Festus senior Drew White made his final decision to commit to the University of Missouri to continue his running career next year.
White, who won this year’s Class 3 state cross country title (16:05), made official visits to Oklahoma State, Wichita State and MU before settling on Missouri in large part because of coach Joe Lynn.
“He was a successful coach at Division-II (Grand Valley State), and I think he can do it at Division-I, too,” White said. “Since he’s been there, there are already signs of improvement. They are all talented and want to be great distance runners.
“Coach (Brett) Halter is accomplished and has international experience, and he and coach Lynn convinced me they want the distance program to be a strong component of the track team, and I want to be part of that.”
White said he intends to contribute to the cross country team immediately for coach Lynn, who is in his first season at MU. White will also factor into the track team and enters this spring with PRs of 4:19 in the 1,600-meter run and 9:16 in the 3,200.
He plans on majoring in chemical engineering. There are several engineering students already on the team, which White said can only help him with his studies. MU’s forthcoming move to the Southeastern Conference did not impact White’s decision.
White followed his cross country state title with a 17th-place finish (16:19) at the Nike Cross Nationals Midwest Regional. After that he took 130th (16:29) at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional. White said he was disappointed with his postseason.
“I think I might have gotten distracted looking for a record at state and running faster and faster,” White said. “I messed up my training and it eventually caught up with me. I tried to target meets I shouldn’t have. I do well when I’m training at a high level. In the postseason, I decided to back off, and I don’t think I run well like that.”
