Notre Dame boys run streak to six straight

ANDREW JANSEN ~ Special to the Southeast Missourian Notre Dame's Dillon Klaffer, left, tries to catch Hannibal's Bryson Jarman during the Class 3 state cross country meet Saturday. Klaffer finished 13th. [Click to enlarge]

JEFFERSON CITY -- Logan Davis didn't have his best performance Saturday at the Class 3 state cross country meet, but the Notre Dame senior was a key contributor in extending the Bulldogs' success at the meet.

Davis, who had been battling injuries throughout his senior season, added strep throat to the list of opponents this week. He labored to a 29th-place finish, marking the first time he failed to earn all-state honors, but he helped Notre Dame to a second-place showing in the team standings.

"Just all year, I haven't been up to snuff really," Davis said. "I'm not going to make excuses, and I'm proud of what everybody has done."

What the Bulldogs have done is run a streak of six consecutive top-four finishes, bringing home state trophies each of those years. It is, coach Bill Davis said, a record for consecutive state trophies for a school that has had a pretty good amount of success. The Bulldogs cross country team had been tied with the baseball program's run of five straight top-four finishes from 1983 to 1987.

The cross country team won the state title in Class 2 in 2005, Logan Davis' freshman year, and placed third behind Potosi and West Plains the last two years.

Notre Dame's Tori Pfau tries to hold off Ste. Genevieve's Ashley Brewster during the Class 3 state cross country meet. [Click to enlarge]

The Bulldogs outpointed Potosi for a second straight weekend, following up their district title of last weekend, but they could not come close to West Plains, which scored 39 points to Notre Dame's 63. Potosi, the three-time defending state champion, finished with 78.

"Plains is tough," Bill Davis said. "They came in with a mission. I was really impressed with the way they ran. We had some hopes that if they don't run like they expected to ... but it didn't happen."

Notre Dame ran as well as it expected. Better even. Davis had goals of placing his top five in the top 50, and the Bulldogs stayed within that from the first mile to the end, placing its fifth runner in 41st place, ahead of Potosi's third runner. But West Plains had five in the top 22.

Junior Wynn McClellan led the Bulldogs with a ninth-place finish in a time of 16 minutes, 40 seconds on the 3.1-mile course at Oak Hills Golf Center. It was his first state medal after finishing 29th last year and 84th as a freshman.

"I wanted to get top 10," McClellan said. "I've had a sign on my door in my room that said 'Top 10 at state' for the last month. I wish I could've got West Plains' second guy, but I probably finished ahead of some guys people expected to beat me."

Senior Dillon Klaffer picked up a state medal for the third consecutive year, placing 13th in 16:51.

"It feels amazing," Klaffer said. "I finished right where I wanted to be."

Junior Ryan Johnson ran with Davis much of the day and finished one spot ahead in 28th place. Senior Matt Reinagel rounded out the scoring, finishing 41st overall.

"We stuck with the plan, and second place is nothing to be ashamed of," Klaffer said.

"West Plains, they're nationally good," McClellan said. "Second place is good. Potosi has been a powerhouse for a long time, so that's huge to beat them. They're still great."

Logan Davis said he wished he had done better, after finishes of 15th in 2005, 16th in 2006 and 14th last year. But after he missed two practices earlier in the week due to strep throat, hanging on for 29th helped make sure the Bulldogs stayed ahead of Potosi.

"It's a little hard," Bill Davis said of his son missing out on a state medal, "but he's recovering. He battled today, and I told him, I said, 'You ran like a trooper.' I don't think he was fully back yet, but you've got to run with what you've got and I think he knows that.

"The individual accolades are nice -- and I'm really happy for Wynn and Dillon -- but it's all about the final team scores."

@z_agate_no tab_no indnt_bld ld:Boys

Team scores -- 1, West Plains 39; 2, Notre Dame 63; 3, Potosi 78; 4, Helias 114.

Individuals

Notre Dame -- 9, Wynn McClellan, 16:40; 13, Dillon Klaffer, 16:51; 28, Ryan Johnson, 17:11; 29, Logan Davis, 17:12; 41, Matt Reinagel, 17:27; 68, Ethan Holcomb, 18:04; 102, Cody Moore, 18:31.

Girls

Individuals

Notre Dame -- 42, Tori Pfau, 21:09.