College Heights dominates in state cross country

Published November 07, 2007

From staff reports
sports@joplinglobe.com

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — It was a trifecta of state titles for College Heights Christian on Saturday in the MSHSAA Class 1 state cross country championships at the Oak Hills Golf Center.

The Cougars boys wrapped up a dominating season with a 1-2-3-4-7 finish, and siblings Ethan and Emily Beaver each came home with individual titles.

Ethan Beaver, a senior, ran a 16:51 on the 5-kilometer course, beating teammates Caleb Hoover (17:00), Josh Carter (17:16) and Alan Good (17:20). CHC’s Trenton Morris, a freshman like Hoover, finished seventh in 17:39.

The Cougars’ 17 points far out-paced West Platte’s 76 and Lone Jack’s 163 in the team standings. It was, in fact, the lowest Class 1 boys score in MSHSAA history and the second-lowest in any class. Potosi scored 16 in Class 3 last year.

“I was very pleased,” College Heights coach Daniel Lewis said. “We were hoping Ethan and Emily would both be state champions, and they were. It’s kind of neat to have a brother and sister like that.

“It was nice for the boys to have only a 48-second spread from first runner to fifth runner. When you have a pack running that close, that’s usually a very good team.”

As for the girls, junior Emily Beaver won state in 20:13, 15 seconds better than second-place Jordan Esry of Penney. CHC’s Lacie Sparlin was sixth in 21:01.

Penney won the team title with 27 points; College Heights was second with 60. Wheaton finished 15th with 354.

Other girls scoring for CHC were Beth Good (21st in 21:50), Laura Szczepanik (36th in 22:41) and Rachel Calandro (42nd in 22:54).