State Cross Country: Woodland's Reynolds sneaks in for all-state honors

Woodland junior Garret Reynolds was the lone local runner to receive an all-state medal at the Class 2 state cross country meet on Saturday at the Oak Hills Golf Center in Jefferson City, Mo.

Reynolds crossed the finish line with a 25th-place time of 17 minutes, 27.03 seconds. The first 25 runners to finish receive medals for all-state recognition.

"I had a strategy that I wanted to get out pretty fast and stay with the rest of the runners," he said. "I wanted to be in a secure spot because after that second hill a lot of people are dead."

That strategy proved successful for Reynolds.

"It was definitely an honor to receive all-state since it was one of the fastest meets ever in the history of the state meet," Reynolds said.

Woodland coach Ryan Layton said all of his runners ran well and highlighted the excitement of the record-breaking state meet.

"This was the fastest state meet ever overall, so it was pretty exciting to be a part of that," Layton said. "Every race was so fast this year. I think it says something about the state of Missouri distance running. I've never seen anything like today."

Freshmen brother teammates Landon Thomsen and Logan Thomsen finished 90th and 99th, respectively, for Woodland while Cheyenne Wells, also a freshman, posted a 79th-place finish of 22:53.78 in the Class 2 girls race. For these three freshmen, the state meet was an opportunity to gain experience.

"They were all happy with their performances," Layton said. "I think they were all a little bit overwhelmed at first with all the people that were there. We usually run in smaller meets down here where there might be a few hundred spectators and up there there's a few thousand spectators, so it's definitely a different stage. I definitely think that all three of them will be a lot better going forward knowing what it's like."

For Reynolds, it's never too early to start thinking about next year.

"My goals for next season are to be a repeat all-state runner, and I want our team to place in the top four in the state meet," he said. "Today's race was a huge experience gainer for our program."

Kelly senior Trey Walker finished 32nd with a time of 17:48.54. Saxony Lutheran senior Greg Hapgood followed in 35th place with a time of 17:53.24 to round out the other local runners who competed.

BOYS

Team Standings -- 1. Fatima 73, 2. Stockton 130, 3. Arcadia Valley 146, 4. Springfield Catholic 159, 5. Archbishop O'Hara 177, 6. Strafford 181, 7. Herculaneum 182, 8. Wright City 208, 9. College Heights Christian School 216, 10. Orchard Farm 235, 11. Southern Boone County 243, 12. Liberty (Mountain View) 270, 13. Whitfield 285, 14. Richmond 333, 15. Lawson 341, 16. The Principia 354

Top 10 finishers -- 1. Kaden Overstreet (Lamar) 16:35.22, 2. Nate Gelber (Whitfield) 16:43.36, 3. Henry Huff (Lutheran-St. Charles County) 16:51.92, 4. Michael Bolek (Stockton) 16:55.39, 5. Philip Lagemann (Bowling Green) 16:55.89, 6. Daylan Quinn (Liberty-Mountain View) 16:56.78, 7. Ryan Pate (Stockton) 16:57.27, 8. Ross Schanzmeyer (Fatima) 16:58.47, 9. Hunter Hennier (Fatima) 16:59.43, 10. Caleb Stillings (Ava) 17:01.25

Local finishers

WOODLAND -- 25. Garret Reynolds 17:27.03, 90. Landon Thomsen 18:46.26, 99. Logan Thomsen 18:50.82

KELLY -- Trey Walker 17:48.54

SAXONY LUTHERAN -- Greg Hapgood 17:53.24

GIRLS

Team Standings -- 1. Fatima 43, 2. Springfield Catholic 102, 3. Stockton 125, 4. Herculaneum 150, 5. Lutheran (St. Charles County) 155, 6. Blair Oaks 164, 7. Strafford 214, 8. Arcadia Valley 216, 9. Bowling Green 223, 10. Lawson 262, 11. Holden 278, 12. Blue Eye 311, 13. Whitfield 325, 14. The Principia 360, 15. Mid-Buchanan County 365, 16. Alton 388

Top 10 finishers -- 1. Courtney Rogers (Lutheran-St. Charles County) 19:24.98, 2. Alexis Smith (Stockton) 20:11.00, 3. Sarah Usher (Steelville) 20:15.04, 4. Emily Sorrell (East Newton County) 20:21.13, 5. Zoe Hamber (Lutheran North) 20:27.18, 6. Hannah Smith (Blue Eye) 20:31.89, 7. Renae Buschling (Clark County) 20:32.13, 8. Anna Thomas (Arcadia Valley) 20:37.29, 9. Riley Caminiti (Fatima) 20:37.63, 10. Madison Day (Fatima) 20:41.62

Local finishers

WOODLAND -- 79. Cheyenne Wells (22:53.78)