Williams wins first in Cassville Pinkout XC Invitational in 22:10

By Kyle Troutman ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com

For the first time in six years, a Cassville runner has crossed the finish line first at the Cassville Pinkout Cross Country Invitational at the Aquatic Center park.

Junior Jadyn Williams recorded her first win of the season on Oct. 3, leading her 68 competitors for most of the race and crossing the finish line first in a time of 22:10. The victory was the first time a Lady Wildcat won the meet since Brylee Wilson did so as a freshman in 2017.

“Jadyn has placed in the top 10 every race, but this was her first gold,” said Courtney Kirk, Cassville cross country coach. “She is very driven. She wants to win every race and is usually unhappy with anything less. Coaching her through that race, she never made eye contact with me because her eyes were locked ahead of her. With that mentality, I was confident she was going to win it. Jadyn is very gritty and mentally tough. Those qualities contribute to her success.”

As a team, the girls took fourth at the meet, but on only 9 points away from first. Two other Lady Wildcats medaled, as senior Tori Mitchell finished 9th in 23:28, and sophomore Kayli Anderson took 18th in 23:52.

The boys took third at the meet with three medalists. Senior Ethan Bohmke took 9th in 18:32, freshman Michael Butts was 10th in 18:41 and freshman Trever Garnett finished 12th in 18:45.

Both squads are honing their legs for the Class 3, District 2 meet, scheduled for Oct. 28 at Lamar.

“We run Lamar’s course every year, so our athletes are very familiar with the course,” Kirk said. “It is a course with long stretches and few hills. Our teams look at hills as advantages because we run them often at practice. Since they are limited on this course, we will have to find other opportunities to make gains within the race.”

Kirk said the competition for the Lady Wildcats is fierce, exemplified by the point spread among the top four teams at the Cassville Invitational.

“I expect the conference and district races to be just as close,” she said. “We are all going to have to run our best to put ourselves in the best position because it’s going to be a tight race.”

The boys have been looking at results and projections, and beating the home team at districts is at the top of their minds. Both teams ran at the Lamar Tigers Invitational on Sept. 26, held at the Lamar Country Club. The girls finished 9th as a team, and the boys took 7th, three spots behind the Tigers.

“Beating Lamar is something that is currently driving this team,” Kirk said. “We know most likely we will have to beat them to get out of districts as a team. We have been within a few points of them this season, so we know it is possible. Our senior leader, Ethan Bohmke, has really been modeling great work ethic at practice and the rest of the team is building off of that.”

Bohmke’s confidence has been building all season, especially after becoming the third Wildcat in four years to win the Aurora meet this season.

“[Ethan winning first in Aurora] was a big deal to us because Pace Evans won it in 2020 for Cassville and Caleb Leach won it in 2022 for Cassville,” Kirk said. “So, Ethan felt like he had big shoes to fill. He was able to accomplish this again for Cassville, which was exciting.”

More exciting times may be on the horizon, but finding them will take an honest effort.

“We have some challenges ahead as we head into postseason, but we are excited for the opportunities to represent Cassville and test our abilities,” Kirk said.

Cassville ran at Clever on Tuesday, and the Wildcats and Lady Wildcats will host the big 8 Championships on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at the Aquatic Center park course.

Individual results from the Cassville Invitational follow. The top 25 medal in varsity races, and top 20 medal in middle school races. 

Varsity boys: 3.1 mi, 86 total runners

Ethan Bohmke, 9th, 18:32 

Michael Butts, 10th, 18:41

Trever Garnett, 12th, 18:45

Tyson Bohmke, 35th, 20:04

Andrew Gray, 40th, 20:11

Jake Hudson, 57th, 21:05

Evan Butler, 71st, 22:09

Simon Gates, 73rd, 22:32

Varsity girls: 3.1mi, 69 total runners

Jadyn Williams, 1st 22:10

Tori Mitchell, 9th, 23:28

Kayli Anderson, 18th, 23:52

Evelyn Elliott, 31st, 25:57

Lydia Cupps, 32nd, 26:02

Claire Reuter, 42nd, 27:32

Middle school boys; 1.5 mi, 72 total runners

Jameson Barnes, 2nd, 9:22

Preston Driskill, 7th, 10:17

Dade Zajac 8th, 10:19

Donovan Mikesh, 14th, 10:52

Daniel Sledden, 51st, 12:38

Vincent Buttram, 58th, 13:12

Middle School girls: 1.5 mi, 50 total runners

Briley Artherton, 6th, 11:47

Kynzleigh Scott, 12th, 12:23

Addy Ramaeker, 18th, 12:53

Molly Cox, 22nd, 13:05

Peyton Vogt, 29th, 13:40

Other local runners at the Cassville Invitational:

