A personal-best time of 14 minutes and 43 seconds on a 3-mile course earned Flowers a career-high finish of eighth in the Illinois Class 2A state meet. It was the highest finish for any Metro East boy at the Illinois

Austin Hindman is dreaming big about his near-future.

14th in Illinois 2A state meet in personal-best time of 14:54 on 3-mile course.

Sixth at district and ninth at sectional before finishing 26th in Missouri Class 4 state meet in 16:15.28.

Three individual titles included conference and regional titles and top area finish in sectional meet.

Led by all-state runners Charrlie Parrish and Alex Mack, Freeburg finished second in the team standings Saturday in the Illinois Boys Cross Country Class 1A State Championships at Detweiller Park in Peoria.

JEFFERSON CITY • No one's ever run as fast in the Missouri Boys Cross Country State Championships as senior Austin Hindman did Saturday morning at the Oak Hills Golf Center.

JEFFERSON CITY • A familiar accomplishment had a completely new feeling Saturday morning for Brendan Pratt.

JEFFERSON CITY • Simon Gelber didn't achieve quite everything he hoped Saturday, but he also wasn't complaining.

Ben Flowers shakes his head when he thinks of how close he is to the end of Jerseyville cross country career.