West Plains dominated its home course at the annual Joe Bill Dixon Zizzer Invitational on September 15, capturing both varsity team championships with perfect scores.
The Zizzers swept the first five places in both varsity races. Hunter Stanley won the boys’ 5K, while Kaebrynn Gunter led the Lady Zizzers with a victory in the girls’ race.
Zizzer Boys Claim Perfect Team Victory
Stanley crossed the finish line first in 17:40, leading a remarkable run of seven consecutive West Plains finishers.
The Zizzers’ five scoring runners occupied every position from first through fifth:
- Hunter Stanley — 17:40
- Chaska Shearin — 18:22
- Blake Romans — 18:33
- Joseph Roberson — 18:46
- Dylan Wade — 18:48
Knox Weisbrod placed sixth in 19:21, and Bryon Davis completed the seven-runner sweep with a seventh-place finish in 19:42.
West Plains recorded the lowest possible team score of 15 points. Cabool finished second with 50.
Lady Zizzers Match the Perfect Score
Gunter won the girls’ 5K in 20:23 as West Plains claimed five of the race’s first six positions.
The Lady Zizzers’ scoring finishers were:
- Kaebrynn Gunter — 20:23
- Lena Finke — 22:06
- Libby Hart — 22:36
- Abigail Mongillo — 23:19
- Jane Cobb — 24:43
Those finishes also gave West Plains a perfect team score of 15 points.
West Plains Middle School Earns Two Runner-Up Finishes
The West Plains Middle School boys finished only one point behind Cabool, 32–33, in the 1.5-mile team competition.
Lukas Johnson earned the individual boys’ championship with a winning time of 9:45. Kelsen Estes placed seventh, Riley Purgason ninth, Kristian Bates 14th and Crew Beazley 17th to complete the team’s scoring five.
The West Plains Middle School girls placed second with 53 points. Miranda Howe led the team with a fourth-place finish in 12:38, followed immediately by Brooklyn Buchinsky in fifth at 12:39.
Xiaomei “Mei” Strong placed 16th, Caroline Howell finished 21st and Elanor Tollenaar placed 22nd.
It was a commanding day on the home course for West Plains: two varsity team championships, two varsity individual champions, perfect scores in both varsity races and two runner-up finishes from the middle school teams.
Results verified through the official Missouri MileSplit meet page.
