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The Missouri State High School Athletic Association (MSHSAA) had approved a dual meet to take place at Platte Ridge Park with Class 1 and Class 3 teams from District 8 competing following this schedule:
10:00 am - Class 3 Girls
10:30 am - Class 1 Girls
11:00 am - Class 3 Boys
11:30 am - Class 1 Boys
The top two complete teams (5-7 runners) would qualify, as well as any other individuals ranked in the top 15.
Excelsior Springs was represented by a team of five girls - Dani Pair, Katelen Moerschel, Halley Parkin, Katelen Patterson, and Autumn Summers. The sixth runner, April Stodgel, could not compete due to an injury sustained earlier in the season. Pair, who had been out for about three weeks due to an injury, was feeling great as she crossed the finish line in 7th place. Moerschel, Parkin, and Patterson weren't too far behind in 18th, 19th, and 20th, respectively. Summers was the final Tiger to finish placing 44th in a field of 47 runners. All five girls recorded their best times on this course by as little as 11 seconds to as much as a minute and 13 seconds.
Katie Lofland of St. Pius X was the District Champion with a time of 20:56.6. The top 15 finishers were all under 23:10. In 2013, Pair was the 15th qualifier with a time of 21:28.3. The field is somewhat slower this year following the District realignment which moved Liberty North and Platte County to Class 4. New teams to District 8 of Class 3 were Chillicothe, Maryville, and Richmond.
As for the teams that advanced, Smithville and Savannah took top honors. St. Pius X girls were third overall and Excelsior Springs finished fourth. The remaining two teams were Benton and Cameron. For most of the season, Excelsior had been finishing behind Smithville, Savannah, and St. Pius X, though Pair wasn't always in the mix. With her running and not out with an injury, the Tigers closed the gap on St. Pius X.
Seven boys ran for Excelsior Springs. They were Brent Shelor, Logan Stock, Ben Hartwig, Seth Edwards, Lane Rogers, Alex Argyle, and Arthur Meehan. The had a spectacular race knowing it could very well be their last of the season as they tried to improve their team score for a shot at qualifying as a team. There were 74 runners in all. Shelor was the first Tiger across the finish line in 12th place. Stock crossed in 17th place. Hartwig came in at 26th, Edwards at 28th, Rogers finished in 35th place, Argyle was 60th, and Meehan placed 68th.
Five of the seven boys - Shelor, Stock, Edwards, Argyle, and Meehan - set personal 5k records. All seven recorded their best times on the Platte Ridge course. While Shelor cruised in by shaving off about 21 seconds from his previous best time, Stock shattered his record by an amazing 32 seconds to put him under 19 for the first time in his career. Edwards improved by 11 seconds, Argyle by 21 and managed to get under 22:00 for his first time. Meehan improved by 34 seconds to get under the 23:00 milestone.
DJ Stahl of Smithville placed first to become the District Champion. His time was 17:41.3 and he was one of only four with times under 18:00. The top 15 were all under 18:30. Last season, all but one of the top 15 runners were under 18:00 for the same reasons as mentioned earlier.
There were 10 complete boys' teams. The top two were Smithville and Chillicothe. Third place went to St. Joseph-Benton, a team Excelsior had beaten earlier in the season, though that could be attributed to Benton's top runner being out for that race. Excelsior Springs finished fourth ahead of Maryville, St. Pius X, Cameron, Savannah, Richmond, and Northeast Kansas City. The Tigers had lost to Maryville, St. Pius X, and Cameron several times throughout the season, but had always been close. With five of them setting personal records and all of them having outstanding course times during this race, they shot up the chart from what might have been a seventh place finish into the fourth place spot.
To summarize, Dani Pair and Brent Shelor are All-District and qualified to advance to State. All 12 runners had finished with their best times ever at Platte Ridge Park, five of whom had set personal records. Since there are no seniors on the team, there is a good feeling in the air despite the fact that only two advanced. They walked away knowing that they will be back next season with the same crew and expect to be more dominate as a team.
For a complete listing of individual and team places and times, results can be found by visiting http://www.morgansports.net/results/2014Class3District8.php. Tigers statistics can also be found at http://esxc.weebly.com/class-3-district-8.html#2014.