JOPLIN, Mo. – The rains that had been coming down all night picked up in intensity Saturday just before the Southern Stampede girls’ varsity race on the campus of Missouri Southern.

A small stream began to grow, stretching across the course just a few meters out from the starting line. The runners would have to slog through the shin-deep water again just before crossing the finish. The wet, muddy conditions added some time to the performances, but they did not prevent quality racing.

Herculaneum senior Kaitlyn Fischer toppled the elements and the field to win the race in 18:11.07, which is not too far off the time of 17:51 she ran last week at the very-fast Forest Park Cross Country Festival.

“There were huge puddles everywhere; they were like miniature ponds,” Fischer said. “Around the turns, there are so many 180s that you have to watch yourself or you’ll slip. At the end it was really hard to actually kick because if you kick too hard you’d probably fall on your face.

“I was really looking forward to running a good time here, but I had fun. There was a lot of mud, and I like this meet a lot.”

Fischer started to separate from the pack after the first mile and continued to stretch out her lead. Arkansas Class 7A state champion Maggie Montoya of Rogers, Ark., finished second in 18:36. Potosi’s Sarah Jacobsen took third in 18:59.

“I was just trying to go out strong and stay with the lead pack and not let the mud get to me,” Jacobsen said. “I just tried to maintain and keep looking at their backs to see if I could maintain and pull them in in the end. With the conditions today I think I ran a pretty good time, and I’m pleased with it.”

Clinton’s Nicole Lee (19:14) and Oakville’s Melissa Brown (19:23) rounded out the top five.

“I was hoping to catch (Jacobsen), but every time I got close I had to go around a curve and wasn’t sure of the footing,” Lee said. “With any race you can get something out of it, and with this one I think maybe I need to start quicker and keep up with them and run a little harder the last half mile.”

Brown said she also found it difficult to make a move to close the gap on the leaders because of the muddy conditions, especially in the turns. It was still a result that will help propel her the rest of the season.

“I felt it was hard to run in all the mud and stuff, but it was a lot of fun,” Brown said. “My past races haven’t been as good as I would like, so I used this race to have fun and boost my confidence.”

Rogers won the team title with 125 points. Jenks (Tulsa, Okla.) was runner-up with 143. Liberty took the top Missouri honors in sixth with 277 points, and Herculaneum captured seventh with 287.