With less than a week to go before the 2009 State Cross Country Meet, Chris Ammen couldn’t fit this week’s conversation into one day. So tonight begins Part 1 of a special edition of this week’s Thursday Conversation. Up first Chris talks to Alan Shields of Raymore Peculiar, Sean Nunn of Raytown South and Steve Davis of
Alan Shields – Raymore Peculiar
What is your favorite memory of the state meet?
Watching West Plains girls put 5 runners in front of the defending state champion for a perfect score was pretty neat to watch.
Who will win in each class for boys and girls on Saturday in
Class 1 Boys -
Class 1 Girls - Penney - Mackenzie Weis
Class 2 Boys -
Class 2 Girls -
Class 3 Boys - West Plains - Maksim Korolev
Class 3 Girls -
Class 4 Boys -
Class 4 Girls -
What do you look forward to the most about the state meet?
I enjoy going to the state meet and watching the best athletes in
Sean Nunn –
What is your favorite memory of the state meet?
Jesse Griffin’s Raytown South girls winning the class 3 title, despite their top runner not finishing the race due to heat exhaustion.
Who will win in each class for boys and girls on Saturday in
In terms of favorites, I can only speak intelligently about class 4.
Teamwise,
Kickapoo also makes a good case based on a 16:30 average at districts, as does
I would normally put SLUH in contention, but with no results posted from their district I can’t say one way or the other. My guess is that they will be in the mix as well.
Individually, Kevin Colon looked very comfortable winning the district 8 meet Saturday. He appears to be rounding into top form at just the right time. Danny Thater from Kickapoo could give him a run.
Lee’s Summit West girls have to be the favorites. Anything can happen but it is tough to beat a team who could have 4 in the top 15 at state. Jesse Griffin has done an incredible job with them over the past 12 months, and I don’t think we have even seen what they can do yet. They are so far ahead that I don’t honestly even know who might be 2nd. Ray-Pec has worked hard and should earn a trophy this year.
Individually, obviously Sisson is the odd-on favorite, but the second tier is better than it has ever been before. Robison, Wood and Jackson from Neosho, Blyholder and Phoebus from LSW, and Yohe from
Steve Davis – Potosi Coach
What is your favorite memory of the state meet?
One of my best memories and story is about the 1999 Potosi CC team. We were not sure if we were going to score a team that year, we had 4 Seniors go to running camp at Mizzou in the summer but one of the Seniors decided not to run at the last minute. We thought that Walker Eye would challenge for the individual title and the other 2 Seniors-Chad Allen and Jake Malloy could make All-State, but it didn't look like anyone else would run. About a week before official practice, the parents of a freshman named Jesse Wilkinson had contacted our High School Principal about Jesse running Cross Country because he had gotten into some trouble in Middle School and they wanted him involved in an activity to help him get back on track, so I let him. Shortly after official practice had started a Sophomore named Sammy Davis(no relation) decided to run. I almost did not let him run because Sammy was famous for hit and miss training and competition in Middle School and early High School, and I was very aggravated with him. On his first day of practice I had a very rough Hill workout planned for the Seniors and normally I would have had him go on an easy distance run, but I wanted to teach him a lesson so I took him along. He puked at least 2 times, maybe three before the workout was over-The Seniors were getting a big kick out of it-but he wouldn't quit. I didn't expect him back the next day but he showed up and stuck with it the rest of the year. The Final piece to our puzzle that year was Junior Sam Patterson. Sam had never even thought about Cross Country to my knowledge and I think he ran some sprints in Middle School, so when Sammy Davis came bringing him to me at a point in the season where we had either went to our first meet or were only 3 or 4 days away from it, I thought, yeah right, this guy does not have a clue about distance running and will be wasting my time. It turns out Sam had been running on his own for fitness and was in fairly good shape. The three Seniors ran Varsity every meet and the other three, after getting them eligible, ran JV for the first half of the season. We decided to score a team for the first time at the Viburnum Invitational and we won! We competed real well at our home meet, placed third at Clayton, and won Districts. Going to State was very exciting after how it looked at the beginning of the season and I really wanted to send those Seniors off with a plaque. 1999 was the year of the 80 plus temperatures and the Class 3 Boys race was one of the last races. Running only six runners left us little room for error, and the team listened very well to stay out of the sun and hydrate until warm-up time. It was such a rewarding experience to watch
Who will win in each class for boys and girls on Saturday in
I don't know much about class 1, but I figure it would take an illness or injury to keep Caleb Hoover from winning the title. I'm not sure if his
I think Ladue could really do some damage in Class 3 Boys, maybe even the girls. Individually, I think Colton Wooldridge of Farmington could really challenge a top 5 spot in Class 3 and after watching Jake Benton of Fort Zumwalt North tear up both the hilly Dawt Mill Run at Wilderness Camp this Summer and Paul Enke earlier this season, it will not surprise me to see him coming up the final hill in first on November 7th.
What do you look forward to the most at the state meet?
I like the atmosphere on Friday afternoon at the State course and it is usually easier to visit with Coaches then, instead of the busy Saturday schedule. On Saturday it is neat to watch the spectators run from point to point and cheer on their favorite individuals and teams. Walking through tent city on Saturday and wishing everyone good luck, and visiting with a few athletes that you haven't seen since running camp, are also things I look forward to at the State meet.
Thanks guys. There is more to come this week. Up next we will hear from Brian Winckler, Ryan Banta and Jessie Griffin.
Don’t forget to tune into the Big River Running Company’s State XC Preview show on prepcasts.com this Tuesday evening where Ben & Matt will interviewing other coaches and making their own predictions.