Camdenton Lakers Cross Country Invitational

by Brian Goatley

On Friday, Sept. 30, the El Dorado Springs Bulldog Cross Country team traveled to Camdenton for the Laker Cross Country Invitational, held in Ha Ha Tonka State Park. This has been a fast course and this year was no different.

The boys team got the day started with a 10:30 am race start. Connor Goatley led the way for the bulldogs finishing 9th with a personal best time of 16:45.85. Garrett Klaiber finished shortly behind in 19th place with a season best time of 17:18.66. Shortly after, we had a pack of Bulldogs finish. Logan fisk finished 25th with a personal best time of 17:53, with Sylas Fletcher finishing 27th with a personal best time of 17.59. Also running well for the Bulldogs were Braxton Watts, Blayze McCullough and Ryan Griffin. In the end the Bulldog boys found themselves in 4th place as a team.

The Lady Dogs got their day started at 11:00 with Hannah Klaiber leading the way. Hannah finished 4th with a season best time of 20:27. Shortly thereafter, Colbie Wood finished 7th with a personal best time of 20:43 followed by Audrey Goatley in 9th with a season best time of 20:55. Also running well for the Lady Dogs were Hanna Ridgway, Lela Brown, Olivia Graves and Clara Farran. In the end, the Lady Dogs find themselves in 4th place as a team.

In the JV Race, Kolton Nichols led the way finishing 15th with a time of 19:59 followed shortly by Kyan Roberts who finished 18th with a time of 20:18. Blake Loane also ran a personal best time of 21:13. For the girls, Myka Barger was the lone JV runner running a season best time for her.

This was a big stepping stone kind of day for the Bulldogs. We competed against much bigger schools than us on a fast course and it led to a confidence boosting day, seeing seven athletes running personal best times with another eight athletes running season best times. This was an exciting way to start the 2nd half of the season. Next up for the Bulldog cross country team is a trip to Buffalo on Thursday, Oct. 6. That will be followed up by another trip to Buffalo the following Tuesday, Oct. 11, for the 2022 Ozark Highlands Conference Championships.