Cross Country

The Poplar Bluff Mules Booster Club has named Wren Cotrell and Owen McDaniel of Poplar Bluff High School the November Athletes of the Month, presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors. McDaniel, a senior swimmer, set a new school record of 1:04.14 last month in the 100-yard breaststroke while placing 25th in the state competition, as well as 23rd as a member of the 200-yard medley relay team with a time of 1:47.11...

Rylie Brown, a standout high school cross country runner from Malden, has signed with Williams Baptist University.

Some marriages don’t last six years, so the fact that Dexter High School senior cross country runners Ben Dowdy and Cameron Bell have spent hours each day, training side by side, for that many years, it’s impressive that they still speak, let alone, still like each other.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Kelly had a solid showing at the MSHSAA Class 2 State Meet at Gans Creek Cross Country Course on Saturday, Nov. 9, highlighted by senior Truman White’s All-State performance.  White’s 28th-place finish, clocking in at 17 minutes and 57.50 seconds, not only secured All-State honors but also shattered a 15-year drought, making him the first Kelly runner to earn this distinction since 2008 when Cody Kern and Tara Johnson achieved similar accolades...

The evolution of Bernie High School girl’s cross country runner Ella Harris continued in the recent MSHSAA Class 1 State Finals at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia.

Local runners across Southeast Missouri raced on Friday-Saturday, Nov. 8-9, in Columbia for the MSHSAA cross country championships. Woodland boys' won the MSHSAA Class 2 state championship for the second consecutive year. Notre Dame placed second in the Class 3 boys' meet, while Dexter placed fourth...

Do you know that feeling you get when a dream comes true? If not, you can ask the runners on the Dexter High School boy’s cross country squad. Because they have had a specific dream for a long time (three years), and on Saturday, the Bearcat athletes finally had it become reality.

Woodland clinches back-to-back MSHSAA Class 2 cross country titles with a stellar team performance, Discover how they secured their school's third state championship.

The Dexter High School boy’s cross country squad won’t Google Maps today to find their way to the MSHSAA Class 3 State Finals at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia. In each of the past five autumns, the Bearcats have had at least one runner compete in the ultimate meet, and the team has run as a group in each of the past three years.

IRONTON, Mo. — Charleston’s Brown Logan has punched his ticket to the MSHSAA Class 2 State Meet, set to take place at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Missouri on Saturday, Nov. 9. “It was a surreal feeling,” Logan said. “It took a second to set in that all the hard work over the last four years had finally paid off, but once it did I felt ecstatic.”...

Rylie Brown makes history as Malden's first cross country state qualifier, inspiring future female runners.

The goal of every athletic team is to perform at its best when the stakes are the highest, and the Dexter High School boy’s cross country squad is not immune to that expectation.

Following a one-year hiatus, the Bernie High School boy’s cross country squad is returning to the MSHSAA Class 1 Cross Country State Finals on Friday. The Mules advanced with a third-place finish in Saturday’s MSHSAA Class 1 District 1 Meet at the Arcadia Valley Sports Complex.

Cross-country runners from Southeast Missouri converged at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau and Arcadia Valley for the district championships. In Cape Girardeau, Jackson sent four male runners and two female runners to the state championships. Aidan Niedbalski led the boys with a 12th-pace finish and a time of 16:30. Lane McBryde finished behind him at 19th place (16:35), followed by Chase Wendel at 21st (16:37) and Chase Goodson at 30th. (16:48). ...

A few years ago, just advancing out of the MSHSAA Class 3 District 1 Cross Country Meet was an achievement for the boy runners at Dexter High School. However, after finishing second in each of the past two District races, and finishing fifth and seventh, respectively at the MSHSAA Class 3 State Finals, the Bearcat runners have a different mentality when approaching the postseason. “It’s been a process,” Bearcat coach Josh Dowdy said of building the program to this point.

Woodland’s star cross country runner Reed Layton has won the Heartland conference championship for three straight years. Even though he graduated this past spring, his younger brother, Calvin Layton kept the family legacy alive by winning the conference championship on Tuesday, Oct. 22, in Cape Girardeau...

