross Country Challenge – win and run fast.
The Ste. Genevieve sophomore checked both of his list with a 15:58.53 to win the boys’ Class 3-4 race at the Oak Hills Golf Center course, which also serves as the Missouri state course.
“I really wanted to see what kind of time I could run here and get a feel for later in the fall, and really I wanted to win today,” said Naeger, who was sixth at the Class 3 state meet last year (16:25). “For a while there coming up the hill I kind of doubted it seeing the clock ticking, but I made it (under 16 minutes) and I’m happy with that. It’s something I really wanted to do.”
Naeger, who was sixth at the inaugural Capital City Challenge, took the lead near the mile mark and continued to fight the win and hold the lead throughout the remainder of the race. It’s his third victory of the season after also winning at Hancock and the Lutheran South Invitational.
He said he thinks he will gain a boost from Saturday’s performance when the state meet rolls around next month.
“It definitely builds a lot of confidence, but there are some guys not here like the two from Festus (Michael Karls and Tyler Gillam),” Naeger said. “I know racing here like I did last year helps a lot for November.”
Platte County’s Nathan Straubel continued with his strong senior campaign, taking runner-up in the Class 3-4 race in 16:08.81, which is just two seconds off his PR time from earlier this year.
Straubel claims meet victories at the Ray-Pec Invitational and Platte County Invitational this year, as well as a runner-up finish last week at Rim Rock in the Crimson division. At Capital City, he kept Naeger in sight as the two extended a large gap over the rest of the field.
“I wanted to go out there and run my hardest and get ready for state so I can know where to push and when to push,” Straubel said. “I wanted to run 16:10 or faster, and I did that. I feel like I have more of a sense of urgency at the state meet maybe, so that last mile it would’ve helped if there was someone I was right with because (Naeger) gapped me a little bit.
“I have to practice on the hills, because the big hill hurt me today.”
Straubel and Platte County will have arguably a tougher task this year after a move up to Class 4, and Straubel said he knows that makes for a difficult field to race against.
“It really upped the ante in practices, and I know I have to go if I’m going to get my goals,” Straubel said.
The team scores were congested at the top, and Lee’s Summit West took advantage of a solid 1-3 pack to secure the victory with 121 points. Nixa was second with 173, and Marquette third with 174.
West, which did not qualify for the state meet last year, did not have a single runner who had experienced the Oak Hills course previously. That made getting to race Saturday in the Capital City Challenge all the more valuable.
“That’s our plan is to get to state, so any chance you get to run the state course before it is a learning experience,” Lee’s Summit West coach Michael Shortino said. “They’ll know what to expect; It’ll ease the nerves if we can qualify to state.”
Shortino said the addition of David Treece to the squad has been a big boost. Treece, who led the squad in 10th place (17:03), splits time with swimming. Junior teammates Max Lyons and Austin Whitney were right on Treece’s heels in 11th and 12th at 17:05. The reaction to the course after the first time racing at Oak Hills was mixed, with those who had a good race enjoying the hilly course.
“Basically they all said the last mile is a tough mile,” Shortino said. “I made sure they knew the difference with the field at state so much bigger than it is out here. We ran the race and got out fast to kind of replicate what we need to do at state."
West is also anticipating the imminent return of junior Peyton Burlingame, who suffered an injury in track last spring and has slowly worked his way back and appears ready to begin racing next week. Burlingame adds immediate depth, and he was the team’s No. 1 for much of last fall’s cross country season.