Oct 29: XC Nationals - Springfield, MO
The Blue Knights Cross Country season culminated for the fifth year at Lake Springfield Park in Springfield, MO, at the Nationals Homeschool Cross Country Race. While teams and participants are largely homeschoolers, this race also includes some Christian School teams and unattached runners, making it rather competitive. The Blue Knights have grown in size to be able to enter runners in each of the races offered (8U thru Varsity, both boys and girls), although some of the races we were short of having enough to score as a team.
The big win of the day was a FIRST PLACE team win (out of 3 teams) for the Blue Knights 12U Boys. They edged out powerhouse Christ Prep Academy by 1 point!
Zeke Hagan led the Knights on the 2-mile race with a time of 12:11.54 and an overall 1st place finish! He was followed by
Grant Criswell,
Micah Stiles,
Terry Donelson, and
Christian Adkisson. Congrats boys!
The Varsity girls finished 3rd place of 6 full teams on the 5K and were led by three top competitors finishing in 6th, 7th, and 9th overall -
Faith Brown (22:01.36),
Sadie Brandt (22:02.37) and
Tabby Bryant (22:15.24). The Varsity boys finished 4th place of 6 full teams and were led by two sub-20 minute finishes -
James Wamsley (18:35.23) and freshman
Reuben Anderson (19:54.36). James, a sophomore, was the 2nd place overall finisher. Medals were given to the top 15 in each varsity race and top 10 in all other races.
The Blue Knights came home with 16 individual medals. Way to end the season well, Blue Knights! We are so proud of you all!
Oct 15: Hancock Invitational - Jefferson Barracks Park, St. Louis, MO
The Blue Knights Cross Country high school team competed in their last regular season meet at the Hancock Invitational. The course at Jefferson Barracks Park is a favorite for those who enjoy racing on the rolling hills. The Varsity teams all competed in one division against many large school programs. Blue Knights Varsity girls took 6th place of 11 teams. The team was led by Tabby Bryant, with a new sub 22-minute PR of 21:41 and 16th place overall (of 111 competitors). Faith Brown also medaled at 30th place overall. Blue Knights Varsity boys took 18th place out of 23 teams. James Wamsley led the team with a time of 18:23 on the 5K course and took home a 30th place medal (of 167 competitors).
The Blue Knights JV teams were entered into the Small Schools division. The JV girls’ team leader was Laura Blank, medaling at 9th place. The JV boys’ team finished 4th of 10 teams with Tim Mallonee leading the Blue Knights. Worth celebrating are the individual improvements, making the team as a whole stronger each meet. Over half of the Blue Knights runners that competed set new course PRs or career PRs. Congratulations!
Oct 6: Orchard Farm Invitation - Orchard Farms, MO
The Blue Knights middle school and high school teams showed up ready to set PRs (personal records) and wins on the flat course, although it was an unseasonably warm day. The middle school teams ran a 3K distance and celebrated team success. The Blue Knights MS Girls team captured a 1st place win out of 7 total teams! Lynn Criswell led the way at 14:05.12 and a 4th place overall finish. The next top four also received medals - Kiera Stiles, Kaylee Szymanski, Lillian Campbell, and Heidi Anderson. The Blue Knights MS Boys team achieved a 2nd place finish of 8 total teams. Zeke Hagan crossed the line in 2nd place individually with a time of 12:03.85 setting a new all-time Knight's record at the 3K distance. He was followed by three other medal winners - Ruugan Lily, Ben Barfield, and Grant Criswell.
The Varsity girls’ team leader was Tabby Bryant (22:15), securing a 7th place team finish out of 10 teams. Varsity boys’ leader was James Wamsley (18:57) with a 14th place team finish out of 15 competitive teams.
Oct 1: Frank Schultz XC Invite - Hillsboro, MO
Saturday, October 1, was a beautiful day for racing at the Hillsboro horse farm. The Blue Knights team competed in all divisions. The middle school boys’ team had a spectacular 2nd place overall team performance, beating 5 other teams. Zeke Hagan finished 2nd overall in the 3K race and set a new all-time Blue Knights middle school record of 10:31 for that distance. The middle school girls’ teams also found success with a 3rd place team finish out of 6 teams. Middle school brought home 6 individual medals (given to top 20 in each race). The high school teams also did well against tough competition. Fourteen of the fifteen athletes who ran the same course last year, improved their times. The teams are in great shape for their next meet at Orchard Farms on Thursday, October 6.
