There will be a group dynamic for a pair of Callaway County schools at the 2016 MSHSAA boys' and girls' state cross country championships Saturday.
The Fulton Hornets and North Callaway Ladybirds will both compete as teams in the Class 3 boys' and Class 2 girls' races, respectively, at Oak Hills Golf Center in Jefferson City. New Bloomfield and South Callaway also qualified a runner apiece in the Class 2 boys' race.
Here is a breakdown and preview of the state qualifiers from each school:
CLASS 3
FULTON
The Hornets advanced as a team to the state championships for the first time in George Yates' seven years as head coach by capturing the District 5 title last Saturday in Moberly. Fulton also qualified five of its runners individually for the state meet, led by junior Mason Gaines' second-place finish of 16 minutes, 41.82 seconds.
Sophomore Brock Fisher was next in sixth place in 17:57.82, followed immediately by junior Gabe Luebbert in seventh in 18:04.36 and junior Nathan Quick in eighth in 18:06.50. Senior Tanner Steffen took 13th place in 18:26.42.
Junior Haydon Windsor also finished 22nd in 19:05.31 and freshman Alex Armstrong came in 26th in 19:14.59.
Gaines, Steffen and Quick are going back to the state championships for the second year in a row. Gaines placed 35th in 17:23.55 in 2015, Steffen finished 69th in 17:59.21 and Quick was 80th in 18:06.52.
Fisher, Luebbert, Windsor and Armstrong will all be making their first appearance at the state meet.
"Our boys have been establishing themselves over the past couple of years and things are really falling into place for them this year," Yates said. "Last year, we started to see that we could compete with some of the tougher schools and we had some great wins that really motivated them to work hard over the spring and summer.
"Now that state is in front of us, we know that Festus and Ste. Genevieve are going to be battling for the top spots, along with Bolivar and Westminster Christian Academy. There are some other good teams out there too, like Warrensburg, Notre Dame and Springfield Catholic.
"There are only four top spots, so we will see. If the boys race well, like they have all season, we might have a shot at getting on the big stage for the awards."
junior Mason Gaines
"Mason will just need to focus. He knows how to race and does it very consistently," Yates said. "He may need to be a little more aggressive at this race so he doesn't lose too much ground in the first mile.
"But at the same time, he needs to run his race he's been running all season and work his way up to the top spots in the second half of the race."
sophomore Brock Fisher
"Brock will need to trust that his race is effective and not let the excitement of being at state and the madness of the start influence how he races," Yates said. "He is a tough kid and runs hard, but he will need to listen to his body and know where to push and where to recover.
"If he stays true to his race, I believe he will do great."
junior Gabe Luebbert
"Gabe just needs to believe in himself," Yates said. "He is a great runner and a team leader. As with the rest of the boys, he will need to be careful about getting caught up in the rush of the start, and always know where his teammates are and try his best to pack-run with Brock, Nathan and Tanner."
junior Nathan Quick
"Nathan needs to stay true to his racing style and stick with his teammates," Yates said. "He is a fast kid and very competitive. He, Brock, Gabe and Tanner need to stick together as much as possible."
senior Tanner Steffen
"Tanner will need to stay calm and not get too excited in the first mile," Yates said. "If he can get on his pace early on with Brock, Gabe and Nathan, and stay together with those guys, we will be competitive."
The Class 3 boys' race begins at 9 a.m.
CLASS 2
NORTH CALLAWAY
The Ladybirds not only qualified three individual runners for state, but also moved on as a team for the first time in school history by taking second place in last Saturday's District 3 championships at Bowling Green.
Junior Reyna Schmauch locked up the individual title with a time of 20:19.84, while fellow junior Kyla Bertschinger was ninth in 22:04.65 and freshman Daelyn Schmauch came in 14th in 22:40.20.
Also advancing as part of the team are freshman Brianna Douglas (17th, 23:20.51), junior Brooke Fischer (34th, 25:33.27), junior Alyssa Rinehart (52nd, 31:12.05), and sophomore Christa Gilman (53rd, 32:21.83).
Reyna Schmauch is returning to state for the second straight year after achieving all-state status in 2015 by finishing 17th in 20:48.21. Bertschinger, Daelyn Schmauch, Douglas and Fischer are all newcomers at the state meet.
"I said at the beginning of the year this will be a program-changing season for them and it has been," North Callaway head coach Chad Craghead said. "For us to do the best we can, it is important that all of our girls run remarkable. There are some great teams that we will be running against and I am just so proud of these girls to be one of the top 16 teams in Class 2.
"They are a group that does not question what I tell them to do - they do what I ask of them. They are such hard workers and have this desire in their souls to want to win. They do all the little things to make them great.
"These are qualities that a coach cannot make an athlete have. They either have it or they don't, and these girls all have it."
junior Reyna Schmauch
"Reyna has a great shot at a top-10 performance this year," Craghead said. "She placed 17th (last year) with a race that was 100 percent of what she had that day. If you ask her, she did not race well that day.
"I think having her team with her this year will keep things as normal as they can be, and of course, having the experience of running at state is huge. Reyna has ran remarkable all year - I don't think state is going to be any different."
junior Kyla Bertschinger
"This time last year Kyla was practicing basketball with softball ending a month (before)," Craghead said. "This year she is first-team all-conference (in Eastern Missouri Conference) and first-team all-district, and has raced with and beat some of the who's who in girls' cross country.
"The sky is the limit for her at state. I think with a great race she could be top 30, if not top 25."
freshman Daelyn Schmauch
"Daelyn has had a rough past couple of weeks battling a cold, which has led to some times she would rather not talk about," Craghead said. "With her running 100-percent healthy, she could also break into the top 10 with a great race.
"She has had one remarkable freshman season, no matter what happens at state."
freshman Brianna Douglas
"Brianna is running lights out right now for her," Craghead said. "She is coming off some great races and I look for that to happen at state too. She has to lay it all out on the line Saturday."
junior Brooke Fischer
"Brooke is my girl on the team with the most experience," Craghead said. "She needs to go out hard the first mile and rely on her years of training to sustain her through the race."
The Class 2 girls' race begins at 11:10 a.m.
NEW BLOOMFIELD
sophomore Robert Morningstar
Morningstar is the Wildcats' lone qualifier after finishing 12th in 19:03.94 at the District 4 championships last Saturday in Westphalia. Morningstar made it to the state championships last year at the Class 1 level, placing 94th in 19:29.90.
"Robert has approached every race with a specific mentality that - I personally think - is the reason for his success," New Bloomfield head coach Jacob White said. "This season he was an all-conference athlete in a very difficult conference (Show-Me), and has medalled in almost every meet.
"His strategy (Saturday) has to be to get out and give himself a chance. He needs to get with a pack towards the front and stay there. Robert has ran an amazing season and I think he will do great on Saturday. With his determination, I'm not worried at all about how he will perform."
SOUTH CALLAWAY
sophomore Daniel McDonald
McDonald will be the Bulldogs' only representative at the state championships and qualified for the first time by placing 15th in 19:16.37 at the District 4 meet.
"Daniel worked hard his freshman year at developing a good race strategy and found one that works for him," South Callaway head coach Stephanie Turner said. "He has continued using this strategy this year and has been very successful in his races.
"Daniel remains very focused and does not let his nerves affect his speed or pace. He continues to get stronger each race and determined to get better and better. This is Daniel's first trip to state and he is focused on getting a good time."
The Class 2 boys' race starts at 12:25 p.m.