Sage Wilde has been consistently one of the best runners all season
and the Liberty North junior won his first state title.
He also helped the Eagles secure their first state title.
This year marked the second time in the past three years that the winning team also had the winning runner. Columbia Rock Bridge accomplished that feat in 2020 with Matthew Hauser taking first in the race.
Wilde finished first or second in every race this season and his only losses have come against Southern Boone County's Connor Burns, an Oregon signee.
"It is really emotional, it is something I want for a really long time," said Wilde, sporting a black cowboy hat after the win. "It's just awesome to do with the team and individually. I knew if I ran my own race from the start, I didn't want to worry about them (competitors) and I wanted to run my own race and if I did that, I could probably break them in the end."