It was one happy hosting day for Jefferson’s girls.
On the strength of three top-10 finishes, the Lady Dragons finished second in the Region 8-AA meet that they hosted at Crow’s Lake Thursday to qualify for state.
“For our girls to finish as region runners-up was an awesome surprise,” coach Allen Thompson said.
Jefferson will run this Saturday at 3 p.m. in Carrollton.
A cluster of runners — Reese Bowles, Cara Smith and Alison Missler — finished seventh, eighth and 10th respectively to lead Jefferson back to the Class AA meet.
Bowles, a freshman, ran a 22:19, followed closely by Smith (22:26) and Missler (22:34).
Rounding out the scoring for the runner-up Lady Dragons were Kathy Buffington (24th, 24:11) and Laura Price (25th, 24:17).
Jefferson finished with 74 points.
The Lady Dragons, who lost to first-place Jackson County by 13 points, beat third-place Dawson County by 17 points and fourth-place East Jackson by 18 points. Twelve region teams ran in the event.
For seniors Kathy Buffington and Alison Missler, this will mark their fourth consecutive trip to state.
On the boys’ side, the Dragons finished seventh in the region, ending their season. The Jefferson boys’ team won’t be without representation at state, however.
Freshman Kyle Kashuba finished sixth overall with an 18:10 to earn an individual pass to the Class AA meet.
“We’re obviously tickled for Kyle Kashuba,” Thompson said.
Following Kashuba were Jake Sherman (28th, 19:29), Trae Timmerman (30th, 19:32), Jacob Adams (52nd, 20:26) and Alec Jameson (66th, 21:16).
Thompson said Kashuba has been a welcomed addition to the team this year, noting that a 14-year-old running an 18:10 “is fantastic.”
“Kyle is a great athlete,” Thompson said. “He dominated in middle school and his transition has been everything we thought it would be.”
As for Jefferson hosting the region meet, Thompson said the school enjoyed it and is ready to do it again.
“The region meet for us as a school system and program, it was everything we hoped it would be,” Thompson said. “There was a good energy at the meet and the coaches were very complimentary.”
