Junior cross country runner Gracie Troester is the Class 5 Girls Runner of the Year, as chosen by the Southwest Cross Country Coaches Association (SWCCCA) . Troester dominated southwest Missouri during the 2023 season, winning seven races on her way to a state seventh-place finish in Columbia.
Troester was a member of the first team. Seniors Kristin Probst and Brady Purcell, both state qualifiers, also earned post-season recognition on the SWCCCA all-region second team.
Probst finished fourth in the COC championship and 12th in the district race to earn a spot at the state meet. Purcell’s top finishes of the season occurred at the Laker Invitational in Camdenton, where he placed fifth, and at the Republic Invitational, where he finished second.