Crull/Starr 1-2 at Borgia; Schroer Continues Excellent Freshman Campaign
The Borgia Invitational was the MoMileSplit Race of the Weekend. Held at Big Driver in Washington, MO, one of the top 5 toughest courses in Missouri, this meet provided some important matchups particularly across Classes 1-3. In the girls race, MoMileSplit Class 3 #2 Mercedes Schroer from Christian High School faced off against Class 3 #5 Kylie Goldfarb out of John Burroughs. The two freshman phenoms were also met by Class 3 #9 Abby Hake (Helias Catholic) and Kirkwood's Hannah Santoni. Schroer and Goldfarb took out the lead early on and broke off from the pack right away. As they approached the back side of the course and the 2 Mile mark, Goldfarb was still slightly behind Schroer who was still looking strong and smooth. Once they came off the long, gradual hill that really makes Big Driver a mentally taxing course, Schroer was clear of Goldfarb - who was clear of the chase pack - and cruised into her 21 second victory in 20:05. Often seen as 10-20 seconds slower than the state course, maybe more with recent changes to Oak Hills, this serves as a notice to all those in Class 3: watch out for Schroer - she is the real deal. She spoke about how she's feeling heading into the state series:
Goldfarb also joined us for an interview after her 2nd place finish in 20:26.
Abby Hake came across in 21:12 for 3rd and Hannah Santoni was 4th in 21:21. John Burroughs senior Grace Gore used a huge kick to take 5th in 21:33. Kirkwood used the Borgia meet as a preview of the Class 4 District 2 course, but held out two of their top girls. They were still able to secure the narrow victory over Class 3 #1 Helias Catholic, winning on the tie breaker.
The varsity boys race saw Jack Crull and Jenson Starr - two sophomore phenoms from Helias Catholic - go 1-2, dominating the field en route to an impressive performance. Crull, Starr, and Osage senior Derrick Puckett took out the race hard, but the Helias boys eventually broke away and sailed through together. Crull came across in 17:16 and Starr was 17:28 with Crull pulling away at the top of the final hill with about 600 meters to go. Crull is MoMileSplit #7 and Starr sits at #12. They were both just under 30 seconds ahead of the rest of the field as Class 2 #9 Maplewood Richmond Hts. sophomore Malik Stewart dropped a 17:54 to take 3rd. New Haven junior Joseph Rethemeyer was 4th in 18:12. We spoke with MoMileSplit Class 1 #1 New Haven after the race:
We also spoke with Crull and Starr about their performance on Saturday, too.