Festus-Herky Go 1-2...Two Points Separate Them
In the past 10 seasons (2007-2016), of the 40 teams who have received trophies in Class 3 on the girls side, 15 of those trophies have come from District 1. Ste. Genevieve has 6, Festus has 4, Notre Dame Cape Girardeau has 3, Farmington has 1, and Herculaneum has 1 (in 1 try). 2009 was the only one of those years where a District 1 team did not reach the podium - Ste. Genevieve was 5th. This past year was no different as Festus and Herculaneum were among the top 4 teams again, this time with the difference between them both being separated by mere seconds. The Festus girls came out on top in this one, 2 points ahead of Herculaneum. It was the second state title the girls have won with the other coming in their most recent trip to the state meet - 2014. That title was also close as it came down to a 6th runner that was 15 points ahead of Ste. Genevieve's 6th.
Junior Melissa Wolk led the way for the Tigers in 13th. Her 20:04.74 was her 5th straight time between 20:00-20:10 and a mere 7 seconds off of her personal best from this year's Chile Pepper Festival. Notably, this was Wolk's first trip to the state meet as she was 19th at last year's Class 3 District 1 and Festus did not make it out as a team. So, as a result, Wolk has improved from 19th at District to 13th in the state.
Behind her was fellow junior Allison Payne in 16th (20:11.42). This was not Payne's first trip to state, but it was also her first trip to the podium as she was 48th last year. Her past two races have both been faster than her races at Chile Pepper as Payne appears to have peaked at the right time. Sophomore Paige Treon was the team's #3 in 38th and her 20:59.05 was only her 2nd time under 21:00 this season. She broke 21:00 twice at the end of her freshman season, too. Across fourth for the Tigers was junior Maddie Welsh (44th; 21:06.41) and sophomore Erika McIntyre made it 5 non-seniors in the top 5 (59th; 21:21.13), setting up Festus to be even more competitive in 2018.
We spoke with the girls after they got their trophy:
If West Plains is the most historic program in state history (see yesterday's Class 4 article), then Herculaneum has to be a contender for second. It is a tradition that is different from West Plains, though, in that it has seen a few different coaches across the years from Clark Wille, to Kevin McMillen, to Keith Perry, to Jim Kasten, to Ryun Kasten, to now Kyle Davis - a former state champion athlete from Potosi. They have won 11 state championships in Class 2, 1 fewer than West Plains' girls' record of 12, and tied West Plains for most top 4 trophies in state history after earning their 24th on Saturday. Herculaneum was 2nd, 2 points off tying West Plains for most state titles. They also earned their state record 14th straight trophy and 16th in the last 18 years, missing only twice this millennium (2000 and 2002). As we alluded to, the team was led by Nautica Stricklin and Emily Enghauser in 3rd and 5th, freshman Laura Maddox was 28th on the day, a major key to the Blackcats' run for 2nd. Her 20:38.35 was 13 seconds off of her personal best at District 1. Three low scorers offset their 4 and 5 in 69th and 73rd as sophomore Chloe Richardson came across in 21:31.67 and senior Alex Becker was 21:38.40.
We goofed off with Herky after they got their trophy:
Important in this race was the fall of Bolivar's Kelie Henderson. As she was so close to scoring 1 point, her falling to Bolivar's 7 pushed their #6 into a scoring spot - a 54 point, at the least - swing. Bolivar scored 167 and finished 4 points out of fourth, 59 out of first. Pushing each of Festus, Herculaneum, Helias, and Carl Junction's top 5 runners all back 1 would probably have secured the victory for Bolivar. But, instead, they fell to 5th as Helias Catholic used a 10th place finish from senior Abby Hake and a 27th place finish from junior Ashley Eskins to take 3rd while Carl Junction held on for 4th. Madison Beecher was the top Lady Bulldog in 30th so even though they were unable to put any girls in the top 25, they were still able to come away with a trophy.