On Saturday, Oct. 23, the El Dorado Springs Middle School Cross Country team headed to Wheatland for the 1st annual Missouri Middle School Cross Country Championships. The meet was held at Lucas Oil Speedway with the monster trucks and off road trucks in the wings waiting to race in the evening. The middle school cross country race was originally scheduled to start on the south side of the jet boat raceway lake and work around it to the north side of it and into the off-road trucking course, finishing in front of the grandstands. However, with over 3 inches of rain overnight, headed into the race the course was modified and kept in the vicinity of the jet boat area. It was still a memorable experience, despite the sloppy, muddy conditions. The middle school boys team was up first for the day. Classes 1, 2 and 3 raced together in the small school division, following the big school division, featuring class 4 and 5 schools. The El Dorado Springs cross country was one of 51 teams represented in the small school division race with 185 boys and 153 girls. 7th Grader, Wyatt Klaiber, took over the lead in the race about a half mile into the race and ran with purpose. He didn’t let up until the finish, winning the race with a time of 10:19, a personal best time for him. Koal Caldwell finished 7th with a time of 11:35, a personal best as well. Sylas Fletcher rounded out the medalists, finishing 25th, with a personal best time of 12:11.90 with teammate Graydee Wolfe just missing the medals in 26th with a personal best time of 12:15.10. These 4 boys were joined by Tyler Reasoner, Shane Fletcher, Wyatt Strawn and Kyson McGuirk to find themselves with their greatest accomplishment of the 2021 cross country season, winning the team competition by 24 points. We knew we had a great team and had a good chance of bringing home one of the top 4 team plaques, but they were extremely excited to find themselves on top. These boys have grown so much throughout the season, and finished on a huge high note. This is the first season for most of these teammates, which makes the feat even more impressive. They really put an exclamation point on their season, with this win.

Next up was the middle school girls race. Adalyn Parker led the way for the Bulldogs. Adalyn started the race a little more aggressive than usual on Saturday giving herself a chance later on in the race, as she is a much stronger, 2nd half of the race competitor. As the race continued to unfold, Adalyn continued to move through the field and found herself in 3rd place, with a personal best time of 12:46.90. Adalyn was the Bulldogs only medalist on the girls side, however, everyone ran well. Lela Brown just missed the medals, finishing in 30th place, with a personal best time of 14:12.60. Teammates Riley Lee, Rhielyn Nichols and Michaela Parker also ran well. At the end, the team found themselves in 7th place as a team, however, a good day for the Bulldogs.

As the day wrapped up, so did the season for the middle school group. They have had a great season and have grown greatly throughout the season. As coaches, we couldn’t be prouder of this group of kids. They have been an amazing group of kids to be a part of and have something special. We are just hoping we can keep these groups in tact throughout high school. They are a very talented, amazing group of individuals. Great Job Middle School Bulldogs!! Thanks for an amazing season.

Mr. and Mrs. Forrest Lucas, themselves, were a part of the awards presentation, which added a great honor to the day.

ADALYN PARKER – 3rd Place Individual Place. Pictures taken by Brian Goatley

MIDDLE SCHOOL BOYS 1ST PLACE TEAM – from left: Tyler Reasoner, Wyatt Klaiber, Koal Caldwell, Sylas Fletcher, Graydee Wolfe, Wyatt Strawn, Shane Fletcher, and Coach Amanda Obert. Back Row Middle: Mr. and Mrs. Forrest Lucas (Owners of Lucas Oil and Lucas Oil Speedway). Pictures taken by Brian Goatley

MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS TEAM – from left: Adalyn Parker, Rhielyn Nichols, Riley Lee, Michaela Parker, Lela Brown. Pictures taken by Brian Goatley

Facebook Comments