CROSS COUNTRY
The West Plains High School cross country program is being inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Jan. 27 at the University Plaza Hotel & Convention Center in Springfield.
The Hall of Fame announced the 2019 Induction Class Thursday, saying of the Zizzers cross country teams, “The most successful high school cross country programs in Missouri belong to West Plains High School, as longtime coach Joe Bill Dixon has guided the boys team to 41 consecutive trips to the state meet — and won it all some 13 times along with 12 state runner-up finishes.The championships cover 1979, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008. The 2017 team came within six points of winning it all.
“Meanwhile, the girls program has been right there, too, advancing to 38 state meets – 34 consecutive – and have won 12 state championships. The girls won it 1985, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008. They also placed as the state runner-up nine times, falling short of titles by only six points in 1986 and five points in 2005. State champions were Chris Zinn (1981-1983), Jon Hatley (1985), Lisa Brown (1993), Sean Carlson (1993), Jason Sandfort (2000), Jennifer Harper (2004) and Brittani Johnson (2005, 2006).”
The hall of fame class is headlined by former Missouri State University standout and World Series winner Ryan Howard and also features Kansas City Chiefs receiver Carlos Carson, Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jeff Suppan and University of Missouri tight end Chase Coffman.