Republic cross country qualifies five for state

A record five Republic cross country runners will compete at the state meet in Columbia, Friday.
Miha Nambara, Gracie Troester, Misora Nambara, and Kristin Probst qualified by finishing among the top 30 individuals in the girls race. Ethan Haynes finished in the top 30 among the boys to qualify for the first time.
Republic’s girls nearly qualified as a team, finishing in a tie for third place overall. But only four teams advance to the state meet, and a tiebreaker went against them.
“They go and do stuff outside of school. They spend the night with each other. They all hang out as friends, not just during cross country,” said coach Christie Bishop. “So they really bonded and they are very disappointed that their other teammates are not going to get to go with them.”
The boys race was a testament to the patience of Ethan Haynes, who has been chasing a state opportunity since falling one place short of advancing out of districts as a sophomore. He said he put in hundreds of miles in training over this summer to prepare for his senior season, and stayed patient when he found himself back in the pack Saturday.
“A lot of people hear it’s the district race and they go out way too fast,” Haynes said. “I heard that I was 40–45 back and I stayed calm... There were people in front of me that I knew were slower than me, and I stayed patient. Eventually they got closer to me and I passed them... I knew it was a three-mile race, so there’s plenty of time to make my move.”
Haynes knew he’d cracked the top 30 from hearing other teams’ coaches call out to their own runners along the route.
“I turned the corner and I saw the MSHSAA banner, and I saw that all my miles of the summer have led me to those 50 meters there, so I let out everything I had,” he said.