The Warrenton boys and girls cross country teams had a successful day at the Class 4, District 3 meet, with two runners qualifying for the Class 4 state meet.
Alexis Ruff and Matt Craven …
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The Warrenton boys and girls cross country teams had a successful day at the Class 4, District 3 meet, with two runners qualifying for the Class 4 state meet.
Alexis Ruff and Matt Craven earned their ticket to the state level after finishing in the top 30 at districts this past Saturday in McNair Park in St. Charles. Craven and Ruff will run in the Class 4 State Meet in Columbia on Nov. 9 on the Gans Creek Cross Country Course.
“They’re great competitors and they had a great race,” Head Coach Jeremy Collins said. “It’s always exciting to see their hard work pay off at the end of the season.”
Craven will be going to state for the first time in his career. As he neared the finish line, Craven was running with a group all trying to make it into the top 30.
Despite having a few people pass him as Craven was running the last leg of the 5K, his teammates yelling and cheering him on helped him reach the finish line. He finished 26th for a personal record of 17 minutes, 51 seconds.
“I just thought I might not go to state, so I might as well just give it all now,” Craven said.
Even though Ruff has been battling with shin splints, she finished 28th in 22:31. She noted as the race went on, the pain started to subside.
“I pretty much just closed my eyes and just kept going. That’s all that I really could do,” Ruff said “I was battling it out with like five girls the whole race, so I just tried to stay with that pack.”
This will be Ruff’s second year in a row going to the state meet. As a freshman, she placed 113th.
“I’m hoping that I can break 22 [minutes] because I’ve had a rough season since I’ve been pretty much out of it practice-wise, but I think I’ll be able to break 22 just being in the state atmosphere because everything is just quicker,” Ruff said.
With the state meet nearing, Collins noted that most of the work when it comes to running is done and now they will spend the week focusing on keeping fresh. Collins is hoping both Craven and Ruff can build on the whole season at state.
“I’m hoping they can continue to run well. The state course is pretty fast, so if they can PR or have a season best, that would be the icing on the cake,” Collins said.
On top of Craven and Ruff’s massive accomplishment, five Warriors ended their seasons with PR’s. Ava Schneider finished 38th in 23:57 and Sophie Bennett placed 50th in 25:10. On the boys side, Jonathan Sweitzer placed 41st in 18:33, Dylan Coleman was 51st in 18:49 and Korben Johnson finished 93rd in 20:28.
