ST. LOUIS – It was a day for the freshmen at Saturday’s Sixth Annual Forest Park Cross Country Festival.
The much-anticipated debut of Eureka’s Hannah Long lived up to the billing as the Wildcats’ freshman smashed the course record with an 18:00.3 to win the Green division.
“I was really nervous, and I wasn’t sure how well I would do, but I’m glad I won the race,” Long said. “(The record) is an extra bonus. It’s really nice.”
The previous record of 18:41 was set by Ladue’s Natalie Todd in 2007.
Long didn’t wait to surge to the front of the field, and she admitted that her emotions might have gotten the better of her at the start.
“I was supposed to stay with the first girls, and after the first mile then run my pace, but I started out a little too fast,” Long said. “I have raced in a few races larger than this, but it was nerve wracking, and I think that’s why I started off a little fast.”
The chase group did its best to stay organized and reel Long in, but the gap continued to grow, especially when Long made a surge over the final mile. Rock Bridge freshman Kayla Funkenbusch did her best to stay within striking distance, and she captured second in 18:17.3.
“I didn’t want to go out too fast, but I should’ve stayed in the range more,” Funkenbusch said. “I got upset (with the fast start) and then started coming back, but then I died.”
Rock Bridge captured the Green title with 86 points as junior Megan Schulte (19:10) and senior Sam Garrett (19:11), finished 11th and 12th, respectively. Eureka turned in a second-place 136 to edge Kearney by a point (137).
The White division was a different story with a familiar name. Herculaneum junior Kaitlyn Fischer led throughout to win in 19:16. Fischer overcame injuries in the spring to win Class 2 titles in the 1,600 and 3,200.
“It felt good until the end when my coach was like, ‘If you want to run a good time, you have to go now,’” Fischer said. “Running through those races in the heat really brought me down; last week I didn’t even get to finish the race. It was too hot, and I was disappointed with myself.
“I trained hard this week so I could do this today. I think I’m doing better, but I have to get my confidence up.”
Duchesne junior Maggie Noble was second (19:40), and Villa Duchesne sophomore Cece Stock was third (19:50).
Fischer’s first-place finish helped boost Herculaneum to the team title with 76 points as the Black Cats put their next four packed together in the 20s. St. Charles West was second with 128 points, and Clayton third with 155.
Freshmen made a splash in the JV White division, too. Parkview’s Monica Lingbeck moved into the lead in the final half-mile of the race to capture first in 16:54 for 4k.
“My coach always tells us just to have fun, so that’s what I did,” said Lingbeck of winning in her first cross country race. “I was really nervous. I’ve never ran a race with that many girls.”
Lingbeck passed Mexico’s Madeleine Prince, another freshman who had run at the front of the pack for much of the race. Prince finished third in 17:14, while Principia freshman Merran Waller took second in 17:00.
Visitation Academy won the team title with 64 points, while Parkview was second with 134.
Ft. Zumwalt West junior Sarah Fogarty won the JV Green race in 16:19 for 4k, beating a pair of freshmen – Eureka’s Sammi Powell (16:31) and Jefferson City’s Claire Wilbers (16:37).
While last year’s muddy conditions were not as ideal for fast times as Saturday’s perfect set-up, Fogarty still improved by more than a minute from last year’s 15th-place finish (17:59). Fogarty gave a nod to her off-season conditioning for the improved performance, and she said it was a challenge to run at the front of the field by herself.
“I always look forward to this race,” Fogarty said. “For me time is important, but I wanted to prove to myself that I could get first. I think I may have put mental pressure on myself, always expecting that someone would come behind me just to keep pushing further.”
Eureka placed three in the top 11 to score 60 and take the division, and Rock Bridge was second with 72.