FULTON — One more week of practice.

That was the goal Saturday for Matt Candrl’s Owensville Dutchmen and Dutchgirl cross country teams during the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Class 3, District 3 meet at Fulton High School.

Scheduled as part of six races, Owensville and the rest of the Class 3 boys and girls teams hit the course first.

When both races were in the books, Dutchgirl sophomore Ilene Limberg and junior Felix Guerrero punched their tickets to this weekend’s MSHSAA Cross Country Championships at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia.

Up first on the course in Fulton were the Class 3 girls.

Sticking with the front of the pack, Limberg advanced to state for the second time in as many years following a sixth-place time of 20:00.1.

“Ilene ran a great race to get herself back to state with a chance at another medal,” Candrl said. “She kept herself in great position throughout the race to finish where she needed to.”

With her sister Mekayla cheering her on, sophomore Abbie Gibson finished over 20 seconds shy of the top 30 with a 35th-place time of 22:52.6.

Abbie’s sister Mekayla is currently a sophomore member of the William Woods University (WWU) Lady Owls cross country team.

Fellow Owl harriers Freddy Zheng and Kyah Weirich also made the short trek to Fulton High School to cheer runners from their alma mater on.

Other Dutchgirls helping them place seventh as a team were freshman Hannah Gehlert (45th, 23:21.0), senior Saylor Richardson (54th, 23:51.0), sophomore Lauren Kandlbinder (71st, 24:33.4), freshman Ashley Reed (78th, 25:36.1) and junior Peyton Weinland (81st, 25:45.2).

Doing his best to stay with the front of the field, Guerrero managed to post a 16th-place time of 17:56.3 to punch his first ticket to the MSHSAA Cross Country Championships Saturday in Columbia.

“Felix ran a great race to put him in a good position to qualify for state,” Candrl said.

Guerrero nearly had company in the form of senior Lucas Morgan.

Qualifying for state as a junior, Morgan looked to end his Dutchmen cross country career as a two-time state qualifier.

Hovering at or near the top 30 throughout the entirety of the Class 3 boys race, Morgan finished 17 seconds shy of the top 30 with a 33rd-place time of 18:23.6.

Also helping the Dutchmen place 10th in the team standings were senior Gabe Soest (41st, 18:46.0), sophomore Xavier Bayless (66th, 19:32.6), senior Noah Holtmeyer (93rd, 20:40.3), sophomore Kyle Bollman (94th, 20:42.7) and junior Ethan Harris (99th, 21:15.5).

Limberg will look for her second state medal in as many years with a top-25 finish in the Class 3 girls race late Saturday morning in Columbia with a start time of 11:15 a.m.

Guerrero’s bid for a top-25 finish and a state medal of his own will begin at high noon on the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia.

The Republican wishes all state qualifiers the best of luck.