On Friday November 5th, Riley Noonan (12), Julia Ray (11), and Grace Coppel (9) had phenomenal performances at the Girls Class 5 State Championship race. The Gans Creek Course in Colombia, MO was the site of both the Class 4 and 5 state championship meets. Hundreds of spectators lined the course, including  members of the MICDS girls cross country team and Coaches Jim Lohr, Paul Zahller, Travis Menghini, and Diane Broberg. Throughout the race, the MICDS runners fought hard to defend and gain ground against the fierce competition from around the state. 

With a time of 18:00, Julia Ray came in 4th place among the top 25 individual runners recognized in the post-race awards ceremony-an astounding 27 seconds faster than her time last year at the Class 5 2020 State Meet. Senior Riley Noonan earned 15th place finishing with a time of 18:36.70, and Grace Coppel ran an amazing race at 20:17.30.

The coaches reflected on a successful season, with Coach Menghini saying, “I was impressed with how the team came together as a family this year. The strong connections the girls make through the season is contiguous and carries into the races. There is nowhere else I would rather be than being at a meet and watching the girls support one another.”

Coach Zhaller added, “This season was marked by support and love of one another and commitment to improvement, especially by our seniors.”

All three runners hope to build on their amazing cross country season for the upcoming Spring Track and Field season, where they will run long and mid-distance events.