Steelville Cross Country Season in Review

(Steelville) The Steelville Cardinals boys cross country team place second at the state meet for the second year in a row. The team finished with 118 points with an average time of 17:42. Head coach Matt Hammonds says this year was stressful but exciting.

Sophomore Conner Diaz placed 14th overall running the 5000 meters in 17:10. Senior Ty Merseal finished in 25th followed by Larry Shoemake (26th), Cole Hurd (54th), Luke Sutton (58th), Landon Mabe (71st) and Vance Smelser (99th). Hammonds says most his team performed on pace or better at the state meet.

The Lady Cardinals team didn’t run in District meet because of COVID precautions but coach Hammonds is confident his girls would have qualified for the state meet. One runner competed, at state on the girls side, Hammonds tells us about Audrey Turnbough.

Hammonds looked back on the season, as a whole, and says he couldn’t be more proud of his team.

The Cardinals boys team graduates three seniors and returns four runners who competed at the state level. The girls team has their entire squad returning for next season and both are gearing up for a strong season.

Full interview with Matt Hammonds: