For the first time in school history, the Neosho girls cross country team won the team championship at the Owasso Invitational Thursday afternoon.
Thursday was supposed to be the Neosho Invitational, but due to the amount of rain that fell Wednesday, Neosho coach Harry Lineberry worked around the weather and scheduled his team in the Owasso meet. And neither of the Neosho teams did much to disappoint their coach.
The Lady Wildcats won the team championship, and in the process knocked off Oklahoma Class 5A champion Collinsville. The Wildcats took third place as a team, finishing behind champion Owasso and Tahlequah, Okla.
“It’s a great way to start the season,” Lineberry said. “I was really pleased. I see some areas where we can improve. I think this shows how tough cross country is in Missouri. We come down here and beat the Class 5A champion and we really have to battle to even make it to state.”
The Lady Wildcats dominated by placing five runners in the top 20, including the 1-2 punch Neosho has been known for in recent years. Senior Courtney Wood won the two-mile race by running 11:46. Jessica Jackson was nine seconds behind her, placing second.
In her first high school race, Neosho freshman Sydney Anderson did well, placing fourth by running a 13:40.
Hannah Krueger took 10th, running 14:13, while Tara Sanders ran 14:39 to place 19th. All five of the runners earned medals by placing in the top 20.
Rounding out the varsity runners, Jordan Lasley was 27th and Lauren Baer was 35th.
In the JV race, Courtney Bohannon was second and Raven Crosby took seventh.
The Wildcats had two runners place in the top 20 to earn medals, led by Garrett Wood, Courtney’s brother, who placed fifth. Justin Clark ran 11:25 to take eighth place.
The final three runners were separated by only a minute. Kyler Littlefield ran 12:03 to place 21st. Colton Cutcheons ran 12:59 to take 34th and Grant Thomas was 37th, running 13:03.
Neosho is idle until next weekend, running Saturday, Sept. 11, at the Missouri Challenge in Columbia.
