Cross Country’s Trip to St. Louis
Image from: Coach Lindsey Plaster
Friday, September 11th, the Liberty North cross country set out on a four and a half bus-ride to St. Louis to compete in the annual Forest Park invitational. Teams from across the state came to run, adding up to thousands of runners total.
Only the top 14 runners from the previous meet plus any additional seniors were invited to go to St. Louis. The top teams in the state were also at the meet, making it extremely competitive. The team had a gameplan after arriving at Forest park to ensure they would put their best foot forward when racing. After arriving in St. Louis, the team was immediately dropped off at the 5k course to scope out the terrain and plan strategies for the race the next morning.
The night before the race, Coach Chatlos, Plaster, and Gaigline set up a pasta dinner for the runners to ensure they would get the nutrients and carbs they needed for their race. The runners then went to bed early to get enough sleep before the meet.
Waking up at approximately 6:15 am, the runners woke up and headed downstairs to enjoy a free continental breakfast
Image from: Coaches Lindsey Plaster and Dave Chatlos
. They then packed up their bags in anticipation for the meet. On the bus-ride to the course, each runner solidified their game-planes, confirming their desired paces with the coaches and committing to their assigned running partners.
The Forest Park invitational is held every year, yet this year, the course was changed from its previous flat-as-a-pancake structure. “The course was different than last year, but I still liked it. It was still pretty flat,” junior Caylor Kappola said.
Many records and personal-bests were achieved for the cross country team, making it a trip worth while. After competing, the team set off for City Museum to embark in many journeys including many 1o story high slides, secret tunnels, and underground caves. After getting bruised knees and becoming tired from the long day, the cross country team then set off for Kansas City again, never to forget the memories and experiences in St. Louis.