Class 3 cross country: Notre Dame boys take second place at state meet

Notre Dame sophomore Rudy McClellan posted an 11th-place all-state time of 16 minutes, 42.46 seconds to help lead the Bulldogs to a second-place team finish at Saturday's Class 3 state cross country meet at the Oak Hills Golf Center in Jefferson City, Missouri.

McClellan, a two-time SEMO all-conference and Class 3 all-district and state qualifier, was hurt at last year's state meet and unable to compete. Notre Dame coach Bill Davis, who said McClellan has been the Bulldogs' leader all year long, said he told McClellan to just do what he could do and he did.

"It's outstanding," Davis said. "We really wanted to go up there and make some noise. Festus is one of the top teams in the nation, so we knew that was going to be a real tough order, but the boys ran really, really well today."

Notre Dame sophomore Rudy Mcclellan finished 11th at the Class 3 state cross country meet on Saturday. (Chris Auckley)

Festus senior Michael Karls won the boys' race with a first-place time of 15 minutes, 23.80 seconds. The Tigers placed four runners in the top 10 and finished with 24 team points. Notre Dame had 86 points in second and Westminster was third with 136.

Davis said that the Bulldogs' district meet was a good indicator of how they would perform at state.

"The top five kids were all from our district," he said. "Our district was basically like a small state meet. I think that prepared us a lot more for that level. It's kind of a bittersweet thing to be in our district."

On the girls' side, Notre Dame's lone state-qualifier, freshman Alaina Baumgart, returned with a state medal after her 21st-place finish with a time of 20 minutes, 04.49 seconds.

"She's gotten a lot better recently," Davis said. "She went up there and handled the course like a veteran. That's the second-fastest time we've ever had a girl run there."

Ste. Genevieve junior Taylor Werner won the girls' race with a first-place time of 18 minutes, 20.76 seconds.

Davis also commended his freshman runner Matt Gibbs, who finished 32nd, which was the fastest time ran by a freshman in the Class 3 boys' race.

"We were very impressed with him," Davis said. "He really stepped it up. He'd never seen the course before and he still ran like a trooper."

The second-place trophy was Notre Dame's ninth state trophy -- the eighth for the boys team -- and the third time the Bulldogs have finished second, according to Davis. Notre Dame last won a cross country title in 2005.

"We've had quite a bit of success," Davis said. "We haven't taken a team since 2010, so it's been a while that we've been able to go up there and compete. Where we go, we plan on bringing back hardware. That's how we inspire our kids."

BOYS

Team Standings -- 1. Festus 24; 2. Notre Dame 86; 3. Westminster Christian Academy 136; 4. St. Charles 141; 5. Bolivar 145; 6. Owensville 202; 7. Warrensburg 210; 8. Smithville 226; 9. Grain Valley 228; 10. Logan-Rogersville 236; 11. Hannibal 273; 12. Pembroke Hill 294; 13. Clayton 305; 14. Mary Institute & St. Louis Country Day School (MICDS) 340; 15. Helias Catholic 355; 16. Chillicothe 402

Local results

NOTRE DAME -- 11. Rudy McClellan (16:42.46); 26. Brock Kasten (17:12.21); 30. Michael Peters (17:20.19); 32. Matt Gibbs (17:22.62); 36. Tyler Pech (17;26.97); 118. Grant Grove (18:34.90); 153. William Keene (19:17.04)

GIRLS

Team Standings -- 1. Festus 72; 2. Ste. Genevieve 72; 3. Helias Catholic 108; 4. Mary Institute & St. Louis Country Day School (MICDS) 134; 5. Villa Duchesne 142; 6. East Newton County 183; 7. Warrensburg 198; 8. Pembroke Hill 207; 9. John Burroughs 213; 10. Carl Junction 213; 11. St. Francis Borgia 292; 12. St. Charles 315; 13. Smithville 340; 14. Savannah 348; 15. Grain Valley 351; 16. St. Dominic 441

Local results

NOTRE DAME -- 21. Alaina Baumgart (20:04.49)