Heading into Saturday's MSHSAA Cross Country Championships, Wright City senior Zach Kowalik faced a lot of uncertainty. Would a hamstring injury that sidelined him for much of the season again become an issue during the Class 2 state run? To Kowalik's delight, the adversity wasn't a factor. He matched his performance from a year ago, finishing ninth with a time of 17:42. "I was a little worried about getting up there a little bit," said Kowalik. "I didn't know what was going to happen, I'm really glad I stayed up there in the Top 10." He strategized, deciding to put himself in good position early and test his physical limits. "I felt a lot better than last week," said Kowalik. "Coming into it, I did a little more preparation and more stretching." Kowalik entered the final mile battling Barstow's Decko Ricketts for the eighth-place spot. "My cardio kept with me, so that was a big factor to stay in," said Kowalik. "I got out quick and got out ahead, so if some people did pass me, it wouldn't hurt me as much as if I got behind. He appeared to be in excellent position to medal, but coach Sue Wright says she didn't breathe easy until Kowalik crossed the finish line. Flashbacks of heartbreaking events from the past prevented her from premature excitement. After holding the top spot through much of the race in 2004, Wright City runner Larry Paul collapsed near the finish line. Wright feared the same might happen to Kowalik. "Having gone through the thing with Larry Paul, and you have another athlete similar to him with an injury, you get concerned," said Wright. "We learned from Larry Paul, because his (incident) wasn't really an injury, it was the fact that he didn't drink enough when he was not running. So we made sure that Zach drank enough." A month ago, Kowalik wasn't certain he would even be capable of a fourth straight trip to state. After briefly nursing an injury in late September, he returned to compete in the Warrenton Invitational. But the hamstring injury flared up again, forcing him to exit the race without finishing. Kowalik spent the entire month of October resting the injury, hoping to be back to full health in time for the district race. He managed to advance to state with a sixth-place finish at districts, despite feeling the effects of a month away from running. "He felt like his body was really weak when he ran at districts," said Wright. "So, I worked him a little bit harder than I would normally the last week before state. I think he had it in him, but he needed the confidence and to get his muscles back." Kowalik says he wasn't sure what to expect on Saturday and had kept his goals rather modest, hoping simply to medal with a top 25 finish. He says he felt confident and strong during the race, letting his experience on the state course take over. Kowalik had also taken ninth last season but Wright says this year's feat is perhaps more special because of the circumstances. "It's special when you get a medal at state, but it's really special when you struggle through the season and then come in as strong as he did," said Wright. "It's great that he could be here. He worked hard to get ready to come here and did an awesome job." Dealing with reoccuring injuries is nothing new for the Kowalik family. Zach's sister Megan, now a senior at the University of Missouri, missed much of her junior and senior seasons with a hip problem but was able to return in time to become a state medalist. Having finished third as a senior, Megan has a slight edge on Zach, whose highest finish was sixth during his sophomore year. Time-wise, Zach was back about 40 seconds on his time of 17:42 at last year's race. He ran a 17:43 as a sophomore and an 18:45 his freshman year. Saturday's winner was Brandon Shemonia of Scott City, who ran a 16:20 - 34 seconds faster than the next closest competitor.