Blue Valley West’s Stuart McNutt finishes 21st in national race | The Kansas City Star

Sitting on the beach in San Diego, Blue Valley West senior Stuart McNutt could not help but think that his last two weeks have been a reward.

He was on the beach for the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships, where he placed 21st out of 40 runners with a time of 15 minutes, 51 seconds. That followed a trip to Portland, Ore., where he placed 10th in the Nike Cross Country Nationals last weekend.

“It seems like all the hard work is starting to pay off when I get to come to places like this,” McNutt said. “It was a really fun, laid back weekend, and I got to meet a lot of good people. It’s been a great experience.”

Although he enjoyed the setup, McNutt was disappointed in his time, which he attributed to a few different factors. He had won the Kansas Class 5A state championship in October with a time of 15 minutes, 24.50 seconds.

“I definitely thought I could do a lot better,” McNutt said. “It was a long season, and I approached it a little differently than I did most races. I’m not really used to a field of only 40 kids so it was a little different than what I’m used to.”

McNutt, who is signed to run at Tulsa University, already has his eyes on track season where he will compete in a handful of other national meets including the Dream Mile in the Kansas Relays.