816 cross country state recap: Elite excel at Missouri state meet
A trophy mantle honoring Blue Springs High School senior Stephen Mugeche’s running accomplishments quickly filled up over the past two years. The shrine included a bevy of medals from the cross country and track state championship meets. None of them gold.
Mugeche had tallied five top-four finishes at Missouri state competitions without a victory to his name.
Until Saturday.
Mugeche finally captured gold Saturday, when he won the Missouri Class 4 state cross country meet at Oak Hills Golf Center in Jefferson City. He finished the race in 15 minutes, 32.23 seconds — two seconds ahead of last year’s pace and the fifth best team in state meet history.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Mugeche said. “This was my last chance on this course. I wanted to go out and do something I’d remember.”
Mugeche will run next season at Arkansas after committing to the Southeastern Conference school last weekend. But he still has a chance to add to his gold medal collection first. He will run track for the Wildcats in the spring. He placed second in the 3,200-meter run and fourth in both the 1,600 and 800 last spring.
Freshmen standouts
If their introduction to the Missouri Class 3 state meet is any indication, O’Hara freshman Carolina Meyers and Pembroke Hill freshman Julia Rosher could be in line for a bright future.
The two runners earned all-state honors Saturday, with Meyers placing 11th and Rosher 17th.
And neither finish came as much of a surprise. Meyers won the Missouri Class 3, District 7 race a week earlier. Rosher was second in that meet.
The Class 3 girls meet was dominated Saturday by underclassmen. Seven freshman placed among the top-21 runners.
Jaguars’ outlook bright
After qualifying for the state meet for the first time since 1995, the Blue Springs South girls team made sure to leave its mark. The Jaguars placed third in Missouri Class 4, led by a fourth-place finish from senior Grace Klausen.
Blue Springs South is unlikely to wait another 19 years before its next state-meet appearance.
Freshman Tori Findley will lead a strong contingent of returners next season. Findley was sixth at Saturday’s state meet. The Jaguars’ seven-runner lineup this weekend included two freshmen and two sophomores.
This story was originally published November 12, 2014 at 12:47 PM with the headline "816 cross country state recap: Elite excel at Missouri state meet."