Perryville senior Bair Hopkins set a new school record with a time of 16:10 at the JCAA Conference Invitational on Saturday in Festus. The previous record time was 16:29, set 34 years ago by Damien Erzfeld. Hopkins placed third in the race, earning First Team All Conference honors in the process...

It was a great day to be a Jackson Indian at Thursday’s SEMO Conference cross country meet. The Indians and Lady Indians easily claimed both team titles in the annual culmination to the regular season at Ozark Ridge Golf Course in Poplar Bluff — but it was a pair of Notre Dame runners who won individual titles to take momentum into the postseason...

The Perryville boys' cross country team won the Woodland Invitational, as three runners placed in the top five, including all five of its scoring runners in the top 12 on Thursday, Oct. 10 near Marble Hill. Perryville (28 points) held off host Woodland (36 points) for first in the team competition. Kelly was third (84 points), followed by Saxony Lutheran (100) and Puxico (102)...

NFHS and MSHSAA have announced the 2023-24 Coach of the Year winners, recognizing outstanding coaching achievements across 21 sports in Missouri. Discover the top coaches who made the list.

Whether individually or as a team, the Dexter High School boy’s cross country squad is running hard toward the end of this season.

Perryville senior Bair Hopkins dominated his domain and won the Perryville High School “Cutlass” Invitational race on Monday, Sept. 30, with over a minute to spare. Although he did not break the course record, Hopkins ran an impressive 17:20.30. “I had to win for the team,” Hopkins said. “It’s not like I go there wanting to win, I have to. That was my mindset.”...

Kennett's cross country team clinched first place at the Van Buren Invitational, with all scoring runners finishing in the top 10.

The Dexter High School boys’ and girl’s cross country runners certainly enjoyed competing at their own invitational recently. Not only was the fact that the Bearcat boy’s squad victorious over Notre Dame and Cape Central, but they also got to compete in front of family and friends around the Dexter High School grounds.

Kennett High cross country team kicks off the 2024 season with a solid performance at the Dexter Invitational, led by freshman Crafton Binkard's medal-winning run.

The Dexter High School cross country boy’s squad had some question marks entering this season due to having a number of younger runners, who were new to varsity competition.

The Dexter Lady Bearcats volleyball team started its season in strong fashion Tuesday night when took a 25-17, 25-23, 25-14 straight-set victory over Arcadia Valley at the Bearcat Event Center. In other action Tuesday, Bernie improved to 2-0 on the season after taking a 25-11, 24-26, 25-12, 25-22 win over Sikeston, while Advance swept Richland 25-6, 25-15, 25-14. ...

If a strong work ethic and commitment to improvement mean anything, Jackson High School cross country will be in great shape this upcoming season. “If they buy into it and just keep at it, they're going to get better,” said head coach Andrea Talley, who is entering her 39th season. “Each kid is going to improve no matter where they start. Even if they're dead last in year one, they're not going to be in year two. It’s just going to be a gradual improvement.”...

DEXTER – The Dexter High School varsity boy’s cross country squad spent the entire summer “building a base,” according to senior Cameron Bell, but now that the season is here, and competition nears, the training gets turned up a notch. “You need every mile before the season starts,” Bell explained, “that is so important. When you have those miles, and you get to your season and you’re starting to do workouts, to have that really solid base, it really takes your running to another level.”

Don Franklin is revitalizing Kennett's cross country team, seeing growth and commitment in his young athletes.

The Dexter High School boys cross country program has done A LOT of running this summer, but Bearcat senior Ben Dowdy said the squad still hasn’t caught up with what it is chasing with all of its heart.

DEXTER – On Tuesday afternoon, as the heat index climbed comfortably past the century mark, the Dexter High School varsity cross country squad gathered to do what few people would contemplate, which is run four miles through the undulating hills of Crowley’s Ridge.

For the second year in a row, Notre Dame cross-country and track and field athlete Lauren Eftink took home the Semoball Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Year award, adding to three total including her Semoball Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year award in 2023...

Part of the Woodland Cardinals’ efforts to claim the Semoball Cup this year, the Marble Hill program made a big statement in this year’s Semoball Awards. This push came largely behind the efforts of Reed Layton, who took home the crown as the Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year for his pair of state titles this fall...