MHS cross country: Lady Owls going to state meet

Going to state from Marshall are Nick Jenkins (bottom) and the entire Lady Owls' squad: (middle row, from left) Stormy Morrison, Arozo Shahabzada, (top row) Alex Farris, Erika Martin, Katie Wells, Lauren McGrath and Sam Wells. (Photo contributed)

Junior Katie Wells claimed her third gold medal of the season Saturday while winning the Class 3, District 5 Championships at Moberly, leading the Lady Owls to second place as a unit. That allowed Marshall to go as a team to the MSHSAA Class 3 Championships for the first time since 1994.

The Lady Owls had five runners finish in the top 30 to log 73 points, a six-point cushion over Fulton -- an NCMC rival they also nipped out for the state berth 15 years ago. Warrensburg won the meet with 37 points.

Wells covered the course in 20:08, 21 seconds faster than she did while winning the meet title a year ago and with a 64-second improvement over her showing at the Moberly Invitational a month earlier. Wells won easily, out-pacing freshman Jenny McCarty of Fulton -- the NCMC champion -- by 39 seconds.

Junior Stormy Morrison (22:23) claimed her second all-district medal by coming in ninth, which would have allowed her a trip back to state even had the team not made it.

Sophomores Lauren McGrath (23:11) and Arozo Shahabzada (23:22) finished 18th and 20th, respectively, and freshman Sam Wells (24:06) rounded out Marshall's scoring in 29th place.

Senior Erika Martin (25:31) was 41st, 24 seconds faster than her previous turn on the circuit, and freshman Alex Farris was running well before falling at the two-mile mark and being unable to continue.

Five of the six Marshall boys entered set new course records, but only junior Nick Jenkins kept his season going. Jenkins knocked 18 seconds off his time of a month ago to place eighth.

Junior Jeremy Jalilvand (19:28) was 22nd, so missed the state cut, and senior Patrick Todd (19:35) wound up 24th. Seniors Henry Yeagle (19:50) and Keeper Kays (19:52) were 30th and 31st to complete the Owls' run to fifth place with 115 points.

Helias (40 points) and Grain Valley (73) took the top two spots and Moberly junior Sam Dickerson (17:13), the NCMC and Marshall Invitational champion, won the race.

Jenkins and the Marshall girls will take part in the state meet Saturday at Oak Hills Golf Center in Jefferson City.