The summer of 2022 was not a good one for Jadrian Thurmon.

The Montgomery County sophomore spent his summer wearing a brace on his left ankle after breaking it during track season, putting his hopes of coming back for his second year with the Wildcats’ cross country team in jeopardy.

“I had almost no summer training at all,” Thurmon said.
Now as the Wildcats prepare for the Class 3, District 3 meet on Oct. 29 at Fulton High School, Thurmon is healthy and is one of the top runners on the MCHS boys cross country team.

“I love the sport,” Thurmon said. “I love the atmosphere. The kids are super nice. I like the progress I made so far as well. It’s crazy to me how much progress I’ve made and how talented I’ve become. I owe a lot of that to coach (Chasity) Rodgers. She works so hard to make sure we work hard. Even when we’re hard on ourselves, she’s supportive.”

Thurmon turned in his best effort of the season on Oct. 15 at the Eastern Missouri Conference championship meet at North Callaway High School. He finished sixth with a personal-best time of 17:36.5 to earn all-conference honors for the second year in a row.

“It meant a lot to me,” Thurmon said. “I felt I could have done better today, but I’m 100 percent proud of myself.”

Thurmon also earned medals at the Fulton Invitational, Gans Creek Classic in Columbia and the Capital City Invitational in Jefferson City. He began his sophomore year on Sept. 3 by coming up three places short of a medal at the New Haven Invitational, placing 18th with a 19:21.

Thurmon was coming off a strong track season that included a sixth-place medal in the 800-meter relay at the Class 3 state meet. He competed in all 12 meets.

Thurmon injured his ankle during the season-opening Montgomery County Early Invite. He said at first, he thought the injury wasn’t serious.

“I was told that it was most likely sprained, so I ran the whole track season,” Thurmon said. “After the track season, I wanted to make sure that it was OK and there was no ligament damage. Then, I found out it was broken. I was like, ‘OK, that’s interesting.’ Then, I got stuck in a boot.”

Thurmon was a strong addition to the MCHS boys cross country team in 2021. He was the No. 2 runner behind now-graduated Dawson McCown for most of the year. He earned a medal in his first cross country meet, finishing 12th at the New Haven Invitational.

This year, Thurmon is leading a team that has three sophomores and one freshman. He said he enjoys working with sophomore Zack Welker, who has three medals this season.

“He’s such a positive kid,” Thurmon said. “He’s so much fun. He really pushes me to do my best and I know I push him.”

Thurmon will attempt to qualify for the state meet for the first time at the Fulton district meet. Last year, Thurmon placed 39th with an 18:50 at the district meet in Linn.
The boys race is scheduled for 9:40 p.m. The girls race will start at 9 a.m. The top 30 individuals qualify for the state meet, scheduled for Nov. 5 at Gans Creek.

“I’m very excited for districts,” Thurmon said. “I do feel like I can make it to state, and I’m looking forward to that as well.”