JACKSON, Mo. -- Four runners from Poplar Bluff advanced out of the MSHSAA Class 4 District 1 cross country meet Saturday as the Mules placed 10th as a team in both races.
Katie Sliger placed 11th while Katelyn Moeller took the last individual qualifying spot in 30th while Poplar Bluff freshman Jaden Deaton placed 20th and senior Wesley Moore was 29th, advancing to next week's sectional meet.
All of Poplar Bluff's runners cut time on the same 5,000-meter Jackson City Park course ran just over a week in the conference meet.
"I think as a team, the kids peaked at the right time," Mules coach Beth Lewis-Muse said. "They all seemed to race extremely well."
Moeller was 32 seconds faster Saturday in 21 minutes, 26.52 seconds and beat Hillsboro's Emma Wright to the finish line by 10 seconds for the final spot. The junior placed 32nd last year.
Sliger advanced to the sectional meet for a fourth straight year, placing in the top 14 each time. The senior ran 20:41.49, cutting nearly 21 seconds from her conference pace when she placed third.
"She was out there racing," Lewis-Muse said. "Looked strong the entire time."
Moore advanced for the first time since his sophomore year but running 24 seconds faster than his previous race. He beat Jackson's Jackson McCormack just under a second with a time of 17:52.91.
Deaton finished in 17:38.5, cutting 16 seconds from his conference time and missing a top 20 finish by 1.73 seconds.
"Wesley wasn't ready for his season to end and Jaden is setting his eyes on state," Lewis-Muse said.
The top 30 runners in the sectional meet next week at Parkway Central High School in St. Louis County advance to the state meet in Jefferson City.
Lindbergh swept the team titles, beating Hillsboro by 26 points in the boys race and defending state champion Jackson by 16 points in the girls race.
Kevin Koester of Hillsboro won in 16:15.73 while Abby Juedemann of Lindbergh won the girls race in 19:31.79.
Poplar Bluff was three points behind Fox in the boys team standings for 10th while the girls beat Fox by 18 points for 10th place.
Brooke Slayton cut 43 seconds from her time to place 59th in 23:10 while freshmen Ava Smith and Kenya Jones cut over a minute from their time. Smith placed 66th in 23:53 while Jones was 72nd in 24:21. Natalie Clark, a freshman, was 82nd in 26:09 while sophomore Paige Bradley placed 84th in 26:15.
Dylan Cisne cut over a minute from his time to finish in 19:15 for 61st while fellow junior Victor Olivan was 66th in 19:27 running 16 seconds faster. Freshman Brent Worley cut 39 seconds to 19:45 for 74th while Seth Ingle (20:16) was 80th and Brendan Yarbro (20:27) finished 82nd as both cut their time.
Lewis-Muse said a cooler-than-expected morning may have helped with the faster times but the coach said the team had "a little more purpose on their run this week" following the deaths of their classmates.
"I think they came in with the attitude to bring their best race of the season to dedicate to them," Lewis-Muse said.
The four advancing runners are the most for the Mules since 2014.
"Proud of this group," Lewis-Muse said. "They came to race and they did an excellent job. Being so young, they're going to keep getting faster and they understand now what it takes."
District races for Class 1-3 will be held next week with Dexter hosting the Class 1 and Class 3 meets while Class 2 District 1 will be at Arcadia Valley High School.