Running on a cold, rainy Saturday at Nixa, three Republic runners extended their season and punched their tickets to the state meet in Columbia this weekend. Gracie Troester, Kristin Probst, and Brady Purcell will all compete at the Gans Creek Course Saturday afternoon against the rest of Missouri’s best runners.
Troester led Republic with a new school record, overcoming a deficit around the second mile to come from behind, capturing her first district championship. Probst also broke a personal record, finishing 12th to earn her spot at state. And Purcell qualified with a 27th-place finish, cutting 25 seconds off his time from the Central Ozark Conference championship on the same course two weeks ago.
Taken together, the races by Troester, Probst, and Purcell are our Performance of the Week.