Centralia had three runners qualify for the Class 3 state meet this year, and they all medaled.
Not only that, they made history as Nolan Spickert won the boys race on Friday at Gans Creek in Columbia to be the school's first individual state champion, posting a personal-best time of 15:20.2. As a junior, Spickert has three individual state medals for cross country with 13th- and second-place finishes. His fellow junior, Jensen Decker, earned his second straight individual state medal in three career appearances. Decker finished 10th with a time of 16:20.2, seven seconds off his personal-best and 10 places better than last year's state finish.
Katelynn Asbury secured her first individual state medal in her third appearance. The junior finished seventh in the girls race with a personal-best time of 19:10.5. That is the best state finish ever for a girl in school history, and the first top-10 state finish for a girl.
Read the full story in the Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, edition of the Mexico Ledger.
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