Hackett takes 21st for first state medal, O’Connor finishes 50th

Maryville junior Ryker Hackett and the field at the Class 3 State Championships on Friday take off to start the race.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — The goals for the Spoofhound boys cross-country team were lofty entering Friday’s MSHSAA State Championships at Gans Creek. Coach Rodney Bade told the team that despite their third-place finish at districts, he wanted them to be the best team from their district at state.

Maryville was able to accomplish that goal — finishing 13th at state ahead of Chillicothe, St. Pius X and Summit Christian Academy. Herculaneum ended up as the state champion with the title coming down to the sixth runners for Maplewood-Richmond Heights and Herculaneum.

“That was the message all week,” Bade said. “Let’s set a realistic goal, which was to beat every team in our district that we raced last week.”

The Spoofhounds were led by a big personal-best for junior Ryker Hackett, who posted a 20-second PR 16:29.8 to place 21st in Class 3.

“It felt good,” Hackett said. “The first mile felt really great and it started to get a little hard. But I know that when it gets hard, you are doing well and it is going to be great, so you have to push through it.”

Hackett says the pace of state didn’t bother him.

“I talked to Bade last night and he told me that I’m a great that can out out there fast and not blow up,” Hackett said. “So I knew that a fast start was helpful for me. I can kinda stick there, not blow up and keep it.”

It is only Hackett’s second season running cross country and he experienced a 70-second jump from last season at state where he finished 62nd.

“He has had a great season, he really has,” Bade said. “Last year, I think that he was still it figuring out. … We felt confident that if he could go out hard and be in the mix that he’d be strong enough to hang on. He ran great. He ran tough.”

Hackett will lead a team with even higher expectations next year with all seven of their state runners set to return. All seven had personal-best times on Friday at state.

“Not losing any seniors is huge,” Bade said. “So we’ve got the recipe. We just have to put in the effort.”

Junior Tucker McCollough jumped 29 spots from last season at state from 120th to 91st and ran a 17:42.9. Fellow junior Jamen Coston rode the momentum from a stellar district meet to finish 113th and break the 18-minute mark with a 17:59.7.

Sophomore Bentley McDowell was the youngest of the team-scoring runners for Maryville and posted a 18:06.8 to finish 120th. Junior Draven Rader was 133rd to round out the scoring runners with a 18:34.1.

The team’s two freshmen Asher McComb and Colton Vanvactor got their first state experience and ran well with a 19:43 for 158th for McComb and a 20:30.1 for 163rd for Vanvactor.

“We have two freshmen who I think are really going to help us,” Hackett said. “They did well all season and broke out this race.”

Hackett is looking forward to a busy offseason of training with his teammates and attacking next season with even higher expectations.

“The biggest goal that I told them was that this is a stepping stone to next year,” Bade said. “So we need to cap our season with a great race.”

Nodaway Valley sophomore Brogan O’Connor runs Saturday in Columbia.

Class 1

Brogan O’Connor completed his sophomore season with a personal-best 17:39.7 to finish 50th at the Class 1 MSHSAA State Championships.