Alexis Ruff got the chance to take it all in during her final high school run.

Competing at the MSHSAA Class 4 state cross country championship last Friday at Gans Creek in Columbia, Ruff placed 107th in 21 minutes, 3.1 seconds.

“State was a great experience with lots of memories made,” Ruff said. “The race itself was very fun, and I enjoyed every last second of competitive racing. I will definitely miss it a lot. This season has been so amazing, and for that I thank God and my super cool coaches for giving me all the support and uplifting words an athlete could ask for.”

Buoyed by her coaches, Ruff improved with each kilometer, starting in 135th after the first kilometer, 123rd after the second, 120th after the third, 110th after the fourth, before finishing 107th.

Warrenton Coach Jeremy Collins said Ruff, who also ran at state during her freshman and sophomore years, should hold her head high for how she ended her prep running career.

“I am really proud of her and how she finished her high school running career,” Collins said. “She ran her second fastest time ever, and she went out and gave it everything she had. I think the state race is a little different than other races, because it usually goes out pretty fast, but (Alexis) did a great job with the fast pace and finished strong. This was her third time running at the state meet and it was her best performance of the three races. Besides being one of the best runners I have coached, she is an amazing kid. She is a great leader and she is a great example for others to follow.”

Warrenton’s other runner, sophomore Landon Neace, said that, like Ruff, he got the chance to soak up the state running experience.

He finished 112th in a time of 17:28.4, reaching the finish just under his self-imposed goal.

“Going into state, I was very ready but nervous; when I got there, I just took it all in that I was at the state meet,” Neace said. “My goal for the race was to get 17:30. During the race, I felt like I was going a lot slower than I was going, but when I looked up at the 4k time, I knew I had to go. So I pushed through the pain to the best of my ability and tried to have a strong finish.”

The strong finish – Neace’s second-best split (3:23.41) came in his last kilometer, which was bettered only by the 3:19.6 of his first kilometer – showed what a tough competitor he is, Collins said.

“Landon, after running a PR at last week's district race, followed it by running another PR at the Class 4 state race,” Collins said. “He went out where he needed to, but on the second kilometer, he moved up 21 places. On the third and fourth kilometers, he may have been starting to hurt a little, but on the last kilometer he moved up seven spots and finished strong. Like Ruff, Neace is an extremely tough runner. When you are trying to run a 5K as fast as you can, it is going to hurt, but they are both mentally tough, and they both finished the season extremely well.”

Collins said that he is hopeful of big things for the boys' and girls' programs in 2027.

The coach said that Neace will return one year wiser and more experienced for the boys.

“Neace is going to set the pace for next year,” Collins said. “After competing in his second state meet, he is going to be a major factor in helping everyone next year. The boys' team is pretty young, as we had three freshmen on the team. Thomas Schoonover, Ryker Koch and Alejandro Saldana gained a lot of experience this year and next year I really think they can make big steps. We are going to increase their mileage and add a little more intensity. We will have a good group, and it is going to be fun to see what they can do next year.”

Collins then spoke about the youth on the girls’ side.

“We also have three freshmen that can take a big step next year,” the coach said. “Ryli Price, Reese Keith and Annabelle Hogan should see improvement. It can be tough for first-year runners adjusting to running (a) 5K at the high school level. Price and Keith made a lot of improvement throughout the year and hopefully they can pick up where they left off. Hogan was hurt most of the year, but she is a very talented runner and if she can get healthy for next year, she can have a fantastic year. We had a lot of good things happen this season and next year should be better with consistency, hard work and a great attitude.”