The calendar has turned to October, and for West Plains cross country that means the focus begins shifting toward championship season.
For the Zizzer boys, the storyline is impossible to miss.
West Plains is chasing a third straight Class 4 state championship.
The Zizzers have won back-to-back state titles and enter the closing weeks of the regular season with another team capable of making a deep November run.
The Lady Zizzers have plenty at stake as well. West Plains has finished Class 4 state runner-up three consecutive years, and this year’s group is working toward another trip to the state podium.
So as the postseason approaches, District Watch will follow both teams — where they stand, what the latest results tell us, and what needs to happen next.
The Boys: Chasing Three in a Row
West Plains returned a strong group from last year’s state championship team, and the results so far have provided plenty of reason to keep the Zizzers in the Class 4 title discussion.
At the MSSU Southern Stampede, West Plains finished third in a large multi-state field with 156 points.
Hunter Stanley led the Zizzers with a 10th-place finish in 15:51.34.
Joseph Roberson followed in 16:24.54, Blake Romans ran 16:29.73, Chaska Shearin finished in 16:43.89, and Dylan Wade completed the scoring five in 17:19.22.
Those numbers help show where West Plains is strongest — and where the biggest opportunity remains.
Stanley, Roberson, Romans and Shearin give the Zizzers a strong group near the front.
The next step is tightening the gap to the fifth scoring runner.
And in cross country, that matters a lot.
How Cross Country Scoring Works
For readers who don’t follow cross country closely, the scoring is almost the opposite of most sports.
The lowest score wins — similar to golf.
A team’s first five runners score. Their finishing places are added together.
If a team’s first five runners finish 2nd, 5th, 8th, 12th and 15th, the team score is:
2 + 5 + 8 + 12 + 15 = 42 points.
The sixth and seventh runners don’t add directly to the team score, but they can still make a big difference. By finishing ahead of another team’s scoring runners, they can force those runners farther down the standings. The sixth runner can also decide a tiebreak.
West Plains saw exactly how important that can be at Southern Stampede.
The Zizzers and Bolivar both finished with 156 points.
West Plains earned third place because sixth runner Knox Weisbrod finished ahead of Bolivar’s sixth runner.
Every place matters.
The Scoring Five Will Be the Number to Watch
The Zizzers have already shown what happens when the entire group comes together.
At the Joe Bill Dixon Zizzer Invitational, West Plains swept the first five positions and finished with a perfect team score of 15 points.
Stanley won the race, followed by Shearin, Romans, Roberson and Wade.
Obviously, postseason competition will be considerably stronger. But the formula remains the same.
Get runners near the front.
Keep the scoring five close together.
And don’t leave room for opposing teams to put several runners between Zizzer finishers.
That’s why the 1-through-5 spread may be one of the most important numbers we follow over the next several weeks.
At Southern Stampede, about 1 minute, 28 seconds separated Stanley from West Plains’ fifth scorer.
Closing that gap would make an already strong team even tougher when championship scoring begins.
District 2 Won’t Be a Formality
West Plains competes in Class 4 District 2, and the Zizzers already have one very useful comparison with another district contender.
Bolivar.
The Zizzers and Liberators finished tied at Southern Stampede before West Plains won the sixth-runner tiebreak.
That doesn’t tell us what will happen at the district meet. Courses change. Conditions change. Runners improve. Lineups can change.
But it does tell us that there may not be much room for error.
The district meet will provide another important test before the Zizzers can turn their attention toward state.
Where Does West Plains Stand Statewide?
Before the season, MileSplit projected West Plains among the top Class 4 teams in Missouri.
Preseason rankings matter less now.
We’re far enough into the season that actual results matter more than August projections, and that is how District Watch will approach the rest of the year.
What we know right now is encouraging.
West Plains has a strong front group.
The Zizzers have already placed third against a large, quality field at Southern Stampede.
And this is a team filled with runners who understand what championship racing looks like.
The question isn’t whether West Plains has talent.
The question is how tightly the Zizzers can pack those five scoring runners when the biggest races arrive.
Do that well, and the road to a third straight state championship remains very much open.
Lady Zizzers Chasing Another State Trophy
The boys’ three-peat pursuit may lead the story, but the Lady Zizzers have built an impressive championship tradition of their own.
West Plains has finished second in Class 4 at the state meet three consecutive years.
Now another Lady Zizzer team is trying to extend that podium streak.
At Southern Stampede, West Plains finished seventh among 24 scoring teams, led by an outstanding performance from Kaebrynn Gunter.
Gunter finished fifth overall in 18:25.38.
Behind her:
Lena Finke — 19:58.50
Libby Hart — 20:10.56
Abi Mongillo — 20:21.36
Jane Cobb — 22:14.47
That gives West Plains an excellent runner at the front and a competitive group behind her.
Just like the boys, however, the Lady Zizzers’ postseason ceiling may depend on how much they can tighten the scoring five.
Gunter Gives West Plains a Low Number at the Front
One of the biggest advantages a cross country team can have is a runner capable of finishing near the front of a championship race.
West Plains has that in Gunter.
Her fifth-place performance at Southern Stampede came in 18:25.38, and she has already shown the speed to compete with strong runners throughout Class 4.
At the Joe Bill Dixon Zizzer Invitational, Gunter won the girls race as West Plains also produced a perfect 15-point team score.
That is important because every place Gunter gains near the front reduces the number the rest of the Lady Zizzers have to overcome.
The next piece is the pack behind her.
Finke, Hart and Mongillo finished within about 23 seconds of one another at Southern Stampede. Keeping that group together — and bringing the fifth scorer closer — could make a significant difference as West Plains moves toward districts and state.
The Girls Have Earned High Expectations Too
Three straight state runner-up finishes have changed the standard for Lady Zizzer cross country.
Simply reaching November isn’t the whole goal anymore.
This program has established itself as one that expects to compete for a state trophy.
This year’s lineup is different from the teams that produced those previous runner-up finishes, but the opportunity remains.
Gunter gives West Plains a strong runner at the front.
Finke, Hart and Mongillo provide a group capable of scoring together.
The next several weeks will tell us whether the Lady Zizzers can close the remaining gaps enough to make another serious podium run.
What We’re Watching Next
For the boys, watch the distance between the first and fifth Zizzer finishers.
Stanley, Roberson, Romans and Shearin have already given West Plains a strong front four. If the fifth scorer moves closer to that group, the Zizzers become increasingly dangerous.
For the girls, watch the same thing behind Gunter.
The group of Finke, Hart and Mongillo has already shown encouraging depth. The closer West Plains can bring that entire scoring five together, the stronger its postseason outlook becomes.
And with every meet from here forward, comparisons with other Class 4 teams become more meaningful.
October is when good cross country teams begin preparing to become championship teams.
For the Lady Zizzers, the pursuit is another place on the state podium.
For the Zizzer boys, the opportunity is even bigger.
Three straight state championships.
The road to November is getting shorter — and from here, every runner and every place matters.
