Cardinal harriers compete against tough field in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Aubrey Muckler led 19 Newton harriers during the Forest Park Cross Country Festival on Saturday.

The Newton girls and boys cross country teams traveled south for an out-of-state meet and the Cardinals were 19th and 20th, respectively, at Langenberg Field.

“The team ran in the more competitive race, and it really pushed everyone in this second meet of the week,” Newton head girls cross country coach Rachelle Tipton said. “Overall, it was a great morning for the Cardinals on the course. Excited to have the whole team back together on Tuesday.”

Muckler led 10 Cardinals in the girls’ 5K Green Division race. She was 43rd with a career-best time of 20 minutes, 49.5 seconds.

Lance Zaabel headlined nine Newton boys in that 5K race. He was 80th in 17:28.4.

The Newton girls scored 513 points and finished 19th in the 22-team field.

O’Fallon High School (Illinois) won the meet with 147 points. Four Missouri schools followed with Cor Jesu Academy (150), St. Josephs Academy (159), Francis Howell Central (167) and Parkway Central (181).

Bella Winther followed Muckler in the Newton lineup. She was 124th in a season-best 22:57.6. Talia Friedman posted a career-best time of 23:34.5 in 130th and Meghan Trout (season-best 23:52.6) took 136th.

Alivia Kingery (24:13.9) finished 144th as the final scoring runner. Chloe DeRaad (26:44.2), Sarah Malow (26:54.9), Hadley Kruse (27:19.4), Abbie Preston (27:19.4) and Mia Van Zante (career-best 27:58.2) were non-scoring runners in 168th, 169th, 171st, 172nd and 173rd, respectively.

“It was exciting to see Audrey get a top-50 finish and break the 21 minute barrier,” Tipton said. “Talia had an excellent race. She went out with the Newton pack immediately and pretty soon was leading it then during the second mile started pulling away. Meghan and Alivia gave great effort to try and stay with her.”

St. Charles West’s Brianna Krueger won the girls’ race in 18:26.9. Cor Jesu Academy’s Mary Mckenzie was the runner-up in 18:35.9.

The Newton boys scored 541 points and placed 20th the Green Division. St. Louis University High School (Missouri) won the meet title with 63 points. Four other Missouri schools completed the top five with Rockhurst (79), Webster Groves (138), Parkway Central (201) and Festus (203).

“Overall, a good team finish for such an elite lineup of teams in the state of Missouri and other Midwest states,” Newton head boys cross country coach Steve Weeks said.

Cooper Lenz was the second Newton boy to hit the finish line. He was 113th in 18:02.3.

Javin Doland (18:04.2) was 116th, Christian Buchli (18:46.4) finished 140th and Drew Lamont (19:20.2) was the final scoring runner in 150th.

Levi Zaabel (19:38.5), Noah Tremel (19:58.3), Parker Kennedy (20:13.8) and David Wickett (20:32.3) were non-scoring runners in 157th, 163rd, 171st and 177th, respectively.

Benton’s Gabriel McLain won the boys’ race in 15:14. Rockhurst’s Henry Acorn (15:18.5) was the runner-up.

“Cooper has been coming into his own and meshing with the team well and his times are reflecting that,” Weeks said. “Lance continues to stay at the top and Javin really likes to settle in and then pick runners off.

“Levi and Drew are still learning the 5K race but always seem to be scoring points for the team.”