Sept 26: Elsberry XC Invite - Sun Valley Golf Course, Elsberry, MO
The Blue Knights Cross Country team brought a total of 51 middle school and high school runners to compete for the 2nd year in a row at the Elsberry Invite on Monday, September 26. Ending the night with three FIRST PLACE TEAM trophies and 24 individual medals was a celebration!
Middle School girls' and boys' teams both earned 1st place (out of 3 and 5 teams, respectively). The girls were led by Lynn Criswell, coming in 2nd place overall on the 2-mile race with a time of 15:17.52. Scoring runners also included Kiera Stiles, Kaylee Szymanski, Lillian Campbell, and Heidi Anderson. Zeke Hagan took a commanding 1st place finish for the middle school boys with a time of 12:34.67. He was followed by Ruugan Lily, Ben Barfield, Grant Criswell, and Evan Adkisson.
High School Varsity girls also earned a team 1st place out of 4 teams. The Knights took 4th, 5th, and 6th place positions overall with Tabby Bryant (22:47), Faith Brown, and Sadie Brandt. Anya Stiles and Laura Blank added to the team’s success. JV Girls had some great finishes as well with 100% of those who ran the same course last year improving their times. Hard work pays off!
High School Varsity boys ranked 4th as a team, missing the #3 spot by just 2 points. James Wamsley came out strong again with a 1st place overall finish of 18:05 on the 5K course. He was followed by Mason Tallo, Reuben Anderson, Nathan Snell, and Joel Barfield. JV Boys had 100% of their eligible runners set personal course records or season records.
Sept 17: Paul Henke XC Invite - Sioux Passage Park, Old Jamestown, MO
The Blue Knights High School Team returned on 9/17 to what is notoriously known as the hardest, hilliest course in the state of Missouri. With the warm weather adding to the difficult course, each of the 23 Blue Knight’s runners crossing the finish line was a celebration. As one dad said in witnessing this meet, “Never underestimate the power of encouragement.” Coaches, parents, and siblings were spread throughout the course cheering runners on when they were fighting the mental game to keep pushing. The cheers were noticeably powerful. Each of the 5K races included 110-230 athletes. Although the Blue Knights did not earn any medals at this meet, 10 individuals set PRs compared to running the same course last year. The coaches are proud of their hard work!
Sept 10: Forest Park XC Festival - Forest Park, St. Louis, MO
The Blue Knights Cross Country Teams competed in this large, all-day meet once again. This was the first Middle School meet of the year, and wow did they perform on their 3K races! Both the MS Boys and MS Girls teams placed 3rd in a single division of 7 boys' teams and 6 girls' teams. The Blue Knights MS boys came home with 6 individual medals. Scoring athletes were Grant Criswell (12:35.4), Caleb “Ruugan” Lily, Evan Adkisson, Kieran Nischwitz, and Terry Donelson. The Blue Knights MS girls also earned 6 individual medals. Leading the team was Lynn Criswell, 4th overall at 13:02.0. Following Lynn were Kiera Stiles, Kaylie Szymanski, Heidi Anderson, and Lindsey Skogen as scoring athletes. For a number of middle schoolers, this was their first meet ever. There is much energy and enthusiasm fueling this hard-working team!
The Blue Knights High School Team competed in Varsity and JV White Divisions, Boys and Girls for both. Tabby Bryant led the Varsity Girls with 12th place overall and 22:12.2 on the course 5K. Other female medal winners were Faith Brown and Sadie Brandt. Sophomore James Wamsley was the lone medal winner on the Boys Varsity Team, placing 17th with a 5K time of 18:58.6. High School PR’s were set by Logan Ward, Isaac Ward, Nathan Snell, and Abi Gresham.
Aug 30: FleetFeet XC Classic - Arnold City Park, Arnold, MO
On Tuesday, Aug 30th, the Blue Knights high school cross country team kicked off their season at the annual FleetFeet Classic held at Arnold City Park. The Knights have a relatively young team this year. Out of the 25 athletes, 12 set personal records (PRs) and 9 ran in their first race with the Knights. Varsity HS boys were led by newcomer James Wamsley with an 11:09.9 which ranks as 5th best Knights performance ever in a 2-mile race. Varsity HS girls were led by Tabby Bryant with 13:23.9, 3rd best Knights all-time. Blue Knights Wamsley and Aaron Mudge were featured in a meet write up at https://mo.milesplit.com/articles/319453/photos-fleet-feet-classic-at-arnold-city-park.