The task of repeating as a state champion is not easy.
The Centralia boys went into Friday’s Class 3 cross country state meet as the defending champions and left as the state …
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The task of repeating as a state champion is not easy.
The Centralia boys went into Friday’s Class 3 cross country state meet as the defending champions and left as the state champions once again for their second straight title. Nolan Spickert was runner-up with a time of 15:37, Wesley Robertson and Jensen Decker had respective times of an eighth-place 16:12 and a 20th-place 16:48 to finish in the top 30 to individually medal.
Head coach Jason Watermann said this season’s state title would be “super hard” as Centralia’s top five runners last year were closer in times as a pack. He said this year’s Panthers were undefeated during the regular season but were coming off a second-place finish behind Westminster Christian Academy at the Class 3 District 3 meet during the previous Saturday in Linn. Spickert led the Centralia team this year after setting the school record this season and fell short of it on Friday by eight seconds.
“Everyone else had to keep on chipping away,” Watermann said. “It really did take all of them every single day to push each other. We had the best average time coming in, but average time doesn’t mean a whole lot if everybody doesn’t perform at their peak like what you had today.”
After losing by nine points at districts, Centralia finished ahead of Westminster Christian by one point with 94 points to beat a team whose runners finished sixth, 26th, 31st and 32nd. Third-place Herculaneum was five points behind with 99 points.
“They were us last year with the smallest differential (between runners),” Watermann said. “Their number one (Cruz Thomas) is not slow in the low 16s.”
Spickert was an individual medalist as a freshman on last year’s state championship team and finished behind Hollister senior Sinry Mendoza, who also beat Spickert for the 3200 state title during track and field season. Spickert said the team started feeling like a second straight title was possible when almost everybody had a personal-best time in the Bowling Green tournament, which the Panthers won by 67 points.
“The goal from the start of the season, you’re thinking back-to-back would be kind of crazy,” Spickert said. “The season got going, and we were like, ‘Wow, we can really do this.’”
Watermann said saying he was nervous last year would be “an understatement” and was nervous again this year. He said the boys had plenty of confidence after districts and were comfortable on the Gans Creek after the seniors ran on it 12 times during various meets over the years, calling it “our course” since the Panthers run on it more frequently than their home course.
Another accomplishment that Watermann was happy about is that Robertson and Decker each earned their first individual state medal. Robertson earned his as a senior, making the jump from 92nd two years ago and 71st place last year, while Decker is a sophomore.
“You want to talk about two kids where running is their life, that’s them,” Watermann said. “They put in the work, scout everything and know every time. They already know at the beginning of the season who is doing what, and what they have to do to try to beat that.”
Spickert said the Panthers are thankful to everybody involved in their state championship victory, which includes the 2024-25 MSHSAA boys cross country head of the year Watermann. He said he has learned a lot about running over the past year and believes an individual state title is attainable.
“He definitely deserved that,” Spickert said. “He’s someone that’s going to care about all of his athletes. From the first man on the varsity squad to the last man on JV, he’s going to make stuff specialized for you. He’s not just going to say, ‘Go do something.’ He’s going to tell you why, and he’s going to make sure you do it.”
Watermann has led Centralia’s effort of “building a legacy,” which was on Centralia’s state championship shirts a year ago. He said the boys made it to state for the first time four years ago and the girls ended a state drought that year that lasted until the 1990s. Now, the Centralia boys have earned three straight team state trophies while the program has won one in four straight years with the girls’ second-place finish four years ago.
There are programs like Herculaneum who have made it state plenty of times before, Watermann said, because it is tradition for them. He said that is what he wants for Centralia.
“These freshmen, they were about staying with us even when they knew that they didn’t have to run,” Watermann said. “They were still coming during district week and during state week. A couple of them are going to get a picture on a poster that we hang up in the school hallway if you’re a state champion. They’re going to be on that after showing up every day.”
For the girls, Katy Asbury finished 74th for Centralia in the Class 3 girls race on Friday with a time of 21:56 while Kenedee Moss wasn't able to finish. Asbury ran in her second straight state meet, and Moss ran in her fourth and final state meet, earning two individual state medals in the past.
