Burns put his sub-4-minute mile speed to work in the final kilometer. He dropped a 2:58 split to wrap up the race. Burns appeared to point or wave to acknowledge the homestretch crowd that waited eagerly to see how fast he would finish. Then in the final 30-meters, held up his hands, making the "O" symbol with his fingers, like the University of Oregon's "O" logo. Burns crossed the finish in 14:57.5 for the win.
Southern Boone County senior Connor Burns eyes the finish line as he looks to dip under the 15-minute 5k barrier again and win the Gans Creek Classic. Burns won in 14:57.
Wilde didn't let the 3:58-miler get too far ahead of him. Wilde closed with a last kilometer split of 3:02. Wilde emphatically pumped his right arm in the air just before crossing the finish in 15:01.
Kickapoo #1 Tyler Harris had broken up a 1-4 finish for the four Show-Me State boys who had broken the 15-minute barrier last year. A week after finishing 2nd to Wilde in Joplin at the Missouri Southern Stampede, 24-seconds back, Harris had run to a new PR (personal record) of 15:16, taking 3rd and finishing 14.7-seconds behind Wilde.
Kemey finished 4th in 15:21 while Hauser was 5th in 15:31 as the pair switched who finished 1st and 2nd for the Bruins for the 3rd straight meet. Hillsboro senior Josh Allison continued his great senior campaign for the Hawks, taking 6th in 15:37.
Lutheran South senior mid-distance standout and Tennessee commit Adam Snoke raised his arms in celebration as he finished in 7th in 15:38. Webb City's Evan Stevens was 8th in 15:41 while fellow Class 4 standout Ian Schram was 9th for Festus. Lafayette's Groenewald and Joplin's Campbell were 10th and 11th while Hillsboro #2 Jonah Allison was 12th and Kickapoo #2 Grant Musick 13th. Lincoln College Prep's Isaac Rivera, Pattonville's Luke Stevenson, and Liberty North #2 Jorge Ruiz made it 16 men under 16-minutes in the race.
Dave Chatlos and staff's Liberty North Eagles got a big victory, their third on the season, scoring 103 points in the field of 40 scoring teams and 312 runners. The victory also avenged their lone loss of the season, a runner-up finish to Kickapoo the week before at the Missouri Southern Stampede.
Coach Tom Gordon's Hillsboro Hawks showed why they aren't just the Class 4 state favorite, but a contender for the state's best no matter what classification. Hillsboro has one of the best groups of top-4 runners in the state. Behind Josh and Jonah Allison at 6th and 12th were fellow seniors Jimmy Mann (21st-16:05) and Gavin Vaughn (26th-16:07), giving the Hawks a 1-4 split of just 30-seconds. Sophomore Landon Pogue was 54th while junior Gregory Mann was 59th.
Rock Bridge finished in 3rd with 135 points. Hudson Summerall just missed a medal in 28th (16:08) while fellow senior Ty Welty was 38th. Freshman Luke Sievers and Matthew Kim were the Bruins #4 and #5 runners, finishing in 61st and 71st. Kickapoo was 4th with 156 points, while Rockhurst was 5th with 183, Festus 6th with 285, just ahead of Jackson (288 pts), Joplin (302), and Nixa (313).
Class 3 defending state champion Herculaneum didn't shy away from tough competition, taking on most of the state's best Class 4 and Class 5 teams. Coach Kyle Davis' Blackcats placed 17th out of 40, scoring 490-points, best among the four Class 3 teams in the field and behind just two Class 4 squads, Hillsboro and Festus.
Festus senior Cullen Krieg raced for the first time since April after recovering from injury. The senior won the JV race in 17:30 and will need to return close to the form he displayed last year when he placed 5th in Class 3, if the Tigers want to contend for their 9th straight state team title.
Some teams left
Gans Creek needing to reboot, refocus, and reconsider. Others left empowered
and emboldened to keep doing what they are doing, to be confident in the work. The
course's end is in sight. A week after and the school season is now past the
halfway point.
The most impressive individual performances of the meet were Burns and Wilde and the ease with which they ran 14:57 and 15:01. They just "tempo'd" 15-minute 5k's, looking comfortable and enjoying their performance as they cruised down the homestretch. If that's what a 14:57 and 15:01 looks like, what does the clock read when they go all out??!!!
And the answer to that question is...
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