Freshman Myah Hough qualifies for state meet

Being a multi-sport athlete in the same season can be stressful and overwhelming for some, but for freshman Myah Hough, she embraces the challenge.

Hough was a member of the freshmen Lebanon volleyball team that recorded 20-plus wins in 2018 and on Saturday, she achieved a goal of advancing to the Missouri State cross country meet that will be held this Saturday in Jefferson City.

She finished 28th out of a group of 76 runners with the top 30 qualifying for the state meet. Hough ran a time of 20:20 with the first-place winner (Ginger Murnieks, Lee’s Summit West) running a time of 17:53.

According to head coach Teresa Moore, Hough came back from 37th place at the two-mile marker to finish up 28th at the end of the 3.1-mile race.

“She (Hough) ran with courage and competitiveness throughout the race and never gave up on her hope of qualifying,” Moore said. “She passed at least two runners in the last 100 meters to guarantee her spot in the state race. Her level of competitiveness is something that comes from within and something that every coach loves to see in their athletes.

“I am so proud of her race and performance and so grateful that I get to work with runners like her.”

The County Record recently caught up with Hough to talk about her performance on Saturday and expectations for the state meet.

LCR — What was the course like on Saturday at Nixa and what were some challenges that were presented?

Myah — The course Saturday was pretty flat. There were a few small hills but nothing big. One thing that was tough was the start. The starting line started as a huge area, and then it all closed into a small space. We started on the edge, so it was tough to keep from being cut off once we funneled together.

For the complete article, see Wednesday’s print edition of The County Record, or view the e-Edition online.