Springfield Catholic stormed into the Mid-Lakes Conference in their inaugural season.  The Springfield Catholic High School and Middle School teams competed at the newly opened Reeds Spring Trail Cross Country Course at the Mid-Lakes Conference Championships on Wednesday, October 23rd. The courses traversed a groomed dirt trail through thick trees and moderate hills on an uncharacteristically hot day but the Irish prevailed, sweeping the Varsity Girls & Boys team titles as well as the Middle School Girls & Boys titles.

Sophomore Ellianal Lygrisse led the Lady Irish with a 3rd place finish followed by Senior Peyton Wiseman in 4th. Junior Emma Belk finished 6th. Lygrisse, Wiseman and Belk earned First Team All Mid Lakes Conference Honors. Dorothy Reisner (9th) and Kaya McClanahan (10th) finished out strong to take the Lady Irish to the Mid-Lakes Conference Championship with 27 total points. Fair Grove finished second with 69 and Strafford third with 74 points. Reisner and McClanahan earned Second Team All Mid Lakes Conference Honors.  Michelle Truong and Caroline Coker also completed succesfully.  Vivian Sharp (1st) , Lexi Ellis (2nd) and Jocee Luce (3rd) were Catholic's medalists in the JV race. 

The Irish boys were led by First Team Mid Lakes All Conference performances from Kyle Hathcock who placed 2nd overall, Gabe Auzias de Turenne (3rd) and Marcus Johnson (7th). Clayton Eck earned Second Team All Conference honors with an 8th place finish.  Gavin Pyck, Andrew Jones and Chris Todd were Catholic's other finishers.  The Springfield Catholic Boys earned the Mid-Lakes Conference Championships with 37 points with Strafford close on their heels with 37 points. Fair Grove was a distant third earning 75 points.  Dax Barnhouse won the JV race while Cooper Johnson placed second overall in the JV.

Springfield Catholic will travel to Plato, MO for the District Championship race on Saturday, November 2nd with an opportunity to return to the Missouri State Championship race the following Saturday.  The top four teams in the 21 team race Districts will advance to the state race at the University of Missouri's Cross Country Course in Columbia, MO. The Irish girls placed 8th at State in 2023 while the boys finished 13th.