November 2, 2024

At the conclusion of the regular cross country season, 15 girls and 12 boys represented Summit Lakes Middle School in the unofficial Missouri Middle School State Cross Country race in Wheatland, MO.

These runners committed to training on their own and with the coaches for two weeks after the regular season ended. SLMS competed in the Class 4/5 competition. There were a total of 221 girls from 24 schools and 261 boys from 24 schools competing in our division. The race was 2.0 miles and took place at the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, MO.

The boys team finished in third place (matching their third place finish in 2023). The girls team took first place and were crowned the unofficial state champs in the Class 4/5 division. This makes back-to-back state championships for the SLMS girls team. Team scores are determined by adding up a team’s top five runners in a race.

The lowest score wins. The top 25 runners in each race received an individual medal and were considered “all-state.” The individual medalists in the girls race were: Aly Diekmann (2nd), Kensley Babcock (7th), Kamryn Gilbert (9th), Sofia Gilbert (10th), Piper McNutt (19th), and Harper Thacker (22nd). Our individual medalists in the boys race were: Nick Hawthorne (6th), Gavin Siems (8th), and Christopher Schlicht (23rd).