By Ken Hansard
Entering the season, Head Coach Andy Youngworth and his McAuley Warriors set some lofty goals. “We felt that both teams had a good chance to win districts. We knew our girls should have a good chance to return to state and improve on last year’s state finish, and we thought our boys had a chance to win a state championship if we were able to put together a complete race.”
In preparation for the championship part of their schedule, the Warriors put together an extremely competitive slate of races that saw them consistently run against bigger schools in meets with “big race” atmospheres. That schedule included running at the SWCCCA in Bolivar; the Father Tolton at Gans Creek; the Southern Stampede; Rim Rock at Kansas University and at the Wild Wind Festival in Wichita, Kansas.
That rigor and intensity paid dividends in the end. The boys finished as District Champions, while the girls were the District Runner-Up. This qualified both teams for state, where both teams finished their seasons on the podium – with the girls coming in third overall, their highest finish in school history, and the boys winning McAuley’s first ever state championship in any sport.
For the boys, senior and team leader Michael Parrigon finished as district champ and third at state; junior Trae Veer finished as district runner-up and was fourth at state; sophomore Will Mollnow finished 10th at state; and freshmen Gavin Anderson and Thomas Perrin finished 19th and 21st at state, respectively. All told, the Warriors had a remarkable five total All-State runners.
On the girls’ side, sophomore Olivia Parrigon finished 11th at state; sophomore Riley Sears finished 45th at state; and freshman Edie Nolan finished 48th at state. Coach Youngworth said, “They gave very consistent performances. We also had Ellie Bohachick, who placed 77th and had a really good freshman season, and junior Samantha Perrin was our team leader and ran 110th at state and helped the team reach the podium for a third-place trophy, our girls’ highest finish in history in any sport.”
Additionally, Michael Parrigon was recognized as the Southwest Cross Country Coaches Association Co-runner of the year and was named First-Team SWCCCA All-Regional. Trae Veer and Will Mollnow were named First-Team SWCCCA All-Regional, and Gavin Anderson and Thomas Perrin were named Second-Team SWCCCA All-Regional.
For the girls, Olivia Parrigon was named Class 1 All-State and First-Team SWCCCA All Regional; Riley Sears and Edie Nolan were awarded Honorable Mention SWCCCA All-Regional. Coach Andy Youngworth, in his 31st season overall and fourth at the helm for McAuley, was named the SWCCCA Class 1 Coach of the Year and the Missouri Track and Cross Country Class 1 Coach of the Year.
