Young Oak Ridge boys squad nabs second place in Class 1 at state cross country

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Oak Ridge coach Jason Niswonger wants to put the Class 1 cross country community on notice.

After his team finished second at the state meet Saturday, Niswonger said Oak Ridge is going to stay in the top tier of teams. Plus, he thinks the view from the top of the award stand is pretty good.

"We have to be confident," Niswonger said. "We have to get cocky."

Oak Ridge finished in second place with 92 points behind champion College Heights Christian, which finished with 64 points. It is the best finish for Oak Ridge and the fourth consecutive year the Blue Jays boys team qualified for the state meet.

Niswonger wasn't sure what his young team would do as it lined up at the starting line Saturday.

Oak Ridge's Garret Light competes during the Class 1 boys race Saturday. (TONI HAMMES ~ Special to the Southeast Missourian)

"I thought we had a podium team, but we're young and immature," Niswonger said. "We looked scared at the starting line. I could tell by looking in their eyes that they were nervous. We had some upset stomachs and butterflies."

Niswonger was right about having a podium-quality team. Oak Ridge only had one runner earn all-state honors, but all five of its scoring runners placed in the top 50.

Junior Caleb Elam finished 11th to earn all-state honors. Freshman Ethan Seyer finished 31st, junior Stephen Bolen took 32nd, freshman Corvin Schoen crossed the line 34th and senior Garret Light was 47th.

"If we're on the podium, I don't care if we're all-state," Niswonger said. "If you go out there and score 50 points in a basketball game and lose, who cares? Every guy on the podium gets a medal and that's way more important to me than individual goals."

Light has earned all-state honors before but struggled with an injury all season. Plus, he was battling a fever Friday night in the hotel. He pushed through his illness and helped the team capture its first trophy.

"I ran pretty good today," Light said. "I was a little weak at districts and I felt like I redeemed myself today. We had a bunch of guys step up this year. We really came together today."

Elam had a different plan entering Saturday's race. He ate only an hour before the race last year, which didn't sit well. So he got up early, ate the continental breakfast at the hotel hours before the race and started settling down.

"Coach told me to run conservative," Elam said.

After the first two miles, Elam sat at the back of the first large group. Everyone else started feeling the burn in their legs and Elam made his move. He ended up at the front of the pack.

"About halfway through the race, I started feeling fatigued, and at the end, it was more willpower than anything," he said.

Elam said the terrain was to his advantage.

"I like these hills," he said. "It's a lot easier to come out and do nine hills in practice and then you do this and it's nothing."

Elam also said that loading up on carbohydrates the night before made him feel better than ever Saturday morning. The team ate at Pizza Hut on Friday night.

"We need to do that again," Elam said.

Oak Ridge finishers

11. Caleb Elam 18:24; 31. Ethan Seyer 18:58; 32. Stephen Bolen 18:59; 34. Corvin Schoen 19:03; 47. Garret Light 19:33; 121. Jacob Light 21:03; 133. Tyler Lappe 21:24