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Good Luck Mustangs! JCT. HWYS. 59 & 76 417-845-1089 Hardware • Balloons • Food & Snacks • Candles & Ceramics School Supplies • Crafts • Toys • And Much, Much More… "Your Friendly Hometown Supermarket " Jct. Hwy. 59 & W. 76 • Anderson, MO • 417- 845 - 6387 Country YOUR FRIENDLY HOMETOWN SUPERMARKET MARKET GAS GROCERIES FRESH DELI 417-223-4689 STORE HOURS: 6:00am - 9:00pm Every Day Hwy 71 South • Pineville, Missouri Thursday, August 25, 2022 McDonald County Press 9C F a l l S p o r t S p r e v i e w ANDERSON — The McDonald County High School cross country program has experienced quite a bit of growth since Ashleigh Griffin took over as the head coach for the boys and girls. "My first year we started out with three girls and five boys," she said after watching 19 runners take part in an exhi- bition run to kick off the 2022 season on Saturday, Aug. 13. "So to grow to this is incredible." Two runners were unable to attend the race and the coach said there may be "three or four show up after school starts." Besides the numbers, Griffin said she likes the consistency and toughness she's seen from the Mustangs and Lady Mustangs thus far. "The strength of the team I would say is going to be consistency and the fact we run as a pack," she said. "A lot of teams will score very well because they have a stud that might run a 16- or a 17-minute race and then have some in the 20s. I think we're going to have all five of our scorers around the 18-minute mark. That will help a lot." She continued, "And our girls are just tough. They really push each other. There's not as much depth on the girls' side, but the toughness is there." What makes the program's growth even more eye-opening is the fact a lot of the athletes aren't what one would call "cross country first" athletes. "The tough thing for us is that most of the kids do cross country to help them in their other sports, so they can stay in shape for their other sports," Griffin said. "They're just competitive enough that once they're out here they work really hard. And I think they're drawing their friends in because it's like, 'Hey, I've been in this good of shape for basketball,' or, 'I've been in this good of shape for base- ball, so come join us and it will be the same for you.' It just brings more compe- tition." The exhibition race took place at White Rock Elementary School on a challenging 2-year-old course dubbed "The Rock." Griffin said the Mustangs and Lady Mustangs will host a high school race there — the Mustang Stam- pede at The Rock — on Saturday, Oct. 8. Bennett Horne McDonald County Press bhorne@nwaonline.com Consistency, Toughness To Spur MCHS Cross Country Stampede ScheduleS MCDONALD COUNTY CROSS COUNTRY Date Meet Level Time Aug. 27 at Neosho Warmup V/JV 9 a.m. Sept. 1 at Aurora V/JV TBA Sept. 8 at Seneca V/JV TBA Sept. 20 at Nixa V/JV TBA Sept. 24 at East Newton V/JV 10 a.m. Sept. 27 at Lamar V/JV 4 p.m. Oct. 1 Chile Pepper Invitational V/JV 4 p.m. Oct. 4 at Cassville V/JV 4 p.m. Oct. 8 Mustang Stampede V/JV/JH 9 a.m. Oct. 18 Big 8 Conference Meet V 4 p.m. Oct. 29 District Meet V TBA MCDONALD COUNTY JUNIOR HIGH CROSS COUNTRY Date Meet Time Sept. 8 at Seneca Invite 4 p.m. Sept. 13 at Monett 4 p.m. Sept. 22 at Nixa JH Meet TBA Sept. 24 at Patriot Invite 10 a.m. Sept. 27 at Lamar 4 p.m. Oct. 4 at Cassville Invite 4 p.m. Oct. 8 Mustang Stampede 9 a.m. Oct. 18 Big 8 Conference Meet 4 p.m. BENNETT HORNE/MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS The 2022 McDonald County High School cross country teams.