3A Girls
It was a very similar team finish to last year at the top -- in fact, exact point totals aren't too far off, and the only big difference was that Scott Community was a bit closer to Douglass this year. In any case, Southeast of Saline was able to defend their title, and once again held off Hiawatha, but this time by only 8 points (85-93, last year was 74-89). Hiawatha actually beat SE of Saline at the #4 and #5 spots -- but what seems to have put SE of Saline on top was the fact that their #3 was in before Hiawatha's #2. So in the end, Hiawatha just did not have the front running needed to overcome SE of Saline's three in the top 22. Now I have to admit I was a bit surprised by Douglass recapturing the final podium spot, as their race results throughout the season, "highlighted" by a 5th runner a bit too far back, didn't indicate a high possibility of such a finish. However, they got great races from all parties and took advantage of the fact that Scott City, the fourth place team they beat 100-109, also was lacking a fifth runner after a strong top four. Douglass, similar to last year, ended up having the best 1-2-3-4 punch in all of 3A.
Individually, Klair Gibson of Douglass had the most dominating win of all three girls' races at Rim Rock on Saturday. She ran a 19:34 and was the only runner under 20:00, with the second place runner -- Makaela Stevens of Scott Community -- 53 seconds back at 20:27. Gibson's title was her first XC title; but she is very familiar with being at the top, as she closed out her high school XC career with her fourth top four finish (4th in 2012 and 3rd in 2013 and 2014). Meanwhile, Stevens was able to outrun who I considered the "runner-up favorite", Celia Biel of Trinity High School (Hutchinson), who ended up 3rd in 20:36; both improved upon their 2014 finishes (7th for Stevens, 5th for Biel). Allison Stutterheim of Southeast of Saline closed out her high school XC career with a solid 4th place, 20:50 finish, after going 8th, 8th, and 9th her first three years. She outran the top 3A freshman on the day, Elizabeth Kettler of Hiawatha, who ran a 20:53 and who was the only other 3A runner under 21:00.
Top Five Teams:
Place | Team | Points | Scorers | Times | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Southeast of Saline High School | 85 | 3+9+14+26+33 (34+45) | 1:49 1-5 Split | 21:41 Avg | ||
2 | Hiawatha High School | 93 | 4+15+21+24+29 (43+51) | 1:36 1-5 Split | 21:50 Avg | ||
3 | Douglass High School | 100 | 1+5+17+18+59 (71+79) | 4:53 1-5 Split | 21:40 Avg | ||
4 | Scott Community High School | 109 | 2+12+16+25+54 (61+63) | 3:34 1-5 Split | 21:55 Avg | ||
5 | Thomas More Prep-Marian High School | 139 | 6+13+31+37+52 (56+69) | 2:50 1-5 Split | 22:23 Avg |
Medalists (Top 20):
Place | Athlete | Team | Result | Points | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gibson, Klair | 12 | Douglass High School | 19:34.90 | 1 | |
2 | Stevens, Makaela | 10 | Scott Community High School | 20:27.10 | 2 | |
3 | Biel, Celia | 11 | Trinity High School | 20:36.00 | -- | |
4 | Stutterheim, Allison | 12 | Southeast of Saline High School | 20:50.70 | 3 | |
5 | Kettler, Elizabeth | 9 | Hiawatha High School | 20:53.80 | 4 | |
6 | Schmidt, Sienna | 10 | Remington High School | 21:01.80 | -- | |
7 | Henderson, Kryslyn | 10 | Douglass High School | 21:03.80 | 5 | |
8 | Hamel, Rachel | 12 | Thomas More Prep-Marian High School | 21:05.00 | 6 | |
9 | Steele, Joy | 9 | Osage City | 21:06.40 | 7 | |
10 | Smith, Devyn | 12 | Belle Plaine High School | 21:07.00 | -- | |
11 | Johnson, Lydia | 9 | Halstead High School | 21:07.90 | 8 | |
12 | Mcdaniel, Paige | 9 | Wellsville High School | 21:08.60 | -- | |
13 | Fear, Emma | 10 | Southeast of Saline High School | 21:12.10 | 9 | |
14 | Weber, Abby | 10 | Hesston High School | 21:13.80 | -- | |
15 | Hague, Emily | 11 | Marion High School | 21:14.00 | -- | |
16 | Crum, Jennifer | 9 | Lakin High School | 21:18.10 | -- | |
17 | White, Heather | 10 | Lakin High School | 21:18.60 | -- | |
18 | Scholz, Rebekah | 12 | Atchison County High School | 21:18.70 | 10 | |
19 | Puett, Amber | 9 | Riley County High School | 21:20.00 | 11 | |
20 | Davis, Trella | 10 | Scott Community High School | 21:21.90 | 12 |
3A/5A/6A State Meet Race Recaps: