SLUH, Festus bring home team titles; Bartelsmeyer wins individual crown

JEFFERSON CITY • Matt Nicholson could hardly put his elation into words.

“I’m speechless,” said the drained St. Louis U. High senior, who then gathered himself and added, “It’s definitely special.”

Nicholson was reacting to the performance of the Jr. Bills, who despite placing just one runner -- Nicholson -- in the top ten on Saturday morning, still snuck past a fleet-footed Blue Springs squad 98 to 101 for the Class 4 boys state crown at Oak Hills Golf Center.

After Blue Springs senior Simon Belete won the event in a blazing 15:48.16 and sophomore Stephen Mugeche placed third, the Wildcats appeared to be in the driver’s seat. When senior James Barnett added a 10th place finish, Blue Springs looked to be a lock.

“We knew that they had some studs upfront,” SLUH coach Joe Porter said of the Wildcats. “So our plan was to focus on what we do best and keep our gaps close.”

The Jr. Bills carried out that plan with, as it turned out, little room to spare. Tom Rubio finished 23rd, followed by senior Joe Archer (34th) and sophomores Shayn Jackson (37th) and Matt Hennessey (39th), who was competing despite a broken bone in his right foot.

“He’s a tough kid,” Porter said. “He broke it at sectionals, and it's been in a boot all week.”

Blue Springs’ fourth runner, Devon Sesler, was 27th, and its fifth runner came in far back in the pack, allowing the Jr. Bills to squeak by. Following the awards ceremony, Porter was doused by the Jr. Bills with water from a Gatorade cooler.

“We knew that going in it was going to be close,” Nicholson said. “I can’t control how they race, but it worked out in the end.”

Belete was thrilled with his individual title but disappointed that the Wildcats couldn’t hang on to the team crown.

“When our third man came in 10th, I thought we had it in the bag,” Belete said. “It’s a killer, but we’re happy with the way we ran.”

Marquette senior Adam Roderique turned in the highest area finish, coming in sixth in 16:06.17. For the entire postseason, Roderique had run side-by-side with junior teammate Noah Kauppila, who finished second in the state last season. Kauppila fell off the pace and fell after crossing the finish line in 20th place.

“It was rough today,” he said. “I felt my legs kind of lock up. Once I passed (Noah), I knew something was wrong.”

CLASS 3

MICDS senior Amos Bartelsmeyer won the boys race in 16:24.98, edging out Andrew Moore of St. Genevieve by 12 seconds. Bartelsmeyer, who possesses a lethal finishing kick, was in sixth place late in the race when he made his move.

“On the last turn, I was making up a lot of ground,” Bartelsmeyer said. “I was right on his (Moore’s) hip, and I could feel like I still had a kick in me, and he was done. So I said, 'Let’s go for it.'”

MICDS coach Chris Rappleye said he wasn’t surprised that Bartelsmeyer was able to bounce back to win the title, even though he missed the middle half of the season with mononucleosis.

“He obviously has a great kick and is very even-keeled,” Rappleye said. “Those things that could drive a lesser-balanced person crazy don’t bother him. He doesn't wear any anxiety on his sleeve.”

MICDS ended up fourth as a team with 150 points. The team title went to Festus (58), which beat Warrensburg by seven points. The Tigers were paced by a seventh-place finish from sophomore Michael Karls, not normally the team’s No. 1 runner.

“This was the hardest course I’ve ever run in my life,” Karls said. “Being at state just motivates you to run your best.”

Other Festus contributors included seniors Christian and Dakota Hunter (14th and 15th, respectively), sophomore Tyler Gillam (21st) and junior Max Manansala (24th).

Festus coach Bryant Wright had a good feeling about the Tigers on Friday night.

“I saw it in their eyes last night,” Wright said. “They put a lot of heart into it today.”

CLASS 2

Traditional power Herculaneum scored 108 points, but this time the Blackcats could not keep up with Lamar (69). The defending champions, Herculaneum was led by sophomore Tristian Mock (19th).

No. 1 runner Drake Smelser fell early in the race but was able to scramble back up and finish in 40th place. Even if Smelser had won, the Blackcats were too far back to catch Lamar.

Herculaneum also got strong performances from senior Austin Haas (30th) and junior TJ Jenkins (32nd).

CLASS 1

Paced by a 17th place finish from senior Nicholas Klein, Valle Catholic placed fourth with 128 points. The team title went to West Platte, which finished with 87 points. Linn, which got a first-place performance  from senior Tyler Rush (16:33.99), finished third with 101 points.