Steelville High School’s cross country teams reigned supreme at the Oct. 19 Gasconade Valley Conference Meet and Cuba Invitational at Hood Park.

SHS’ boys team earned first place as a team and had two of the top three individual performers.

Freshman Andrew Jensen took second place overall in the GVC’s, following the speedy Belle freshman Jackson Prater, who finished in first place. Jensen crossed the finish line in a personal-best 18:13.86 time.

Senior Owen Rutledge, who had been battling an injury and missed the prior couple of meets, gutted out a 18:32.11 time to take fourth place overall finish and third place in the GVC.

Freshman Brantley Booker took 10th place overall and seventh place in the GVC, earning All-GVC honors after running a 19:05.81 time.

Sophomore Lucas Garms also earned All-GVC honors after finishing eighth in the conference and 17th overall. He completed the race in a personal-best 19:51.7 time.

Sophomore Kaden Rulo finished right behind Garms, earning 18th place overall and ninth in the GVC with a personal-best 19:53.1 time.

Fellow sophomore Andrew Riley ran a personal-best 21:28.6 time and took 34th place. Junior Colin Orick earned 44th place after running a personal-best 22:11.2 time. 

SHS’ girls team had the top-three finishers in the GVC girls’ race, but they didn’t qualify to win as a team because they only had four runners competing. Belle’s girls took first place in the GVC’s as a team.

Steelville sophomore Adalei Perkins won the GVC girls’ race for the second consecutive year after completing the race in a personal-best 21:17.09 time. She took second place overall, after crossing the finish line in just 10 seconds behind Kingston freshman and first place finisher, Haven Boyer.

Elisabeth Warden followed with a fourth place overall finish and second place in the GVC after running a  22:54.9 time. Wyntr Yates took fifth place overall with a personal best 23:15.1 and finished in third in the GVC. Stormee Yates ran a season-best time of 29:19.9 and took 27th, overall.

The Cardinals will have nearly two weeks off before running in the Oct. 31 Class 2 District 3 Meet in Owensville.