The 2024 season was a record-breaking, historic one from the Rockhurst cross country team. First, came yet another district championship, won by a dominant 81 points with five runners placing in the top 15. Next, came a state championship, the team’s third in nine seasons. That earned them an invitation to a Nike Cross Country regional, where they placed second. That finish destined them for nationals, something only one other team from Missouri had ever accomplished.
Following a regular season in which the team won multiple meets, the Hawklets cruised to a district title by taking four of the top five spots and one-third of the top 15. Their 27 points and 81-point margin of victory were both exceeded by only one other school across all five Missouri classes.
All of that meant the 18th-consecutive trip to the state meet under head coach Michael Dierks came with high expectations. One year after coming up just short, the Hawklets managed to win the top prize in Missouri Class 5, claiming the state championship on Nov. 8 in Columbia by a margin of 25 points.
While their final gap over second place St. Louis University High School was significant, the race was touch and go for a majority of the time. As runners came through the third kilometer of the five kilometer race, Rockhurst was losing to the Junior Billikens. Senior number one runner Henry Acorn was trailing just behind the leader, narrowly in second place. Other runners were also hanging back, with large gaps between different scoring Rockhurst runners.
However, in the back half of the race, the Hawklets surged ahead and passed many competitors, assuring their win. Acorn crossed the finish line first, senior Andrew Davis fifth, freshman Jack McGovern eighth, senior Kai Somasegaren 17th, and freshman Jack Morrison 43rd.
Acorn’s final time in the race was 14:52.40. Not only was this a ten-second personal record, but it was also a new school record and the third-fastest time ever run in Missouri. Acorn also became the school’s third individual state champ and the first ever cross country member to win all-state honors all four years.
Beyond Acorn, the team had three other all-state performances. Davis and Somasegaren both earned their second-straight, and McGovern his first.
McGovern, in particular, had a dominant performance–especially considering he’s just a freshman. Originally expected to place fourth on the team, he was able to set a new personal record while running his way into the team’s third slot. His personal record was not the only record he broke at state. McGovern secured the best-ever finish from a Rockhurst freshman and tied the all-time Missouri record. Nationally, McGovern came out of the race ranked as the No. 9 freshman in the country.
Left to right: Bill Hayes, Jack Morrison, Justin Waldron, Henry Acorn, Andrew Davis, Kai Somasegaran, Jack McGovern and coach Michael Dierks (Landon Hochstein)
The state win was redemption for last season, when the team suffered a heartbreaking loss by a mere nine points. That race boiled down to valuable places lost when current senior Bill Hayes faded out towards the last kilometer, allowing Rock Bridge to surge ahead and gain an edge over Rockhurst. Hayes’ teammates, however, say there were many other factors that played into the loss.
“I think that the biggest difference between this year and last year was I actually put myself in the race this year,” Acorn said. “Last year I kinda held back a little bit. I was too scared to get up with the front runners.”
In addition to the places Acorn picked up, the freshman Morrison was able to gain many places for the team. Originally racing as the seventh runner, Morrison ran a new personal record while also passing seniors Justin Waldron and Hayes.
Due to these factors, along with the natural growth that took place since last season, Rockhurst was able to win their first state championship since 2018. This six-year gap between state championships means it was the first time any of the runners had put a championship banner on the wall. In addition, it was also a first for assistant coaches Alan Ratermann and Zander Haddad.
Winning state put Rockhurst in position to earn an invitation to the Nike Cross Regionals. Nine days after racing away with a state title, the team earned runner-up finish in Indiana, booking their spot in the Nike Cross Nationals on Dec. 7.
Rockhurst’s strong performance at regionals made them the second-ever team in Missouri to qualify for the national meet. Acorn led the team with a fourth place finish, with Davis, McGovern, Somasegaren and Hayes following in the other four scoring positions.
Going into nationals, the team was ranked 22nd out of the 22 teams. Racing through the mud and rain, the team was able to pull out a 13th place finish. The top five finishers were Acorn in 60th, Somasegaren in 69th, McGovern in 104th, Davis in 107th and Hayes in 175th. While their times were some of the slowest of the entire season, taking into account the rough weather conditions, their performance was still strong as a team.
“I was really proud of the guys,” assistant coach Ryan McAnany said. “I mean, they worked hard for four years, and I’m sure it was not easy for them to continue to run for another three weeks after regionals, but I hope they enjoyed it.
“They deserved some icing on the cake with all the hard work that they put in. So I really hope it was fun and a rewarding experience.”
With all of these accomplishments, both individually and as a team, the 2024 Rockhurst cross country season will go down as one of the greatest in program history.
