The Gobblers Advance in District 2

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. – Eureka and Marquette took two different paths Saturday at the Missouri Class 4 District 2 meet at Parkway Central, but they ended with only three points separating the two girls’ squads.

Eureka had the top end of the race loaded and placed four girls in the top 10, including meet champion Hannah Long, who won in 18:01. With the Wildcats’ fifth runner – Eilish Overby (21:56) – finishing in 36^th, Eureka was able to tally 56 points and edge Marquette for the district crown.

Long created a little separation early in the race, but it wasn’t until the last mile that she really started to pull away. She finished 45 seconds ahead of runner-up Maddy Brown of Parkway West (18:46).

“My plan was to run a nice smooth race and push the last part of the course,” Long said. “Time wasn’t my goal in this race; just pushing the last part of the course was it.”

Marquette took the pack approach and nearly took down Eureka with a team total of 59. After Hannah Pierson in fifth, the next four scoring Mustangs crossed the finish line 12^th through 15^th. Marquette will look to replicate that pack running at sectionals next week in an effort to qualify for the Class 4 state meet for the first time since 2006, where the Mustangs finished fifth.

Pierson, a freshman, said she waited until the race entered the woods in the second mile for the field to thin out and make her move.

“Running in the pack helped keep me on pace and to stay in the moment knowing that I’m running for something greater than myself,” Pierson said.

Senior Ashley Bertich has been the team’s sixth or seventh runner for most of the season, but she has figured out how to better cross train and avoid the injuries that have sidetracked the last two seasons. She was feeling fresh and confident throughout the district race and led the quartet to the finish in 12^th with a PR of 20:13.

“We work together really well,” said Bertich, who eclipsed 21 minutes for the first time last week. “Through road runs and workouts we normally stay together. It doesn’t matter how many people (are in the race), we always find each other and are on pace. As long as we have a pace, we’re always right next to each other.”

Marquette freshman Eryn Bass (20:14), Danielle Mohrmann (20:16) and Lindsay Bass (20:17) had the next three scoring spots, and junior Shelby Hummel was in 18^th (20:33).

The young squad may not have state experience, but coach Lauren Hendrix, a 2002 Marquette graduate, said the girls are familiar the Marquette tradition and are not overwhelmed by the possibility of success.

“We have decided to nickname them the ‘Gobblers’ because they start and then they just start gobbling people up,” Hendrix said of the pack running. “This year we have great combination of new talent coming in and the older vets doing all the little stuff, so they know they belong there. Not necessarily uncharted territory because they run for Marquette, and they know Marquette has been there before. They’re very good at staying calm, cool and collected and just running.”

Lafayette freshman Sarah Nicholson took third (18:54) to lead the Lancers to a third-place finish with 65 points, and Parkway West grabbed the final qualifying spot with 94 points.