MISSOURI STATE MEET

Rockhurst Boys Win Third State Title Behind Henry Acorn's Individual Win; Eureka Girls Claim Program's First State Title

By Keenan Gray of DyeStat

Day 1 Photos and Day 2 Photos by Lily Dozier

The Rockhurst boys avenged last year’s second-place team finish and the Hawklets won their third championship in program history at the Missouri Cross Country State Championships during the two-day meet at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia.

Falling eight points short of the team title at last year’s state meet, Rockhurst put together a 59-point outing to beat St. Louis University by 25 points in the Division 5 boys race to secure the school’s first state title since the 2018 season.

Led by Henry Acorn, Rockhurst also came away with the individual title, with Acorn clocking 14 minutes 52.4 seconds for the 5-kilometer race, winning by eight seconds to claim his first state title.

Andrew Davis (15:13.6, fifth), Jack McGovern (15:17.6, eighth) and Kai Somasegaran (15:37.1, 17th) all earned top 20 individual performances to help guide the Hawklets.

The Eureka girls picked up its first title in program history, winning the Division 5 girls championship 104-134 over Blue Springs South.

Daphne Bishop led the first-place Wildcats with a seventh-place run in 18:23.2.

Bella Navaro-Sanchez ran a lifetime best 18:08.3 to win Division 5 individual title by a tenth-of-a-second, out sprinting Lucinda Wright of Liberty North.

Lucy Boyer (19:36.3) and Katelyn Thurman (20:11.7) finished third and 10th, respectively, to lead the Festus girls over West Plains 81-91, earning the program’s first state title since 2017.

Harrisonville’s Kayleigh Norris repeated as the Division 4 girls individual champion, running 18:29.3 to win by 58 seconds.

West Plains returned the favor in the boys team race, beating Festus 91-113 for the Division 4 title despite Festus' Carson Driemeier picking up the individual win in 15:59.5.

Brian Burns, the younger brother of former Missouri prep standout Connor Burns, took home the Division 3 boys individual win, running 15:56.

Centralia, behind Carter Moss running 17:07.3 for 12th, improved a third-place team finish from last year’s state meet with a first-ever state title in the Division 3 boys race, beating Notre Dame 122-32.

Brianna Krueger clocked 18:46.2 to win the Division 3 girls race, leading St. Charles West to a third consecutive team title with 51 points.

The Woodland boys, led by an 11th-place run from Calvin Layton in 17:28.8, repeated as Division 2 champions, defeating Elsberry 89-109.

Lexington’s Chael Lichte ran away from Butler’s Brandon Hammett by 12 seconds to win the Division 2 individual crown in 16:31.

Lexington also earned the Division 2 individual crown on the girls side from Addison Smith in 19:15, along with earning the program’s first team title, outscoring West Platte 106-124.

McAuley Catholic scored 50 points to claim the Division 1 boys title over Thomas Jefferson Independent, with three individuals finishing in the top 10: Michael Parrigon (16:25.8, 3rd), Trae Veer (16:32, 4th) and Will Mollnow (17:11.9, 10th).

Nolyn Corder of Mansfield won the Division 1 individual title comfortably by 11 seconds in 16:14.8.

The Dora girls won its first Division 1 girls title, beating Chadwick by points 95-100, and Calvary Lutheran’s Sonya Brunner ran 19:43.4 to get the individual win.

Team Champions

Division 5 – Rockhurst boys 59 points, Eureka girls 104 points - RESULTS

Division 4 - West Plains boys 91 points, Festus girls 81 points

Division 3 – Centralia boys 122 points, St. Charles West girls 51 points

Division 2 – Woodland boys 89 points, Lexington girls 106 points

Division 1 – McAuley Catholic boys 50 points, Dora girls 95 points