Tuning for State

Photos by Chris Auckely (motrackfanatic.blogspot.com)

ST. LOUIS – Like all state contenders, Ladue considered Saturday’s district race as the last chance to fine tune its strategy.

The Rams packed up like they have all season and captured the girls Class 3 District 2 title at Jefferson Barracks Park with 47 points.

Ladue, which finished third at the Class 3 state meet last year, has been running as group all season. The Rams also have junior Anna Nelson up front who can score low as the team’s No. 1. Nelson won the district race in 20:12 as she slowly stretched out the chase pack over the second half of the race.

Ladue sophomore Kate White split away from the pack and was in pursuit of Nelson to finish third in 20:30. Eva Glingenberg took 12^th (21:02) and then the trio of Emily Warner (21:41), Victoria Soncasie (21:56) and Jessica Stromsdorfer (22:00) came in 15^th-17^th to finish the team’s scoring.

The pack mentality will be even more vital at next week’s state meet at Oak Hills Golf Center in Jefferson City. The Rams will also have to work on their start after getting boxed in at the start of the district race.

“I think we definitely build from this and learn from this experience,” Nelson said. “Our start was really bad, so we know next week to get out a little better because we got really boxed in this week.

“Our coach was talking to us before and told us to get out fast, but when that gun went off it felt like we were going so fast already. I was surprised to see how boxed in we did get. I did have to work around quite a bit, which did take a lot out of me.”

Not far behind Nelson, the Villa Duchesne duo of Cece Stock and Elise Marker were working together to keep the leader in sight. Midway through the race, Stock felt it was time to make her move, and she started building toward the front. She couldn’t chase down Nelson, but Stock did move into second place (20:21).

“I wanted to try to get her, but I knew that I waited too long,” Stock said. “When it came to my kick, I could’ve gotten her possibly if I was just a little stronger in the race. She deserved every bit because she stayed strong. I wish I could’ve tried to stay with her and be a little closer to her.”

Marker couldn’t follow when Stock made her move, but she felt fortunate to be able to finish the race in fourth place (20:33), especially after she fell in the third mile.

“I was trying to get over some bramble, and I kind of rolled over,” Marker said. “It was almost like a recovery time, lying on the ground. So I got up and sprinted back to where I was at.

“I always try to stay behind Cece five or 10 seconds. If I can close the gap, I will, but today I decided to let her go and see what she could do.”

Stock didn’t see her teammate fall, but she said it reminded her of her first race at Jefferson Barracks when she also took a tumble.

“I’m really proud of her for getting back up,” Stock said. “When I was a freshman I tripped over a curb and got a concussion. It was my very first time racing, so I went out in first and was sprinting all out. My coach told me I had to slow down, I looked at him and tripped over the curb and got a concussion.”

MICDS qualified for state as the runner-up with 82 points behind the sixth-place finish of senior Audrey Imbs.

The Rams were running in their pink-ribbon uniforms for the last time this season. Ladue coach Jim Lohr said the whole school has taken to showing support for cancer awareness in October, but the girls cross country team has taken it the furthest the past few seasons with its pink uniforms.

“It’s something our girls felt strongly about,” Lohr said. “A lot of people cheer for us because of those uniforms, and it’s pretty neat.”

Lohr said the girls will return to their tradition team gear for next week’s state meet.

The boys’ race was a showdown of familiar foes.

Ladue’s Cody Medler took off fast to lead the boys off the starting line, and he created a little gap between himself and Burrough’s Kirk Smith and MICDS’ Amos Bartelsmeyer. Medler even had teammate Drew Hutchens on his shoulder to help pace him through the first mile.

This was the same dynamic that started the Borgia Invitational two weeks ago when Medler was able to continually build upon his lead. He could not repeat the performance Saturday at districts.

By the midway point, Bartelsmeyer and Smith had moved to the front and made it a two-man race. Bartelsmeyer bided his time on the heels of Smith before turning on his kick in the final 200 meters to capture the district title in 16:57.

“I wasn’t quite expecting Ladue to have three guys at the front right at the start, but I just wanted to stay strong and stay relaxed throughout most of the race,” Bartelsmeyer said. “When Kirk started moving up past the Ladue guys, I wanted to stick with him to be there at the finish and see if I could make it happen.”

Bartelsmeyer’s victory helped seal the MICDS team title by a slim one point, 47 to 48, over defending Class 3 champion Ladue.

Smith said he was expecting a race similar to Borgia, but Medler and Hutchens did not create the separation that happened two weeks ago.

“I knew Amos was right on my tail, and I was kind of afraid that would happen because last week at league he did the same thing and beat me by two-tenths of a second,” Smith said.

Smith said he knows his kick is not his biggest asset, and the district finish may help shape his state strategy.

“I don’t think I need to postpone moves until later in the race; I think I need to do them sooner,” Smith said.

While Bartelsmeyer and Smith were battling for the top spot, St. Clair junior Austin Gotway was making his move through the chase pack. Gotway continued to pass runners throughout the race all the way to a third-place finish (17:28).

With just under a mile left, he passed Medler and had his sights on Sullivan’s Uriah Heady, who finish sixth in 17:36.

Gotway said it fell right in line with his typical racing style, which is to be patient at the start and look for opportunities to move up and speed up throughout the race.

“I just kept my focus on their backs and just picked them off one-by-one; I didn’t try to take them as a whole group,” Gotway said. “I didn’t think about where I was going to be at the end of the race. I just thought about, move up, get the next guy, and it kept me going.

“Every single race I go into it the same way, just like that.”

That strategy has served Gotway well, but he admitted concerns about the typically fast start at the state meet. He said he wants to avoid that early adrenaline sprint up the hill. As the race progresses, Gotway will use his breathing to tell him when it’s time to find a new gear.

“I can feel it in my legs and in my breathing patterns,” said Gotway, who is unique in his preference for baseball over track in the spring. “If my breathing pattern is too slow, I can feel it because it doesn’t hurt like it should, and when it starts hurting, that’s when I know it’s where I should be.”