BOLIVAR, MO – 844 athletes representing 84 teams descended upon Bolivar’s municipal golf course Saturday morning for the Southwest Cross Country Coaches Association Richard Clark Invitational.
Under near-perfect conditions with temps in the low 60s, Webb City senior Brooke Hedger and El Dorado Springs junior Wyatt Klaiber captured individual titles, the same as they did in 2024.
The meet, shepherded by Bolivar head coach Ron Bandy since 2017 in honor of Richard Clark, continues to grow with 16 new teams added to the mix this season – many from outside the southwest Missouri footprint.
“I told my kids this week, ‘we’ve got over 80 teams right now,’” Bandy said. “And the kids are like, ‘you need to learn to say no,’ and I can’t. This is to celebrate my college coach. He is the reason we have cross country in southwest Missouri.”
CLICK HERE FOR FULL RESULTS OF THE MEET
Clark, who coached at all four Springfield public schools during the 70s, started cross country in the mornings and then coached football in the afternoons.
“I asked him a couple years ago about some out of town, out of southwest Missouri, schools that wanted to come, and he’s like, ‘I’ve always wanted to do that,’” Bandy said. “So here we are – 80-plus schools for the high school level and a gajillion middle schools. It’s just a carnival, and that’s Coach Clark.”
GIRLS RACE
While Brooke Hedger claimed her second-straight SWCCCA individual title Saturday, she was pushed to her absolute limit by Joplin senior Ava Werberger-Doll.
Werberger-Doll, who finished fifth last season, took control of the race early and quickly separated from the pack.
For Hedger, the plan was simply to remain within striking distance, especially early on.
“At the start, I kind of just planned to get out conservative and controlled – and not be nervous I guess and go out too fast,” Hedger said. “I think my coach wanted me to be in the fifth to eighth range, kind of like in the pack. I wasn’t really worried about getting out as much, just because I know I can move up easily.”
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For nearly four kilometers, Werberger-Doll’s lead ranged anywhere from 70-100 meters and, as the race neared its completion, that lead seemed almost insurmountable.
Almost.
“My coaches have always told me that if you’re only so far off with 800 to go, you have a fighting chance,” Hedger said. “So I was just waiting – staying patient and waiting to make the right move at the right time.”
With less than a kilometer remaining, Hedger – an exceptional middle-distrance runner on the track – showcased her sprint credentials down the final stretch.
With 200 meters to go, Hedger surged past Werberger-Doll into the lead for the first time in the race and pulled away for an 18:07.27 finish and a new personal best.
Werberger-Doll finished second in 18:12.94 – also a personal best.
West Plains freshman Kaebrynn Gunter (18:30.75), Rock Bridge junior Kaitylin Reid (18:59.57) and Webb City junior Araceli Perez (19:00.20) rounded out the top five.
“I think it gives me a lot of confidence going into the rest of the season knowing that I do have the fitness and the capabilities,” Hedger said. “It’s good to feel prepared going into November, which is obviously a long time away, but it’s exciting to be where I’m at this point in time.”
In the team competition, West Plains edged Webb City 83 points to 91 for the overall title. The Zizzers placed all five scoring runners in the top 33 with an impressive 1:47 spread between its first and fifth place entrants.
BOYS RACE
Heading into Saturday’s event alongside sub-15:30 runners, El Dorado Springs junior Wyatt Klaiber figured he’d need to drop some time off his former 5K personal best of 15:25.5.
His strategy for the race?
Just go.
“The way I do it is I don’t really have a plan,” Klaiber said. “I just kind of go in there, you know, forward and willing. I’m always nervous before races, and my main focus was just not to get out too fast, because that’s been a problem with me in the past.”
As the race hit the first turn following a 300 meter straightaway, Klaiber found himself nestled in a pack some 15-20 spots off the lead, yet close enough to maintain contact with the leader. Over the next kilometer, Klaiber managed to pull into the front group along with Rock Bridge senior Luke Sievers. Sievers finished third at the Class 5 state meet last season.
“We were pretty close together for most of the race,” Klaiber said. “I do know after the third kilometer, (Sievers) started to pull away just a little bit. I had a couple side stitches but, eventually, they kind of went away and we were able to get back up there with him.”
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With 800 meters to go, Klaiber made a final push for the finish. While Sievers attempted to counter with multiple passing attempts down the final straightaway, he was unable to match Klaiber’s kick.
“Going down to the finish line, I noticed (Sievers) had longer legs than I do,” Klaiber said. “A lot of people do, actually, because I’m pretty short. So, really, I was just watching the shadow, making sure it wasn’t getting too close to mine. Every time it got a little bit closer, I tried pushing just a little bit harder to see if I could get across that finish line.”
Klaiber finished in first with a time of 15:11.24 – a nearly 14-second personal best improvement.
Sievers finished second in 15:14.49.
Glendale senior Lincoln Crews (15:20.91), Kickapoo junior Gavin Blaine (15:30.22) and Rolla senior Cameron Martensen (15:34.48) rounded out the top five.
Following the race, Klaiber credited his older siblings – Garrett, Hannah and Abby – for his ability to close out races.
“That’s always been a little bit of, I guess you could say the Klaiber heritage,” Klaiber said. “My brothers and sisters, they always had a pretty good kick, too. I guess you could say I figured that if I could keep a close contact with (Sievers), maybe I could pull it off in the end.”
Klaiber’s new personal best also puts him within striking distance of Daelen Ackley’s 2021 school record 15:10.7 time, of which the senior is very aware.
“I would really like to break 15 this year,” Klaiber said. “Daelen Ackley has the school record at 15:10, so that’s one of the main goals right now, just to break that barrier, and then hopefully take it down to around 15, 14:50 or 14:45.”
In the team competition, Rock Bridge edged out Kickapoo 79-85 for first place honors. The Bruins placed three runners in the top 12 and all five in the top 30.
