SCOTT TITTRINGTON/The Smithville HeraldSmithville High senior Kymie Roland helped the Warriors to the team title Sept. 23 at the Smithville Invitational.
Join our Mailing List!
Please click the link below to sign up for your community paper mailing list. Stay up to date with all the events going on in your community as well as the latest news.Sign Up Today!
Warriors give coach no cause for concern
Smithville girls win home meet, boys take second
By Scott Tittrington
Home games are supposed to be a blessing.
For Smithville High cross country coach Eric Klingensmith, it’s actually a little bit of a curse.
Case in point — he was so busy serving as the meet director for the Smithville Invitational on Sept. 23, he wasn’t all that available to actually give his runners any pointers on how to attack their home course at Smith’s Fork Park.
“It’s tough to be a coach and run a meet at the same time,” Klingensmith said. “It’s always tough because I’m always nerve-wracked.”
Fortunately, he has a group of kids quite adept at soothing said nerves.
The Smithville girls made it three team victories in as many tries, while the Smithville boys finished second.
“They knew exactly what to do, where to go, how to prepare for the race,” Klingensmith said. “I really didn’t have to do too much anyway.”
Junior Payton Hartman again paced the girls, winning the individual title with a time of 20 minutes, 17 seconds and crossing the line more than a full minute ahead of runner-up Lilly Fisher of Pembroke Hill, the reigning Class 2 state champion.
Add to it the strong performances behind her that kept Smithville unbeaten as a team, and it’s understandable why confidence is high for a team that was bumped up to Class 3 this fall after finishing as the state runner-up last November in Class 2.
“I think we’re still capable of doing exceptionally well in districts,” said senior Kymie Roland. “Keep pushing like we are, I have high hopes of us going (to state).”
For the boys, junior Ben Barrows again led the Smithville pack, taking third in 17:30, just four seconds behind Excelsior Springs’ Jacob Colvin. O’Hara’s Max Storms won the race in 16:28.
While the Smithville boys haven’t been quite as dominant as their female counterparts, Klingensmith sees no reason to worry at this point in the season about the performance of last year’s state runner-up.
“I’m not super concerned about it, because it seems like when they come to the big meets, they know they have to step it up a couple of notches,” Klingensmith said. “These meets, there’s some room for error.”
After a leisurely start to the 2008 campaign, the pace will quickly pick up for the Warriors during the next 12 days. They traveled to Oak Grove on Tuesday, Sept. 30, for a makeup of an invitational postponed last month by rain, and will run in the crowded Metro Meet hosted by Raymore-Peculiar High on Saturday, Oct. 4.
Next week brings a trip to Excelsior Springs on Tuesday, Oct. 7, followed by an Oct. 11 race at Kearney.
“With those competitions, I think it’s going to help us … get into that competitive mode and that mind-set for the rest of the season,” Klingensmith said.
Sports editor Scott Tittrington can be reached at 389-6632 or scotttittrington@npgco.com.
printable version
e-mail this story
For Smithville High cross country coach Eric Klingensmith, it’s actually a little bit of a curse.
Case in point — he was so busy serving as the meet director for the Smithville Invitational on Sept. 23, he wasn’t all that available to actually give his runners any pointers on how to attack their home course at Smith’s Fork Park.
“It’s tough to be a coach and run a meet at the same time,” Klingensmith said. “It’s always tough because I’m always nerve-wracked.”
Fortunately, he has a group of kids quite adept at soothing said nerves.
The Smithville girls made it three team victories in as many tries, while the Smithville boys finished second.
“They knew exactly what to do, where to go, how to prepare for the race,” Klingensmith said. “I really didn’t have to do too much anyway.”
Junior Payton Hartman again paced the girls, winning the individual title with a time of 20 minutes, 17 seconds and crossing the line more than a full minute ahead of runner-up Lilly Fisher of Pembroke Hill, the reigning Class 2 state champion.
Add to it the strong performances behind her that kept Smithville unbeaten as a team, and it’s understandable why confidence is high for a team that was bumped up to Class 3 this fall after finishing as the state runner-up last November in Class 2.
“I think we’re still capable of doing exceptionally well in districts,” said senior Kymie Roland. “Keep pushing like we are, I have high hopes of us going (to state).”
For the boys, junior Ben Barrows again led the Smithville pack, taking third in 17:30, just four seconds behind Excelsior Springs’ Jacob Colvin. O’Hara’s Max Storms won the race in 16:28.
While the Smithville boys haven’t been quite as dominant as their female counterparts, Klingensmith sees no reason to worry at this point in the season about the performance of last year’s state runner-up.
“I’m not super concerned about it, because it seems like when they come to the big meets, they know they have to step it up a couple of notches,” Klingensmith said. “These meets, there’s some room for error.”
After a leisurely start to the 2008 campaign, the pace will quickly pick up for the Warriors during the next 12 days. They traveled to Oak Grove on Tuesday, Sept. 30, for a makeup of an invitational postponed last month by rain, and will run in the crowded Metro Meet hosted by Raymore-Peculiar High on Saturday, Oct. 4.
Next week brings a trip to Excelsior Springs on Tuesday, Oct. 7, followed by an Oct. 11 race at Kearney.
“With those competitions, I think it’s going to help us … get into that competitive mode and that mind-set for the rest of the season,” Klingensmith said.
Sports editor Scott Tittrington can be reached at 389-6632 or scotttittrington@npgco.com.