Lady Tigers place second behind Chanute, East Newton

Brandon Weaver crossed the finish line first on Thursday to become the meet champion and help the Carthage High School men’s cross country team finish first overall.

This was the first time Carthage’s men’s and women’s varsity teams competed at the Bulldog Classic, and the Tigers and Lady Tigers didn’t disappoint.

“Brandon Weaver had a great race and won his first meet,” said Carthage Head Coach Andy Youngworth. “It was a rough course to race.”

Weaver,  Joel Williams, Billy Mendell, Travis Kyte and Evan Adams medaled for the Tigers.

“I can’t say enough about Travis Kyte,” Youngworth said. “Without a lot of experience, it puts a lot of pressure on us.”

The Lady Tigers, who were without Tristen Bass and Ivy Shepherd due to hampering injuries, finished third overall behind Chanute (Kan.) and East Newton.

The Lady Tigers were paced by the performances of Mandolin Smith, Haley Brownfield and Shelby Youngworth.

“All three did a great job,” Youngworth said. “Haley Brownfield is really stepping into her own and competing at the level I know she’s capable of.”

Smith, Brownfield, Youngworth and Kristen Roy all medaled.

Carthage’s performance at the Bulldog Classic served as one final tune up, so to speak, before the final conference race of the season when both teams compete at the Central Ozark Conference meet next week.

Both squads competed at Camdenton last weekend, which gave Carthage an idea of things to come in early November.

Carthage will travel back to Camdenton for the sectional meet on Saturday, Nov. 1.

“It’s a great course,” Youngworth said. “It was an important race for us. We got to see Lebanon.”

The Tigers finished fourth out of 12 teams, while the Lady Tigers finished seventh.

Along with the Lebanon Yellowjackets, who will be at the sectional meet, Carthage got to compete against COC teams Nixa, Ozark and Branson for one last time before the conference meet.

“Running against Lebanon helped us,” Youngworth said. “We were able to beat Nixa and Ozark at this meet, which is a good sign.”

Weaver, Williams and Mendell finished 17th, 18th and 19th, respectively to pace the Tigers.
Smith had another stellar race, finishing 25th overall to lead the Lady Tigers.

“I was really pleased,” Youngworth said. “This race gave us an opportunity to see a lot of teams we will see down the road.”

The Tigers and Lady Tigers head for the COC meet at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.