Kielhofner, Weber repeat as Nixa XC Invitational Champs

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Much like last year, Stephen Kielhofner and Tabitha Weber each took first place in their respective races at the annual Nixa Cross Country Invitational on Tuesday.
 
The junior Kielhofner from Springfield Catholic bested his own time from a year ago by over ten seconds.  He won the D1 varsity boys race (Class 3 & 4) with a time of 16:15.00.
 
In the early moments of the race, Kielhofner was bunched with a group of runners which included Parkview’s Preston Burgess (finished second), Nixa’s Blake Procell (finished fourth) and Ozark’s Logan Bohannon (finished sixth).


 
“The first mile and a half, it was definitely nice to have guys like Preston and Blake from Nixa and [Bohannon] along with me,” said Kielhofner.  “It was definitely great to have someone to pace with you.  It’s always nice to have someone like that.  Then I broke away in the second lap.”

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM THE BOYS RACES
 
Despite beating Burgess by 32 seconds, the state champion Kielhofner was slightly disappointed with his time.
 
“I didn’t get the time I wanted, but I’m proud of my effort and it seemed like every guy that crossed the finish line gave their all,” he said.
 
Marshfield’s Tabitha Weber won the D1 varsity girls race (Class 3 & 4) with a time of 20:07.50, just over a minute slower than her time last year. 


 
Weber – along with every single other racer on Tuesday – had to deal with the hot and humid weather.
 
“I really tried preparing for the heat today by drinking tons of water and everything,” said Weber, “especially throughout the day and even last night, and it really did help a lot.  But still, there’s that point where you just can’t really do as much as you would want.”

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM THE GIRLS RACES
 
The senior hopes to improve her finish at state from last year and is constantly working to do so.
 
“I felt really strong [today], especially on my first two miles and even into my two-and-a-half mile,” Weber said.  “But I really definitely need to start working my third mile and everything, but overall I felt really strong today.”
 
In the smaller school division, Lamar’s Mark Venable helped lead his school to a team win in the D2 varsity boys race (Class 1 & 2), running a time of 17:01.48. 


 
All six of his teammates finished 17th or better, including three teammates finishing in the top ten.  Kolin Overstreet (17:55.61) finished third and Jesse Compton (18:24.31) finished fifth.
 
“They [my teammates] are really good,” said Venable.  “They work really hard.  They’ve worked really hard since the start of the season.  I think that’s why I’ve ran so well is because of all my teammates.  They’ve pushed me and I’ve pushed them.”
 
And in the D2 varsity girls race (Class 1 & 2), a very happy runner won her first-ever cross country race.
 
“It’s been my dream to win a cross country meet,” said Sarcoxie runner Jasmine Garrison.  “This is my senior year and I finally accomplished it.  It was amazing.”


 
Garrison’s best finish this season was fifteenth at Bolivar and she says she’s, “never been even close to first, ever.” 
 
She won with a time of 22:34.27 on Tuesday by pulling away from a cluttered pack down the stretch.  She was bunched up with teammate Bryn Fischer (finished third) and School of the Ozark’s Autumn Alden (finished second).
 
“About half way through that race, I was able to turn my head and I was like, ‘You know what?  I think I can win this race,’” said Garrison.  “I just pushed myself and I just flew down the finish line and I was like, ‘I did it.’”
 
Sarcoxie was just one runner short of a full varsity team, so they did not qualify for the team competition.  Sparta’s girls won the D2 team competition, highlighted by Michaela House, Hannah Hudson and Mikyla Hutchinson finishing tenth, thirteenth and fourteenth, respectively.
 
Division 1 Varsity Boys
 
1. Stephen Kielhofner, Springfield Catholic , 16:15.00

2. Preston Burgess, Parkview, 16:47.00

3. Seth Waters, Harrison, 16:54.40

4. Blake Procell, Nixa, 16:57.80

5. Trenton Starchman, Carthage, 17:01.10

6. Logan Bohannon, Ozark, 17:05.60

7. Clay Hensley, Carthage, 17:08.50

8. Kobe Young, Nixa, 17:11.40

9. Clayton Whitehead, Carthage, 17:19.20

10. Keifer Dooley, Branson, 17:19.90

11. Benjamin Daniels, Nixa, 17:24.90

12. Ethan Smith, Parkview, 17:34.20

13. Jace Hull, Parkview, 17:38.20

14. Trenton Wells, Buffalo, 17:39.90

15. Blake Maurer, Carthage, 17:46.60

Division 1 Varsity Girls

1. Tabitha Weber, Marshfield, 20:07.50

2. Anna Galligos, Springfield Catholic, 20:28.10

3. Kaitlyn Jones, Nixa, 20:32.47

4. Amanda Kearney, Branson, 20:47.54

5. Brianna Marquez, Carthage, 20:54.97

6. Madeline Caruthers, Branson, 20:55.51

7. Adeline Holder, Branson, 21:06.83

8. Sydney Pyrah, Willard, 21:10.99

9. Annslee Glenn, Nixa, 21:11.72

10. Emma Puetz, Rolla, 21:21.82

11. Ryan Ruthy, Harrison, 21:33.30

12. Hannah Collins, Branson, 21:37.07

13. Rachel Bagg, Reeds Spring, 21:37.47

14. Kenzie Ihasz, Nixa, 21:45.36

15. Morgan Brown, Carthage, 21:45.82

CLICK HERE FOR DIVISION 1 TEAM RESULTS

Division 2 Varsity Boys

1. Mark Venable, Lamar, 17:01.48

2. Dustin Shoemaker, Humansville, 17:36.95

3. Kolin Overstreet, Lamar, 17:55.61

4. Braeden Decker, Humansville,18:14.49

5. Jesse Compton, Lamar, 18:24.31

6. Max Ostmeyer, McAuley Catholic, 18:33.90

7. Matt Christoffer, Clever, 18:45.08

8. Jon Johnson, College Heights, 18:46.40

9. Garrett Morey, Lamar, 18:46.63

10. Sean Lowry, Wheaton, 19:02.97

11. Jarrett Pike, 19:08.48

12. Adin Hiebsch, 19:37.00

13. Michael Caruthers, Lamar, 19:39.76

14. Parker King, Lamar, 19:41.77

15. Caleb Cummins, College Heights, 19:57.55

Division 2 Varsity Girls

1. Jasmine Garrison, Sarcoxie, 22:34.27

2. Autumn Alden, School of the Ozarks, 22:43.11

3. Bryn Fischer, Sarcoxie, 23:33.13

4. Brooke Hoeft, Clever, 23:48.43

5. Joy Grace, Purdy, 24:02.02

6. Ariel Fowler, School of the Ozarks, 24:09.01

7. Abby Painter, Marion C. Early, 24:13.37

8. Ashley Pearce, Clever, 24:34.16

9. Grace Gundelfinger, Clever, 25:00.21

10. Michaela House, Sparta, 25:08.29

11. Emily Graves, Marion C. Early, 25:09.87

12. Megan Thomas, Purdy, 25:13.07

13. Hannah Hudson, Sparta, 25:14.23

14. Mikyla Hutchinson, Sparta, 25:19.21

15. Karissa Coble, Humansville, 25:30.72

CLICK HERE FOR DIVISION 2 TEAM RESULTS

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