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The 2006 edition of the Missouri State High School Cross Country Championships mirrored the course on which it was run as it had a little bit of everything. Fast times, tight team battles and national-level performances were the theme of the day as Missouri showcased its prowess on the grandest of stages.

CLASS 3 GIRLS

The Class 3 girls kicked off the festivities in a race that figured to be a three-team battle between the defending champions from Notre Dame De Sion, perennial power West Plains and last year's Class 2 Champs from Ste. Genevieve. The Zizzers from West Plains got off to a great start as individual favorite and defending Champ Brittani Johnson marched to a 37 second win in what would prove to be the fastest time of the day at 19:01 . The Zizzers put three more in the top 25 and ended up with an adjusted team score of 73 which was good enough for an 11 point win over Notre Dame De Sion. Borgia bested Ste. Gen. for the third spot.

CLASS 4 BOYS

Next on the docket were the Class 4 Boys and nearly perfect running weather, 50 degrees and overcast, proved ideal for fast times. Pre-race favorites Kyle Rood of Fort Zumwalt South and Dan Quigley of CBC as well as Rock Bridge's Phillip King took to the front for a relaxed first mile before blitzing the second mile and separating from the rest of the field. The trio crested famed Firehouse Hill as a tight pack setting things up for a possible three-way battle to the finish. Instead it was Rood, owner of the fastest 800 meter time of the group at 1:55 , who sprinted away to victory over the final 200 meters. Rood's winning time of 15:38.1 was good for second all-time on the State Course, though less than an hour later he would be bumped to third by Potosi's Josh Thebeau. All told five boys broke 16:00 in the race, a feat accomplished only 11 times total before 2006. Rood also garnered a team Championship as he and his FZS mates scored a mere 65 points, one of the lowest in Class 4 history.

CLASS 3 BOYS

Fans that had sprinted across the Hough Park Golf Course to watch the Class 4 race were granted little recovery time as the Class 3 Boys were the next group to toe the line. This was considered by most to be the race-of-the day as the nationally-ranked squad from Potosi would be going for all sorts of records in one 16:00 time frame. Individually, “The Joshes,” as seniors Thebeau and Mathis are known were rumored to be attacking the course record of 15:26 set by Lee's Summit 's Matt Tegenkamp in 1999. A 4:47 first mile indicated that the record could go down but soon after it was Thebeau pulling away from Mathis and super sophomore Jacob Swearingen and thus losing his chance to have help during the difficult third mile. In the end it was Thebeau, still appearing quite fresh, unleashing a viscous kick over the last 200 meters to finish first in 15:37.9 to grab second place all-time. Mathis and Swearingen, nearly inseparable throughout the race finished second and third in 15:49 and 15:52 . The latter made Swearingen the fastest sophomore ever at State. Amazingly but predictably, Potosi rounded out their scoring with sophomore Nick Niggeman in sixth and Daniel Forbes in eighth for an adjusted team score of 16.

CLASS 4 GIRLS

While the Potosi performance would no doubt be a tough act to follow the Class 4 Girls race would provide the crowd with a much different sort of excitement. The drama would come not from domination but rather a too-close-to call team battle between pre-meet favorites Jefferson City , Kansas City power Liberty and up-and-coming Rockwood Summit out of St. Louis . While Marquette 's Hilary Orf led much of the final two miles en route to a four second win over Waynesville's Brandi Gervais for the individual title the team race was much more in doubt. Watching the runners stream in it was clear that Liberty and Summit each had firepower up front as both schools put two runners in the top 14. Jeff City appeared to run well also but in the end their adjusted score of 131 would not be enough. Instead it was Liberty , on the strength of a 1:14 spread between its scoring five, that took home the title with 110 points to Summit 's 116.

CLASS 2 BOYS

In the Class 2 boys race the question was whether or not John Burroughs, a team that had seemingly caught fire at the end of the year, would be able to carry that momentum to a State Title. The answer was a resounding yes as the Bombers put four runners in the top 25 and all five scorers in the top 33. Their adjusted score of 71 was good enough for a 20 point win over runner-up Osage. Individually, Mountain Grove Senior Justin Brown scored an 11 second victory in 16:54 to take home his first Cross Country State Championship. Brown's victory was a lesson in perseverance for young runners as his State finishes took him from 69 th as a freshman to 33 rd as a sophomore to 12 th as a junior and finally ended with the ever-coveted number one spot as a senior.

CLASS 1 GIRLS

Perseverance is surely what it was going to take to win the Class 3 girls Team Title as the squads from Penney and College Heights Christian renewed a rivalry that saw the two sides tie through five runners at the 2005 State Meet. It was the strength of Penney's sixth runner that secured the Title for the Hornets a year ago but this time around they stymied any chance for drama with a commanding 21 point win. All was not lost for runner-up College Heights Christian, however, as sophomore Emily Beaver took home Individual honors and dipped under 20:00 in the process with an outstanding 19:56 winning time.

CLASS 2 GIRLS

The Class 2 Girls race was a two-sided battle as well with Herculaneum versus history. The Black Cats had perfect-scored at Districts and came to State looking to prove that they could run with anyone. Prove it they did by placing their top five runners in the top 12 and averaging 20:36.3, a time that put them among the top ten teams on the day regardless of Class. Their one through five spread of only 24 seconds was the best of the day for any winning team, boys or girls. Herky was not the only big story in this race, however, as St. Mary's ( Independence ) senior Terry Phillips torched the course for a 19:13 winning time. Hers was the fifth-fastest time of the day among all Classes.

CLASS 1 BOYS

The final race of the day was the Class 1 Boys, an affair that showcased the strength of the squad from Lone Jack. It truly was their day as they had the lowest scoring runner at numbers one, two, three, four and five for an adjusted total of 71. In addition to their Team Championship, Grant Brown took home the Individual Title as well with a 16:54 clocking.