Notre Dame grabs another state trophy in Class 2 boys

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A lot of thanks was given at the state cross country meet Saturday at the Oak Hills Golf Center.

Runners thanked their coaches, their parents and their fellow runners. Officials thanked everyone for coming out on the sunny day. And Notre Dame Coach Bill Davis thanked Ste. Genevieve's boys team.

Ste. Genevieve, he said, was his team's motivation in running to a fourth-place showing in the Class 2 boys race.

"What spurred us more than anything was Ste. Genevieve," Davis said. "Once they beat us at Hancock -- well, they were in a different division, but they scored better than we did -- I told the boys that that was the team we had to beat.

"Competition brings out the best. Ste. Genevieve didn't have a team [for the district meet], but they really helped prepare us and get us here. Competition pushes the kids and they pushed us."

Priory won the boys Class 2 title with 116 points. Bowling Green was second (130), defending state champion Herculaneum third (142) and Notre Dame fourth (166).

The Bulldogs had just one individual runner earn a medal by placing in the top 25. Greg Kanneberg was 23rd in 18 minutes and 27 seconds.

Wright City's Larry Paul won the event in 16:51.

"We had three returning runners, and we battled injuries during the season," Davis said. "We tried to pull together. They had to be believers. We pump them all year long with 'You can do it.'"

Last year, Notre Dame was second to Herculaneum. This year, Davis said the trophy was a surprise to many.

"A lot of people didn't expect us to make it back, and we made it back," he said. "A lot of people didn't think we'd be on the trophy stand, and here we are."

Notre Dame returns four juniors in Kanneberg, Cody Essner (56th), Cole Min (123rd) and Matt Pfau (54th).

"Next year we should have a good team," Davis said.

Running in their last high school race were seniors Austin Critchlow (43rd) and Steven Eftink (109th).

Central shut out of all-state

Holly Shaffer was Central's first female finisher across the line in the Class 4 race with a 43rd-place finish.

Two-time all-state Jennifer Pancoast was running not far off the lead about halfway through the race before pulling out.

"She just tried extra hard and tried to give that extra effort," Central coach Mark Hahn said. "She was where she wanted to be but it just didn't happen."

Central, a district champion, fell short of sending the team to state when Linnea Woldtvedt, one of the team's top runners, was unable to finish the sectional meet. Hahn said Woldtvedt has recovered.

"Hopefully, we've paid our dues for the next decade or so."