Varsity boys

Robert Humphries, Southwest, 2nd, 17:42

Bryar Llewellyn, Southwest, 8th, 18:32

Jayden Griffis, Purdy, 28th, 19:41

Logan Manwarren, Purdy, 33rd, 20:01

Victor Tellez, Southwest, 46th, 20:38

Hector Rueda, Purdy, 49th, 20:48

Kameron Kelley, Southwest, 63rd, 21:36

Skylar Reines, Southwest, 67th, 21:47

Tobias Smith, Southwest, 68th, 21:53

Josue Alcaraz, Exeter, 69th, 21:58

Braydan Rose, Southwest, 77th, 23:14

Jordan Coscia, 78th, 23:17

Varsity girls

Courtney Patterson, Purdy, 27th, 25:18

Jacee Durossette, Southwest, 30th, 25:48

Kaylyn Weiser, Exeter, 38th, 27:05

Makenze Shaw, Exeter, 55th, 29:22

Abigail Floyd, Southwest, 58th, 29:51

Cecilia Goines, Southwest, 60th, 31:41

Alissa Russell, Southwest, 61st, 32:01

Middle school boys

Brexton Bowman, Exeter, 1st, 9:21

Wyatt Gautney, Southwest, 10th, 10:37

Lincoln Keates, Southwest, 44th, 12:20

Dakota Cotton, Southwest, 45th, 12:22

Joe Henry, Southwest, 46th, 12:23

Dillon Lopez, Purdy, 57th, 13:11

Ky Miles, Southwest, 60th, 13:23

Colton Breazzeal, 68th, 17:16

Middle school girls

Sidney Roe, Southwest, 1st, 10:25

Shelbie Patterson, Purdy, 18th, 12:47

Lexie Walker, Southwest, 20th, 13:00.42

Olivia Chapman, Southwest, 21st, 13:00.48

Holly Johnson, Southwest, 30th, 13:44

Jaelyn Wright, Southwest, 32nd, 14:10

Alana Smith, Southwest, 43rd, 15:15

Rylee Phillips, Southwest, 44th, 15:29

Jamie Dickey, Exeter, 47th, 16:50

Results from the Sept. 26 meet in Lamar include:

Varsity boys: 3.1 miles, 173 total runners

Ethan Bohmke, 20th, 18:49

Trever Garnett, 30th, 19:14

Michael Butts, 54th, 20:01

Tyson Bohmke, 68th, 20:22

Evan Butler, 109th, 22:01

Jacob Hudson, 118th, 22:22

Simon Gates, 149th, 24:03

Varsity girls: 3.1 miles, 112 total runners

Jadyn Williams, 9th, 22:53

Kayli Anderson, 40th, 25:22

Tori Mitchell, 61st, 27:13

Evelyn Elliott, 82nd, 29:14

Claire Reuter, 84th, 29:32

Lydia Cupps, 85th, 29:42

Layla Bailey, 90th, 29:58

Middle school boys: 2 miles, 181 total runners

Preston Driskill, 8th, 13:20

Jameson Barnes, 13th, 13:34

Dade Zajac, 19th, 13:53

Donovan Mikesh, 62nd, 15:33

Daniel Sledden, 126th, 18:11

Vincent Buttram, 155th, 20:22

Middle school girls: 2 miles, 154 total runners

Briley Artherton, 27th, 16:58

Kynzleigh Scott, 47th, 18:06

Addy Ramaeker, 54th, 18:37

Molly Cox, 82nd, 19:56

Peyton Vogt, 87th, 20:08