Cross country: St. Clair’s Blonde Ambition
Ste. Genevieve senior runner Nathan St. Clair breathes during the closing moments of the Class 3 boys’ race. (PHOTO BY CHRIS AUCKLEY/Motrackfanatic.com/Special to the Herald)
By ERIC VICCARO
eviccaro@stegenherald.com
COLUMBIA — His hair bleached blonde, Ste. Genevieve senior runner Nathan St. Clair crossed the finish line with a dollop of flair.
St. Clair earned a medal with his 19th-place finish, clocking in with a time of 16:50.0 on the five-kilometer course at Gans Creek Park during the Missouri State High School Activities Association Class 3 boys’ state meet.
“It was great to see Nathan run a lifetime personal-record time,” Ste. Genevieve head coach Sierra Boyd said. “It is always great for the program to have athletes on the awards podium at state.”
Since he placed in the top-25, St. Clair also earned all-state honors — a perfect cap to a stellar four-year career for the Dragons.
Last year, St. Clair was part of a complete Ste. Genevieve squads that finished 10th out of 16 teams — along with older brother, Devin.
Nathan St. Clair improved immensely throughout the course of the season, and he beat his time from the 2020 state meet by roughly 80 seconds.
St. Clair’s performance was labeled “elite” by mo.milesplit.com.
Ste. Genevieve senior Levi Wiegand also improved from 2020 to this year, recording an 85th place finish in a time of 18:12.8.
Wiegand was 100th a year ago, clocking in at 18:49.6, so he was 37 seconds faster this time around. The boys’ field featured 171 runners.
“Levi qualified for the state meet for the second year in a row,” Boyd noted. “He ran much better this year at state, and had a season personal-record time.”
Only two of three Ste. Genevieve girls were able to complete the race, freshmen Hollyn Zangaro and Kayden Huck.
Zangaro recorded the Dragon girls’ best place and time, taking 54th at 21:11.2.
“It was exciting for Hollyn,” Boyd said. “It will take hard work in and out of season in the coming years; but, hopefully, she will be able to work her way to all-state honors in the future.”
Kayden Huck, another freshman, also competed at state — recording a time of 23:47.8, which was good enough for 138th in a field of 172 runners.
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