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ST. LOUIS – The junior varsity races are typically filled with two types of runners – underclassmen looking to gain experience and upperclassmen looking to earn a spot on the varsity seven.
Saturday’s Forest Park Cross Country Festival was no different.
Lee’s Summit West has carved out a spot as one of the premier girls programs in the state after winning the last five Class 4 state titles. This year’s squad resembles its predecessors with a ton of depth at its disposal.
The depth was on display in the JV Green race, where the Titans claimed second place with 40 points behind O’Fallon (Ill.), which tallied 30 in the victory. Senior Kayla West led the charge with a fourth-place finish (20:57).
“I’m sometimes on varsity, sometimes on JV; I have a running goal of wanting to be on varsity, but more importantly I want to be the person on the team that supports everyone and encourages all the other girls,” West said. “Obviously coach (Jesse) Griffin’s input is very important, so I feel like I need to do well (to impress him), but at the same time I know if I’m doing my best that’s what I’m looking for.”
West is the only senior on the squad save Italian foreign exchange student Francesca Nicora, who is staying with the West family and is running cross country and playing tennis for Lee’s Summit West.
O’Fallon freshman Casey Carter won the race in 20:38.
“I’d like to make it on varsity; I was really proud that a couple of the girls behind me have beaten me before by a lot, so I was pretty happy,” Carter said.
Chaminade senior Connor Welby also took advantage of his opportunity and pulled away from the field in the JV White division to win in 17:54.
“We lost a lot of runners to the ACT this morning, so it should give me a good shot next race and hopefully I make it,” Welby said. “My objective was to run as fast as I possibly could and hang with the first-place guy and then eventually pass him.”
Sometimes even upperclassmen can be newcomers, as JV Green champion Chaz Trujillo from Rockhurst made the switch from football to cross country as a senior. He won the race in 17:21, and is starting to find a new niche for himself.
Trujillo has been part of the Hawklets’ track team as a 400-meter runner. Rockhurst coach Mike Dierks said Trujillo’s role might be expanding this fall if he continues improving at his current pace.
“This is the first time he’s gone 5k, so we’re excited,” Dierks said. “We’re definitely looking at him for this fall. We want every kid to contribute to cross country and then hope it carries over to track.”
One of the greenest runners of the day didn’t let the moment overwhelm her as McCluer freshman Emily Mitulski captured the JV White title in her first race ever. Mitulski only began running when school started, but running has always been something she would do just to get from point A to B.
“I never competed in anything because I was too afraid I wouldn’t make it,” said Mitulski, who won the JV White race in 22:02. “I’ve been running for as long as I could remember. I run around everywhere – the park in our neighborhood, the hallway in our basement, sometimes just back and forth in the backyard.”
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