Bowling Green’s Chance earns Tri-State Cross Country Coaches Boys Runner of the Year honor

LIBERTY, Ill. — It’s no surprise Bowling Green’s Ben Chance showed up on the local and state scene in the fall of 2022 in an impressive fashion. The son of Bobcats coach Matt Chance, Ben has running in his blood, and it was only a matter of time before he made the big jump and put himself in contention at every race. The fall of 2022 happened to be that time.

No stranger to making the Tri-State Cross Country Coaches All-Area first-team list — 2022 marks Chance’s third straight season on the list it — Chance was expected to put himself in position for runner of the year honors this fall after the graduation of many talented runners from the fall of 2021.

In the nine races Chance competed in, he finished no worse than second. Of those nine, six were individual meet titles and the three second-place finishes were losses to national high school phenom, Connor Burns of Boone County. Burns accomplished the rare feet of becoming a sub-4 miler in the spring of 2022 on the track when he ran 3:58, becoming the 15th U.S. high school athlete ever to accomplish that feat.

Chance had individual titles at the QND Running Raider, Fort Zumwalt, Mexico, Camdenton and Gans Creek Invitationals. He also was the individual champion at the EMO Conference meet, where he ran 15:25 to win by more than a minute and a half and lead the Bobcats to yet another EMO Conference team title.

That meet kicked off a three-meet run to the Missouri Class 3 state championship meet. Runner-up finishes at the Bowling Green Invite and Missouri District meet to Burns qualified Chance and the Bobcats for the Missouri state meet at Gans Creek. Chance ran a 16:02 to earn his highest state meet finish to date, finishing runner-up and helping the Bobcats earn a sixth-place team finish. If 2022 was any sort of precursor to what is in store for the 2023 season, it will be hard to dethrone Ben Chance of the Runner of the Year title next fall.

For his effort, Ben Chance has been named this year’s Tri-State Cross Country Coaches Boys Runner of the Year.

All-area first team

(Runner are in alphabetical order)

Elija Henningfeld, So., Bowling Green — Henningfeld was spectacular from start to finish for the Bobcats. Being a forceful number two behind Chance, Bowling Green could go low at the top two positions, making them a formidable team. Elija was fourth overall at the Running Raider in his lone 3-mile race of the year. Following that, he was able to pick up with a runner-up finish at the Mexico Invite and he placed fourth at the EMO conference meet, running 17:32 for 5k. He placed 25th at the district meet to help the Bobcats advance to the Missouri state meet where Henningfeld ran 17:54 for 5k to place 63rd overall and helped the Bobcats place sixth as a team.

Tommy Hess, Jr., QHS — A consistent piece to the Blue Devils pack, Hess made big improvements from his sophomore year. The junior was able to put together top-10 finishes at the Liberty and the Tom Oakley Invitationals and placed 13th overall at the Running Raider. Hess had a big breakthrough at the Western Big 6 Conference meet where he placed seventh overall, running 16:19. Look for Hess to step into the lead role for the Blue Devils next year.

Devon Funk, Jr., Liberty — The Eagles’ go-to No. 2 man was consistent throughout the year, holding his own within the area and saving his best races for the bigger stages. He earned All-West Central Conference honors by placing sixth at the WCC meet and ran 17:05 at the St. Joseph-Ogden Spartan Classic. Late in the season, he ran a season’s best of 17:02 at the Patriot Invite before narrowly missing sub 17 again at the Elmwood sectional, where he ran 17:05.

Eric McClelland, Sr, QHS — McClelland jumped into the lead role of the Blue Devils squad in 2022. The senior gave the Blue Devils a consistent low stick and was a leader up front. McClelland tallied three individual wins, including the Jacksonville, Tom Oakley, and Liberty Invitationals. He was the Western Big 6 Conference runner-up when he ran a massive personal best of 15:33 to kick off his postseason run. He went on to place fourth at the Quincy Regional and 19th at the Normal Sectional, running 15:46 to qualify for his first IHSA state championship meet. McClelland ended his senior campaign with a 75th-place finish in the Class 3A race on a sloppy Detweiller Park course where he ran 16:00.

