Republic’s cross-country season will extend one more week after a pair of sophomores turned in the best races of their careers at the Class 5 District 2 meet in Nixa.
Brylie Harris and Zoey Johns both earned trips to the state meet with personal-best performances. Harris finished 20th in 19:34.21—nearly a 30-second improvement over her previous best time from the Central Ozark Conference meet. Johns crossed the line 30th in 19:54.08, claiming the final qualifying spot and cutting more than a minute off her previous best of 21:07.
Harris said she had mixed emotions at the start but found strength as the race unfolded. “I was really nervous before, and I was excited at the same time, but I was really glad I was racing with a lot of girls that could push me to get faster and do better,” she said. “I was just remembering I’ve been practicing all season for this and pushing myself, and God just has me throughout this whole race and has given me this ability, and I just wanted to glorify Him through the whole race.”
She said she knew late in the race that a big personal record was within reach. “Coming in at this last 100, I was looking at the time and I was just trying to get down to 19:30, and I hit that and it was really good,” she said.
Johns’s dramatic finish in 30th place—the final qualifying position—secured her state berth. “As I was running the curve, there’s people passing me ’cause I was dying,” she said. “I heard that I was 30th and I was like… ‘I’ve got to book this. I’ve got to give it everything that I’ve got.”
She crossed the line with no one behind her in the final sprint, but she had no idea she was in the clear at the time. “I PR’d by over a minute… I didn’t know I had that in me.”
Harris said she’s looking forward to racing at state. “I’m looking forward to racing against faster girls and hopefully PRing…” she said.
Johns added, “I’m just ready to get the experience. I want to know what it’s like to go to cross country state.”
The girls Class 5 race is Friday afternoon in Columbia.
