The MSHSAA State XC Championships Class 3-5 meet on Saturday featured plenty of low times and new records.
Here's a quick recap of notable achievements on Day 2 of the championships held at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia. More expanded coverage will be on the website in the coming days.
Class 5 girls
Natalie Barnard of Lafayette Wildwood won the title in a time of 17:12.7 -- nearly 25 seconds ahead of runner-up Elyse Wilmes of Father Tolton Catholic. It marked the third year in a row the Lancers have had the champion. Current Indiana runner Grace Tyson won the past two titles.
Wilmes was one of four Trailblazers on the all-state podium and that paved the way for a Class 5 title. That comes after winning Class 4 last year and Class 3 in 2021. That was the first time that achievement happened in both boys or girls cross country. Blue Springs South took second, the seventh year in a row with a top-four finish.
Class 5 boys
Rock Bridge had two of the top three runners, paving the way for a third straight championship.
Sophomore Luke Sievers ran a Class 5 record 14:51.9 to win the race, while Andrew Hauser -- who formerly held the record -- ran 14:58.4 to take third. In between them was Levi Rowan of Kirkwood.
The Bruins won the team title by eight points ahead of Rockhurst.
Class 4 girls
The championship race was dominated by Harrisonville's Kayleigh Norris. She ran by nearly 21 seconds with a time of 18:07.7. She became the school's first champion for the girls program and the second overall, joining Maksim Korolev, who won Class 3 in 2009.
Fulton's Emery Mayfield edged Sisely Mitchell of Platte County for a millisecond for second place.
St. Joseph's Academy had a team score of 110 to win the team title. It was the Angels' first title and second trophy, taking third in Class 4 in 2010.
Class 4 boys
Kansas City area runners Isaac Rivera and Andrew Johnson were 1-2 in Class 4. Rivera, from Lincoln College Prep, won in 14:54.6 -- at the time the 2nd fastest ever on the course. Platte County's Johnson took second at 15:11.4.
Festus had a team score of 91, beating Platte County by eight. The Tigers' title is the school's third in boys cross country.
Class 3 boys
Class 3 girls
Alexandra Volkart from Southern Boone County repeated as the Class 3 champion. The Tulsa pledge won by 2.7 over Notre Dame Cape Girardeau's Lauren Eftink.
St. Charles West repeated as the Class 3 champion with 55 points. Runner-up Westminster Christian Academy had 142.
