It's Werner vs. Long again at Forest Park

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

It just might be the biggest high school girls footrace in Missouri history. 

US#11 Taylor Werner of Ste. Genevieve has won the Green race at the Forest Park XC Festival two years in a row. US#13 Hannah Long of Eureka should be right there with her. 

The two of them are both Foot Locker finalists and all-time Missouri state record holders on the track. Long broke the state record in the mile last spring (4:44.01) and Werner broke the state reocrd in the 3200 (10:19.15). 

A year ago at the Forest Park meet, Werner ran off with a sizzling 50-second victory in 16:47. Long was next in 17:37. In 2012, a freshman Werner pulled away from Long to win 16:59 to 17:07. 

This summer, Long talked about Werner and the Forest Park XC Festival. 

"Having her in Missouri, we both kind of push ourselves to the next level," Long said.  

Long uses the Forest Park race as a season-opener and that will be the same again this year.

"You don't always know where you're at after a long summer of training so it's really exciting to get back into cross country and have such good competition in the first meet so I'm really excited for this year," she said.

The top returning boy in the meet is Stephen Mugeche from Blue Springs, who was sixth last year. Mugeche seems poised for a big season based on his 15:14 at the Greg Wilson Classic last weekend. Mugeche is US#20 on the DyeStat Preseason 100. (While Mugeche is on the entry list there is a chance he won't run so that he can take the ACT test instead).