There were a bunch of firsts on Day 1 of the MSHSAA Cross Country Championships at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia.
Van-Far senior Brooke-lyn Forman had a second-place team state medal as a member of Farmington's girls team from the Class 4 meet in 2021 but didn't win an individual medal until Friday. Forman finished 27th in Class 2 to qualify for all-state honors under the recently installed top-30 rule this season and give the Van-Far its first girls all-state runner, according to head coach Kris Cross. Freshman Garrett Hopke ended the Class 2 boys race in 71st after moving 19 places during the race.
In their first time at state as a team, the Paris girls won the school's first team state trophy after finishing fourth in Class 1, led by Mairyn Kinnaman and Alexandria Tullius placing eighth and 16th, respectively, for all-state honors. The sophomore Kinnaman earned her second state medal, placing in the top 10 for the first time, and Tullius made the podium after missing it one spot last year. Kaylee Johnson and Ava Crain followed in 48th and 50th, respectively, and Midori Williams was 77th.
Paris sophomore Landen Chapman improved on a 55th-place finish at last year's state meet to earn his first career state medal with a seventh-place finish. The rest of the Coyotes combined with Chapman to finish 11th out of 15 teams after Paris sent a boys team to state for the first time ever.
Look for full cross country stories next week in the Mexico Ledger.
