Monroe City excels at Mexico Fall Invitational

The Monroe City Lady Panthers cross country team got their season started in great fashion on Friday by winning the Mexico Fall Invitational with a score of 39 points, beating out strong teams of Kirksville and Centralia that tied with 57 points. Head coach Laura Mulvaney stated that the heat was hard to battle through, but the team stuck with it and looked great.

Leading the way for the Monroe City girls was senior Bradi Keller, who took fourth place in 21:44.43. Fellow senior Emily Spalding finished close behind in sixth place, Kate Willingham took eighth, Rylie Mulvaney finished 14th, and Anna Russell finished 16th to complete the scoring for Monroe City.

Meanwhile, the Monroe City boys finished fourth with 95 points, while Mexico won their home meet with 52 points. Senior Brady McNeill led the Panthers with a third-place finish in 18:33.78, followed by Jaxyn Helm in 12th place and Carter McNeill in 19th place.

In other results, the South Shelby Lady Cardinals finished fourth as a team with 69 points, led by Samentha Koper in second place and freshman Hadley Seaton in 11th. The South Shelby Cardinals boys team finished fifth with 103 points, led by Alex Craig in tenth place and Schyler Mason in 18th place.