In the boys' race, Lichte ended the season just like how he started this fall--winning.
The junior won his four races -- three 5K -- and ended with three straight wins in 5K. He won the finals in 16:31 -- nearly 13 seconds ahead of anyone else.
Lichte ran on this course at the Gans Creek Classic in September but conditions were a little more favorable that day. Lichte was third in the Blue varsity race, coming in behind a pair of Class 3 all-staters.
Butler's Brandon Hammett was a runner-up for the second year in a row.
The team title hunt was won by Woodland, which had 89 points. The southeast Missouri school won for a second straight year and that comes after Stockton won the previous two titles.
The Cardinals had 89 points and were 20 points better than Elsberry.
The two teams had similar average times with Elsberry's at 18:05 and Woodland's at 18:01. The difference came down to the 1-5 split with Woodland at 1:04 -- a minute faster than Elsberry.
Woodland had three all-staters: junior Calvin Layton (12th), senior Hayden Vangennip (13th) and junior Drew Garner (30th).
Elsberry secured the school's first-ever trophy for the boys program.
Junior Jedidiah Heras (fourth) and senior Nolan Wilson (10th) were all-state runners for the Indians. Heras was an all-state runner last year, and Wilson got his first medal in three trips to state.
The final two trophy teams each had one all-state runner.
South Shelby was third overall with 136, three points ahead of Hermann.
South Shelby senior Noah Wilt was 17th overall, running 17:49.8 and earning his 2nd all-state honor and 4th top 34th finish in four years.
Wilt was a two-time all-stater and just missed out -- by 3 and 4 spots in his other two trips to state.
The third-place finish was the Cardinals' first-ever team trophy for boys or girls cross country.
Hermann was fourth and brought home the school's second trophy for the boys -- also fourth in 2019.
Junior Nolan Kopp was ninth for the Bearcats -- the third straight year he was an all-state runner.
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Class 2 Results | All Class 2 Interviews | 2024 State Meet Preview with Crystal Ball Predictions | Photo Album COMING SOON
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