Festus girls win via tiebreaker

 
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Festus and Ste. Genevieve are close in more ways than one.
 
The two are geographically close, but they’ve also been similar in cross country success the past three seasons. They couldn’t get any closer to each other on Saturday when the two teams tied 72-72 for first in the Class 3 girls’ race of the MSHSAA Cross Country Championships.
 
Festus held the sixth-runner edge to break the deadlock and claim the state title. Sophomore Danielle Earll finished 47th overall, ahead of Ste. Genevieve’s fifth runner, Maggie Flieg in 63rd.
 
Even Festus’ No. 7 runner, senior Vanessa Strathmann, played a role. She finished 58th and helped by pushing Flieg back another spot to force the tie.
 
“At districts they had us, and we were hoping with more people in the race it would bode well for us,” Festus coach Bryant Wright said. “What an incredible finish. I think we’ve elevated each other because of the racing we do against each other. I wouldn’t want to do the race again.”
 
Festus had finished runner-up to Ste. Genevieve each of the last two seasons, and it marks the Tigers’ fourth trophy all time.
 
The race between the two teams was also fought up front. Behind Ste. Genevieve’s Taylor Werner and Mia Jerman, Festus senior Carolyn White was next to cross the finish line in third (19:05).
 
“We love those girls, and we’re both really happy for each other, but it was a close call,” White said. “Last night I told those girls it was going to be a battle and every place is going to count. I told them, ‘It’s going to go all the way to the seventh girl,’ and it happened. We’ve never had a tie like that before, and what a coincidence for it to happen at the state meet.
 
“I think every girl was thinking, ‘Just one more place. Just one more place.’ But it worked out in the end.”
 
Werner was the defending champion after setting a state record time of 17:31.30 as a sophomore last year. There were no records falling today, as Werner has battled a hip injury since this summer. It was finally diagnosed as bursitis, and she received a cortisone shot just prior to districts. That allowed her to run pain free the last two weeks for the first time in months.
 
 
“I know I got a state record last year, but for a while there it was a really rough season and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to race today,” Werner said. “It’s just so rewarding. I may not have had as great of a time as last year, but just coming out there and being able to race pain free is the ultimate goal. You never know how much you appreciate running until something like that happens.”
 
Ste. Genevieve was plagued by injuries and mishaps all season. And the Dragons overcame it all to be right there with Festus in the end, taking the runner-up spot on the sixth-runner tiebreaker.
 
“To finish where we did is quite an accomplishment,” Ste. Genevieve coach Brian Jett said. “We had a lot of battles, but it made them stronger.”