Griesenauer Wins Twice, Rock Bridge Shows Off Depth
Our C4 #14 appears ready to make a run at a Top 10 ranking as Holt's Emily Griesenauer showed that she has only gotten stronger since we last saw her. She kicked off her season with an impressive victory on the new, fairly difficult course at The Battlegrounds in Wright City which played host to one of the three Fleet Feet Cross Country Classics. Griesenauer stomped the field with a 12:26 2 Mile, 14 seconds ahead of up-and-coming freshman Mercedes Schroer from Living Word Christian (O'Fallon). She then followed that up with an even bigger victory at the Jim Marshall Invitational in Jefferson City, running away from the afore-mentioned 3-time state champion Brianna Haller with a 19:24. Haller trailed by almost a full minute, running 20:19. Griesenauer appears ready to surprise some of those girls previously ranked ahead of her as she pursues her fourth career cross country state medal.
At the Fleet Feet Cross Country Kickoff in Wright City, Rock Bridge came down from Columbia to show everyone that there is no "rebuilding" for the Bruins, there is only winning. Even after losing 5 of their Top 7 boys from 2016's Class 4 runner up team, the CoMo powerhouse put their depth on full display, sweeping all 4 races fairly handily. Hannibal's Ayden Nichols took the Varsity Boys race, but he was followed closely by Rock Bridge's Top 4. Freshman Matthew Hauser was their #1 followed by seniors Kylan Rottinghaus, Dallin Tucker, and Dean Frossard. "It was a good result considering we were missing someone who might be our #1," reported Coach Neal Blackburn. "He ran for us as a Freshman, moved to Chicago, and now he's back and we think he could be a top scorer for us." Be very afraid of Rock Bridge boys if that's the case. But also because of their JV result. The first 14 boys across the line were Bruins and 15 of the first 16. Many are seniors, but with a varsity squad like Rock Bridge's, it's hard to be surprised at that. On the girls side, Rock Bridge showed similar depth by winning both divisions. They appear to be just as strong as they were last year - if not stronger.
Fleet Feet Wright City Results
Fleet Feet Wright City Varsity Girls Finish Video
Fleet Feet Wright City Varsity Boys
Fleet Feet Wright City Finish Line Videos
Photos - *coming soon*