Juniors Stephen Saylor and Max Storms are good friends who run with each other in the off-season, live near each other in the south KC area but attend different schools.
On Saturday, both had races they'll remember the rest of their lives.
At Missouri's State Meet in Jefferson City, Saylor of Raytown South placed 7th in the Class 4 race.
Less than 45 minutes before that, Storms of O'Hara had dominated the Class 2 competition with a 12-second victory.
As a totally sapped Saylor sat on the ground after his race, Storms walked over to congratulate him.
"That...was...tough," was all Saylor could get out, shaking Storms' hand. Saylor's finish was the best of any boy from the KC area in Class 4 at State.
In his race, Saylor passed the 2-mile mark in about 20th place, at 10:26. But he kicked it in from there, running a 5:47 over the last 1.1 miles, to finish in 16:13.
That was a ferocious finish. Compare: Class 4 winner Eric Fernandez of Parkway West ran a 5:52 last 1.1 mile (9:58 at the 2-mile, 15:50 finish) in his wire-to-wire victory.
No wonder Saylor was so exhausted after his blazing run up the final hill to the State finish line.
By contrast, Storms was in charge of his Class 2 race the entire way. He ran a hard first mile in 5 minutes flat, came through two miles at 10:26 and finished with a 16:39.
His closest pursuer was Jason Barry of Osage in 16:51.
"It wasn't as good as I wanted it to be, but it was enough," Storms said after his victory.
He said his legs weren't as fresh as he'd hoped for.
Now Saylor and Storms prepare for their post-season races, perhaps at Footlocker or the USTAF Regionals at Rim Rock, or both.
Stay tuned. These KC area juniors still have their best competitions ahead of them.