Coyotes Look Forward to another Successful Cross Country Season

Paris Coyotes Head Cross Country Coach, Doug Buie, said, “This year's cross country team has a large amount of potential this year. The girls and boys are both looking to repeat as Lewis and Clark Conference Champions, the girls are looking for their third District Title, and the boys, who have been District runner-up up are looking to win their first District Title this year. We have our largest group of runners in team history.  The first year of Paris Cross Country was four years ago, and we started with two girls and three boys for the high school team. This year we have eight girls and eleven boys.  We are currently returning three female runners who competed at state last year, Ava Crain, Midori Williams, and Mia Kendrick, and we are returning five male runners who competed at state last year, Landen Chapman, Owen Buie, Trevor Burch, Hayden DeOrnellas, and Michael Rosson.  We do not have any female seniors this year, but I do have four male senior runners: Landen Chapman, Owen Buie, Trevor Burch, and Jackson Davis.  Landen was the state champion runner-up with a great chance to win an individual state championship. The course that the team and I all look forward to running on is the Gans Creek Course in Columbia.  This is the course where the state championship is held, and it is one of the best cross-country courses in the United States.  The NCAA D1 Championship is being held there this year.  We are lucky enough to also run the Brian Simpson Classic on this great course. Every course has its challenges, and we love to take on any course.  We are lucky enough here in Paris to have plenty of challenging areas to run and some great hills to practice on to prepare us for any course.  We have a new schedule this year to include some new courses in Westphalia, Boonville, and Monroe City we have not run on. Senior Landen Chapman is a three-time state medalist and the 2024 Class 1 Runner Up. He is an outstanding athlete and an extremely talented runner.  He has great potential and a great opportunity to be an individual state champion, and his talent, drive, and leadership will help lead our team to success. Senior Owen Buie was sidelined for part of last season with an injury from football, but he has put in a lot of miles over the summer to prepare for this season. Owen was an all-district athlete his Sophomore year, who has a lot of potential to make a big return this year. Junior Hayden DeOrnellas also put in a lot of summer miles and can make a statement this year. These three will help lead our boys' team of Seniors Trevor Burch and Jackson Davis, Junior Matthew Wilson,  Sophomores Michael Rosson, Parker Conover, and Pierson Hathaway, and Freshman Case Morgan and Jaxon Tuter. Our girls' team is led by Juniors Midori Williams and Ava Crain. Midori is very competitive and continues to improve every year. Ava is a very talented athlete and a gifted runner. They have two years of competing at the state meet and were part of our 2023 4th Place State Team.  Their leadership and competitiveness will be a great advantage as they are joined by first-year runner MacKenzie Dodge, returning state competitor Mia Kendrick, and four Freshmen, Savannah Buie, Hadley Dodge, Elizabeth Ros,s and Edie Wormington.”