Sam Northcut, So., Mark Twain — With a strong group of sophomores on the Missouri side of the river, Northcut finds himself near the top of that list. In his second year on the first-team list, the Mark Twain sophomore was runner-up at the Marion County Invite and third at North Callaway and Centralia, running low 17 minutes for 5k. He was 11th at the EMO Conference meet and placed third at the district meet at North Callaway to advance to the state meet. The next week at Gans Creek he was able to run 18:25 to finish 57th overall.

Lane Obert, Fr., Liberty — In a freshman campaign that only saw two races over the 17-minute barrier, Obert was as consistent of a runner as any coach could hope for. Landing himself in the top 10 in six races throughout the season, including top-five finishes at the Tom Oakley and Liberty Invitationals, Obert was also the West Central Conference runner-up and placed third at the Macomb Regional. The freshman ran a personal best of 16:16 at the Patriot Invite at Detweiller Park in late October.

Parker Quinlan, Jr., West Hancock — The 2022 West Central Conference Champion had an exceptional junior season. Along with the individual conference title, Quinlan also qualified for his first IHSA state cross country meet where he finished 82nd overall on a sloppy, muddy day, running 16:52. He was also the Macomb regional runner-up, and placed 15th at the Elmwood sectional, running 16:15.

Jackson Veile, Jr., Pittsfield — The younger of the Veile brothers finds himself on the first-team list for the first time in 2022. An almost 1 minute, 30 second drop from the beginning of the season to the end is how Veile ended up on this list. He was 20th at the Running Raider and 16th and 18th, respectfully, at the Tom Oakley and Liberty Invitationals. Veile raced to an 18th-place finish at the Porta Regional before setting a huge personal best running 16:56 at the Elmwood sectional.

Joe Warning, So., QND —Warning became extremely consistent in 2022 as the leader of the Raiders squad. His junior campaign started off strong with two runner-up finishes at Macomb and Canton. He continued from there with a sixth-place finish at the Running Raider. He was 10th at the Tom Oakley Invite and sixth at Liberty. Warning set a new personal best at the Patriot Invite at Detweiller Park where he eclipsed 17 minutes for the first time, running 16:42 for 3 miles.

Noah Wilt, So., South Shelby — Wilt burst onto the scene strong in 2022 with a campaign that only saw him finish outside the top three in two meets all season. He posted four individual race wins, including a victory at the Clarence Cannon Conference meet where he ran 17:02 for 5k. Wilt placed third at the Missouri District 4 meet to advance to the Missouri state meet, where he finished a strong 14th in 17:24 on the Gans Creek course.

Levi Wright, So., Marion County — Wright finds himself on the first-team list for the first time after a strong sophomore season. He placed 14th overall at the Running Raider and 12th at the Tom Oakley Invite when he crossed the river to race in Illinois. On the Missouri side, he was able to finish third overall at the Moberly XC Invitational and seventh and ninth, respectfully, at Clopton and Mexico. In the postseason, he placed sixth to advance to the Missouri state meet, where he finished 90th overall in Class 1.

All-Area honorable mention

Bowling Green — Brendan Finnegan, Fr.; Jack Hughes, Sr.; Jose Soto, Sr.

Hannibal — Eli Hess, Sr.; David Munger, So.; Cameron Nichols, Sr.

Illini Wes — Chase Mudd, Fr.

Macomb — Jack Dunseth, Fr.; Kyle Glaue, So.; Zak Green, Sr.; Isaiah Rebman, Jr.; Mathew Sadler, Jr. 

Marion County — Porter Britt, So.

Mark Twain — Brandon Black, Sr.; Ean Colbert, So.; Gabe Howald, Sr.; Colten Eisele, Jr.

Palmyra — Jacob Barnes, Jr.; Connor Bross, Sr.

Pittsfield — Brayden Veile, Sr.

QHS — Cameron MacDonough, So.; Jude Mintle, Sr.; Gavin Slee, Fr.

Rushville — Myles Ackman, Sr.

West Hancock — Quentin Althar, Jr.