Class 2 State Wrap-Up


Haller Defends Title, Takes Down Gibbs For Fourth Straight Championship

It was hard not to call Fatima senior Brianna Haller the underdog ahead of Saturday's MSHSAA Class 2 State Cross Country Championship. After all, the 3-time defending state champion had been handled twice by the odds-on favorite junior from Steelville, Allie Gibbs, with one of those times coming a month earlier at the Capital City Cross Country Challenge on this very same course. There, Gibbs beat Haller by 41 seconds  to cement her place as the top girl in Class 2 heading into the state series. Gibbs' other win over Haller was just one week ago at the District 4 meet, this time by 27 seconds. While many were putting the Class 2 girls race to bed before it had even started, Haller had other plans.

Gibbs and Haller broke away from the pack early, leaving St. Michael the Archangel senior Caroline Meyers in no-mans land for much of the first two miles. Gibbs led through the first mile in 5:45 with Haller tracking in 5:47 and Meyers in 5:52, 10 seconds ahead of the chase pack of six between 6:02-6:05. This was contrary to what unfolded in September when Gibbs opened up a 13 second lead on Haller in the first mile. It appeared that Haller was not letting Gibbs go so easy this time.

Class 2 Girls Mile (Twitter)

Class 2 Girls Mile Results


It was more of the same as they continued to pull away even more at the halfway mark, both girls having put a 20 second gap on Meyers in 3rd who had put a 10 second gap on the chase pack. The pack was led by Fatima sophomore Kendall Haller and Bowling Green junior Kate Klott. The front two had 27 seconds on Meyers at 2 miles with both girls coming across in 11:55. Meyers was 12:22 and the pack came through around 12:30. Gibbs and Haller were not giving up an inch, setting us up for one crazy final mile.

Class 2 Girls 2 Mile (Twitter)

Class 2 Girls 2 Mile Results


As they came off the top of Firehouse Hill, the separation began to grow between Haller in first and Gibbs in second. Haller had opened up a slight edge as they made their way past the clubhouse, but the lead only continued to grow until Haller slammed her foot on the gas and left Gibbs in her wake. It was a finish to behold as Haller, who had only had around a 3 second gap on Gibbs just 600 meters earlier now had a 24 second gap as they rolled through 3 miles. Having slammed the door shut, it was now time for Brianna Haller to cross the line in first for the fourth straight time, this time in 18:50.44, one second behind her lifetime best for her sophomore year championship. She now joins Ste. Genevieve's Taylor Werner (Class 3, 2012-2015) and Stoutland's Jamie Vest (Class 1, 2001-2004) as the only other individuals in state history to win four state championships in cross country. To make things even more impressive, Haller has never left the state cross country meet without two gold medals around her neck. Haller's victory was even more impressive as she came into the race with a season's best a full 1:32 behind Allie Gibbs. We spoke to Haller about that and what it means to be a four time state champ:


For Allie Gibbs, it may not have been the result the junior was looking for, but in the end, her season as a whole was one for the history books as she padded an already impressive resume. She did not run over 20:00 once this entire season and was only slower than 19:20 twice (Hancock Invite and District 4). Further, she ran 19:18 three times - including this Saturday - and was 18:17 at her best this year. That was the fourth fastest time in the entire state. Third place finisher Kendall Haller will be a challenger in 2018, but in our early 2018 projections, we would have to put Gibbs as the heavy favorite in Class 2 next season.


Kendall Haller made a huge push in the final half mile to overtake 3rd, going from 7 seconds back of Meyers at 2 miles to 12 seconds ahead of her at 3 miles. This was her second top 5 finish as she was 5th in 2016 and appears to be ready to follow in her older sister's footsteps. With some improvements over the offseason and a strong track season, Kendall could take a step toward taking down Gibbs next season, but for now we consider a strong #2 in Class 2 heading into 2018.


Meyers would actually fall to 5th as Klott's push to the finish was also enough to hold her off by exactly 1 second (19:55.37 and 19:56.37, respectively). Klott is a junior as well and will be an interesting sleeper pick heading into 2018 as she has also seen success on the track. Fatima junior Alyssa Struemph made it three Fatima girls in the top six as she came across in 20:04.29.

Class 2 Girls 3 Mile Results

Class 2 Final Results

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