Chamois' Autumn Baker is no stranger to earning all-state honors in cross country.
She did so for the third time Saturday, finishing sixth in the Class 1 girls race at the Missouri State High School Activities Assocation Cross Country Championships at the Oak Hills Golf Center.
"I think I did really well, said Baker, a junior. "I improved a place from last year, so I'm happy with it."
Her aim for the race was simple.
"I had a goal to try to do my best," she said.
Baker accomplished that goal, down to the second.
"It was the exact same as my personal best for this season," said Baker, who finished in 21:18. "I got the same time."
Baker runs Oak Hills just once a year, at the state competition, but she said her familiarity with the course paid off Saturday.
"Definitely," she said. "It's a lot better than freshman year. I didn't know what I was doing."
In the Class 1 boys race, Saturday marked Calvary Lutheran's debut at the state meet, and the Lions sent two runners, John Meyer and Cal Kolzow, and they finished 41st and 134th, respectively.
"John just missed the medals, which is disappointing, but I can't grumble," Calvary Lutheran coach Kerri Morris said. "They had a good, solid race all the way through. That's just an incredibly hard course, and it's your first time to run it, so it's a little overwhelming."
Meyer, a senior, was Calvary Lutheran's lone varsity runner last season and had been anticipating a chance to race at the state competition, despite a strained calf muscle.
"He had kind of been nursing a muscle this week, and I hope that didn't play too much of a factor in it, but I think he (enjoyed the meet)," Morris said. "I reminded him that to still be 40th out of almost 200 runners is an amazing accomplishment."
While Meyer's sights are now set on his senior season in track and field, Kolzow has two more years to run cross country for the Lions.
"I think he was a surprise to get to state," Morris said. "So to run and have that experience, I'm hoping that that can push him next year even farther. Now he's been there. He's seen the course. It won't be completely new to him, and he's got two more years to do it, so I think it will just be a benefit for him to have run as a sophomore up there."
Vienna's boys and girls teams also competed Saturday. Kara Harker paced the Vienna girls with a 65th-place finish in 23:50, and Brent Davis paced the Vienna boys with a 81st-place finish in 19:16.
Class 1 Boys Cross Country
Team Standings
- 1. Hermitage, 90; 2. St. Vincent, 90; 3. Lone Jack, 119; 4. New Haven, 125; 5. Sparta, 159; 6. Marion C. Early, 197; 7. Montrose, 201; 8. Van Buren, 202; 9. Zalma, 245; 10. Northeast: Cairo, 261; 11. West Platte, 265; 12. Maysville, 267; 13. Koshkonong 281; 14. Glasgow, 313; 15. Galena, 388; 16. Vienna, 421.
Top 25 Individuals (All-State)
- 1. Seth Brown, La Plata, 16:41.60; 2. Dustin Shoemaker, Humansville, 16:49.56; 3. Riley Gorham, Hardin-Central, 17:14.14; 4. Levi Krauss, St. Vincent, 17:14.43; 5. Michael Walling, Maysville, 17:20.34; 6. Isaac Calvert, Smithton, 17:21.77; 7. Easton Sabala, Hermitage, 17:30.05; 8. Drake Hammack, Lone Jack, 17:31.66; 9. Keaton Wheeler, Marion C. Early, 17:34.47; 10. Todd Wilcoxon, Van Buren, 17:40.00; 11. Isaac Baer, St. Vincent, 17:40.80; 12. John Lipe, St. Vincent, 17:41.14; 13. Bailey Jones, Hermitage, 17:41.46; 14. Traven Eaton, Sparta, 17:45.44; 15. Zachary McAdams, Northeast: Cairo, 17:46.90.
- 16. Ryan Cue, Kingsville, 17:48.01; 17. Peyton Ford, Zalma, 17:49.04; 18. Tristan Eaton, Sparta, 17:51.61; 19. Hayden Hackman, Glasgow, 17:51.98; 20. Dillon Meyer, Hermitage, 17:53.19; 21. Cody Page, Kingsville, 17:53.24; 22. Jackson Rush, St. Joseph Christian, 17:53.27; 23. Wyatt Craven, Hardin-Central, 17:53.56; 24. Jacob Steinberg, Zalma, 17:53.57; 25. Max Ostmeyer, McAuley Catholic, 17:54.48.
Calvary Lutheran Individuals
- 41. John Meyer, 18:29.37; 134. Cal Kolzow, 20:12.43.
New Bloomfield Individual
- 130. Nicolas Granich, 20:08.58.
Vienna Individuals
- 81. Brent Davis, 19:16.26; 123. Brock Feeler, 19:59.99; 160. Ryan Veasman, 21:29.63; 163. Hayden Deckard, 22:02.95; 169. Jacob Johnson, 23;53.91; 171. Jacob Kilmer, 28:08.84.
Class 1 Girls Cross Country
Team Standings
- 1. Salisbury, 97; 2. Crystal City, 101; 3. Summit Preparatory, 111; 4. Drexel, 136; 5. Mound City, 158; 6. Lone Jack, 180; 7. Mansfield, 205; 8. Glasgow, 214; 9. St. Vincent, 221; 10. New Haven, 222; 11. Couch, 245; 12. North Platte, 246; 13. Hermitage, 260; 14. Sparta, 336; 15. Vienna, 376.
Top 25 Individuals (All-State)
- 1. Claire Workman, Summit Preparatory, 19:34.73; 2. Alessandra Moss, Couch, 20:20.35; 3. Kendey Eaton, Mound City, 20:33.53; 4. Claire McCune, Summit Preparatory, 20:48.99; 5. Jenny Morey, Van Buren, 21:17.58; 6. Autumn Baker, Chamois, 21:18.43; 7. Katie McCune, Summit Preparatory, 21:18.61; 8. Naomi Payne, Viburnum, 21:33.00; 9. Marissa Jochem, Northeast: Cairo, 21:33.38; 10. Ashlyn Wisdom, Bunker, 21:33.77; 11. Abby Draffen, Glasgow, 21:35.64; 12. Rachel Briner, Columbia Independent, 21:39.41; 13. Kelsey Herring, Kingsville, 21:39.87; 14. Memphis Coble, Humansville, 21:42.60; 15. Savannah Ratliff, Salisbury, 21:51.15.
- 16. Erinn Fitzgerald, Salisbury, 21:57.93; 17. Mallory Dittemore, DeKalb, 22:00.20; 18. Adrian Adams, Mansfield, 22:01.85; 19. Abbey Holdinghausen, Crystal City, 22:06.30; 20. Hailey Stevens, Chadwick, 22:07.19; 21. Shelby Strong, Dora, 22:09.74; 22. Ryleigh Reagan, DeKalb, 22:12.66; 23. Jenna Bartholomew, Drexel, 22:14.41; 24. Josie Miller, Crystal City, 22:20.29; 25. Abby Foster, Crystal City, 22:20.72.
Other Chamois Individual
- 130. Cheyenne Hemeyer, 26;07.34.
New Bloomfield Individual
- 127. Sydni Bedsworth, 26:04.74.
Vienna Individuals
- 65. Kara Harker, 23:49.70; 116. Taylour Schoene, 25:39.89; 146. Bethany Helton, 30:02.36; 150. Makayla Peterman, 32:10.18; 151. Maddi Stricklan, 32:15.31.