Bruins finish season with strong outing

JEFFERSON CITY - Early in the season, Phillip King said that he wanted to show that Rock Bridge had what it took to run among the best cross country teams in the state.

At the state championship meet on Saturday, King and the Bruins showed they belong. King finished the last cross country race of his Rock Bridge career with a 15 minute and 54 second performance for 3rd place to lead the boys’ team to a 5th place finish on a frigid, windy morning at Oak Hills Golf Center in Jefferson City.

The results of the meet surprised King, who said the team raced better than it expected. However, it didn’t surprise coach Neal Blackburn, who told his team at practice during the week that they were running for 5th.

“They just looked at me and were like, ‘All right cool,’” Blackburn said. “It was awesome they could pull it all together.”

The team’s success was the result of a year’s worth of hard training and careful preparation. Blackburn said the team spent time Friday night discussing ideal positions for the runners during the state race. He even videotaped the course and showed it to his team with added commentary.

However, with all the excitement, noise, and the sheer number of runners resembling a human stampede, having a plan proved crucial. With several long straightaways, rolling hills, and mobs of spectators running back and forth along the course to catch glimpses of the runners while constantly shouting and screaming, the atmosphere can get a little crazy.

“It was deafening out there,” King said. “It gets your heart rate up and makes you want to go really fast.”

Jeff Kaiser (26th), Matty Bennnett (75th), Ryan Neff (80th) and Tyler Singleton (85th) also helped contribute high finishes for the team. For King, Neff and Singleton, the seniors of the group, the end couldn’t have been better.

“It means everything to them. They’ve been talking about this for years,” Blackburn said. “I reminded them on the starting line, this is what you work for.”

Unlike the boys’ team, the Rock Bridge girls found themselves back at state after an 11th-place finish last season. Unfortunately for the Bruins, injuries became an issue over the last half of the season and two alternates had to run at this year’s state meet. The girls still managed to finish 12th. They were led by all-state runner Lauren Borduin, who finished 24th for the second year in a row. After the race, Blackburn was proud of his resilient team.

“Their places in the race were better than their overall place showed,” Blackburn said. “They’ve dealt with a lot of injuries.”

Borduin was slightly disappointed in her performance after the race due to the fact she let several runners pass her in the last half-mile. But she’s already looking towards next season.

“It’s nice to get all-state, I just wanted to have fun with it,” Borduin said. “As a team, we’re only going to get better.”