Lutheran Cross Country Teams End Season On a High Note

Earning all-state status is a fitting end to any varsity sports career.

senior Jacob Drilling did that in the state cross country meet at Jefferson City with a third place finish. This marks his second year on the all-state team, as Drilling placed 10th last year. He also qualified for state as a sophomore. The top 25 runners in the state tournament earn all-state honors.   

“It was a good way for him to go out,” said Chris Mizel, Lutheran Boys and Girls Cross Country coach. “He really wanted to recoup on that 10t place finish so he was pretty excited.” 

 Drilling described a topsy-turvy race at state. 

“It was pretty fast going out,” he said. “But the strategy was a setback. I really didn’t go very fast on the first mile and had to pull up from there. I pulled out from there and caught up with the guy in second. But in the end, he got the best of me.” 

Drilling called earned all-state honors a nice reward.

“I’ve put in a lot of years of hard work,” he said. “It’s good to have this strong finish.” 

Drilling won a conference and district championship this fall. The senior also runs track. He qualified for state in track the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter run last year. Drilling placed eighth in the 3,200. 

The Cougars and Lady Cougars’ success extended into team competition, as both the boys and girls teams qualified for the Class 2 state tournament by placing second in the Class 2, District 4 Tournament at Bowling Green on Oct. 28. Lutheran runners placed first in both boys and girl’s competition, as Drilling and Courtney Rogers led the pack with district championships. 

“We’re very strong in our No. 1 spots, so Jacob and Courtney really set the tone,” Mizel said. “On the boys side we knew we were going to give Bowling Green a run and they were the state champions two years ago. Senior Zach Tremble had the best race of his career.” 

In addition, the Cougars and Lady Cougars placed second at the AAA Conference Meet at Lutheran on Oct. 15. 

Sophomore Rogers placed third at state and junior Angela Steinbacher placed third and 25^th. Naturally, Mizel is looking forward to these two top performers returning next year. 

“It’s typical for distance runners to do pretty well when they’re younger,” he said. “But to have girls do that consistently well can help you build your program. It’s really a boost. Not only do you have experienced runners but it gives the girls coming in a lot of confidence as to how they can perform when they’re young.”

Both girls had experience in state level completion. Rogers won a state championship last year and Steinbacher qualified for state as a freshman and sophomore. Steinbacher’s all-state finish came with a challenge. 

“Toward the end I was suffering from exhaustion,” Steinbacher said. “I fell three times before I cross the finish lane and was able to hold my spot. It was pretty exciting.” 

Like her team, Steinbacher performed well in the latter part of the season, as she placed fifth in districts and eighth in conference. 

“Every race we run is like a practice race,” she said. “And running those was really good competition and was helpful in the state meet.” 

The junior said qualifying for two state tournaments “made her feel more relaxed.” 

“I knew the course and how the race was done,” she said. “So, I just went out there and ran my race.” 

Steinbacher also runs on the track team. Last year she qualified for state as an individual in the 800 and with Rogers, Sophie Angel, and Emily Haberstroh on the 4 x 800 meter relay team. The relay team won a state championship last spring.  

Rogers won both a conference and district championship before competing at state. 

“It’s like a good pre-state race,” Rogers said. “Because you know you’re going to be running more important races.” 

The sophomore said off-season work was the key to her stellar career. 

“I run a lot of miles in the off-season,” she said. 

Rogers said her off-season workout regimen consists of 25 miles a week. The sophomore runs the mile and two-mile on the track team. In addition to contributing to a state championship 4 x 800 relay team, Rogers also placed second in the two-mile.