By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
NIXA, MO – With the threat of severe weather looming, Saturday’s Central Ozark Conference cross country championship was moved up a day early and the Inman Elementary course benefitted from near-perfect conditions.
Joplin senior Ava Doll and Glendale senior Lincoln Crews rumbled to first-place finishes in their respective races.
Doll and Webb City senior Brooke Hedger jumped out to an early lead over the field and never looked back. As the two runners passed the one-mile checkpoint, Doll continued to push the pace and extended her lead.
“I’m not going to lie, it scared me a little bit when I heard her behind me that first mile,” Doll said. “But this is part of it. Everyone is here to win, and if I can just get up there for the first mile and a half, I think I have them.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GIRLS RACE
Knowing some of her primary competitors possess more sprint speed, Doll has worked to adjust her training and strategy over the course of the season to continuously force the pace in an attempt to burn out some of those blistering kicks over the course of the race.
“I think I definitely got out faster, and I’ve been practicing that,” Doll said. “It’s just gotten easier and easier to get out quicker and quicker. I know I have the endurance and the ability to stay consistent enough throughout the race. So practicing getting out to where I can’t get outkicked at the end has been a big factor.”
As she rounded the turn into the final 200-meter straightaway, Doll found herself alone as she cruised to an 18:07.5 time, first-place overall finish and COC West title.
Hedger was second in 18:18.9.
Ozark senior Sydney Lister won the COC East title with a time of 18:57.97. Glendale’s Danaka Davenport (19:18.50) was second.
In the COC West team competition, Webb City (2/3/5/6/7) stockpiled all five runners in the top seven spots, rolling to a 23-66 victory over Joplin (1/12/15/18/20).
Ozark (1/5/11/13/17) won the COC East team title with a 47-64 victory over Nixa (7/9/12/18/20).
BOYS RACE
If perseverance, persistence and patience are rewardable qualities, Lincoln Crews would make an ideal poster child.
Following an injury two seasons ago, Crews worked his way back to a conference runner-up finish in 2024 and set the stage for some Friday morning fireworks on the Nixa course.
After a quick start, Crews found himself boxed in a bit at the first turn and was forced to work his way up to a three-man lead pack with Nixa senior Reyes Martinez and Kickapoo junior Gavin Blaine.
“I kind of had a plan early on, and I also got kind of stuck,” Crews said. “So it kind of helped me control myself early on in the race. I didn’t want to get out too fast, just let those guys pick their pace and just stick to my own – not trying to be in front the whole time.”
As the trio passed the first mile marker, Crews surged into the lead and began separating from Martinez and Blaine.
“When we hit the mile, I kind of let it loose at that point,” Crews said. “I knew that if I wanted to win the race, I needed to open the gap up a little bit more and, mentally, just take that away from them.”
With his competitors unable to match pace, Crews found himself alone in the final home stretch. Overcome with emotion, the smiling Glendale runner pointed to the sky and pumped his fist several times on the way to a 15:35.96 victory and COC East individual championship.
“I heard a few coaches communicating, and I heard that whoever was behind me was opening up,” Crews said. “I knew that if I took that last uphill strong – and if they saw me taking it strong – they would know they weren’t going to be able to catch me, so that’s what I did. They’re both great runners, and I’m super excited to race them again next week.”
Martinez (15:49.58) and Blaine (15:51.55) finished second and third, respectively.
“I was just feeling super blessed after being in a boot two years ago,” Crews said. ‘I just felt a good sense of accomplishment. The work that we’ve been putting in here at Glendale is finally paying off, and I felt that. I felt like I could potentially run a lot faster.”
The East Division team title was won by Kickapoo (3/4/7/8/9).
The Chiefs’ 31-point finish outpaced Nixa’s 62 (2/6/16/17/21) for the victory.
In the West Division team competition, Webb City – led by senior Andrew Dawson’s West victory (16:06.56) – swept the first five spots for a perfect team score of 15 points. Joplin and Willard tied for second with 68 points each.
