Colton Hardy saved his best high school cross country run for his last, setting a Park Hill program record while earning a medal at the 78th MSHAA Cross Country State Championships on Nov. 7 in Columbia.
Hardy’s record-breaking finish at Gans Creek came in 15 minutes, 29.8 seconds, placing 29th overall for his first career state medal. It was only the second time Park Hill’s program has recorded a sub-16-minute 5,000-meter race, following the previous record holder, Jakob Johnston, who ran 15:45.9 at the 2024 Olathe Twilight.
Hardy’s new Park Hill record beat Johnston’s time by more than 16 seconds and broke his old personal record, which he set at the previous weekend’s district meet, by nearly 40 seconds.
Still, Hardy’s record-breaking performance required a critical race to the finish line to secure a state medal.
He had maintained a top-25 spot throughout the first 3,000 meters of the race, but slipped six spots behind entering the final 1,000-meter stretch. It was a spot that would have kept him off the podium stand.
Ultimately, Hardy rallied himself together and persevered through the final 1,000 meters in 2:02.
He passed runners from Rock Bridge, Fort Zumwalt West and Kickapoo to finish with an all-state medal with just 1.5 seconds to spare.
After opening his freshman year with a debut time of 18:32.6, Hardy shaved more than three minutes over the course of his high school career. His 27th and final run was his best, laying down a new marker for Trojans to aim for in the years ahead.
The boys’ race was won by Rockhurst senior Jack McGovern, who broke a state record time of 14:29.0. The girls’ race was won by Liberty sophomore Tessa Perdue in 17:36.4.
Park Hill South’s boys team qualified for a second straight year, finishing 16th as a team with the following runners scoring: Eli Berry (85th; PR of 16:18.4), Eli Hurst (105th; PR of 16:32.1), Marshall Chenoweth (115th; PR of 16:38.7), Joshua Petry (123rd; PR of 16:49.3) and Nicholas Gianoulakis (148th; PR of 17:34.7).
Platte County junior Tate Stone was the Pirates’ lone representative in the boys race, placing 91st with a PR time of 16:22.8. Tyler Stambersky was the area’s top girls runner from Class 5, representing Platte County by placing 47th overall with a PR time of 19:14.7, missing the medal stand by about 30 seconds.
Park Hill South was represented by two girls, with freshman Mia Sulzen finishing 93rd in 19:52.6 and sophomore Morgan Johnson finishing in 21:09.2.