RIM ROCK FARM HIGH SCHOOL CLASSIC RECAP
MORE PHOTOS and more to come
GIRLS PLATINUM
The first 5k Girls race at this meet saw Lawrence Free State sophomore Emily Venters take the individual win in 18:44 by more than 11 seconds over Maize senior Deidra Walker, who finished in 18:56, while senior Ann Campbell from St. Teresa’s Academy (MO) finished right behind in 18:57. Venters, the Kansas Class 6A Champion as a freshman, took the lead right from the beginning and created a gap that no other girl was able to make up. Pine Creek, traveling to Lawrence from Colorado, took the team title relatively easily with 74 points, led by by Athena Kuehn’s 5th place finish (19:06). Second place was a battle between defending Kansas 6A and 5A team champions, with Lawrence Free State edging St. Thomas Aquinas 113-114.
BOYS BLUE
Pembroke Hill (MO) junior Evan Peterson blew away the field in the first varsity boys race of the day, winning by 32 seconds in 16:22. Peterson was a Class 3 State medalist last year. Three more runners broke 17:00 in the race, all from Kansas. Olpe sophomore Kyler True led the threesome with a 16:54 finish, followed by Salina Sacred Heart’s senior Chris Sandquist (16:55) and True’s junior teammate Derek Nuessen (16:57). Grain Valley (MO) won the title easily with 93 points. They were led by Alex Slater’s 9th place finish (17:34) and had 4 runners in the top 21. Maranatha Academy finished a distant second with 155 points, while Mulvane edged out Andale 190-194 for 3rd.
GIRLS BLUE
This race featured the two fastest 4k times of the day, and four (all from Kansas) of the top six. Girard sophomore Cailie Logue, the defending Class 4A State champion, was not seriously challenged throughout and cruised to a 14:52 win, while Arma Northeast senior Kaylee Bogina finished second in 15:20. Three-time Class 2A State runner-up Lauren Harrell of Maranatha Academy finished 3rd with a time of 15:38, followed by Fort Scott’s Cassidy Westhoff in 15:47. Harrell ended up leading her team to a slim victory over Parkway Central (MO), 158-166, as Maranatha’s three runners in the top 12 proved to be too much for Parkway Central to overcome.
BOYS CRIMSON
Although this race was the first one in which the early leader did not go on to win, Har-Ber (AR) junior TJ Sugg soon overcame Platte County (MO) senior Nathan Straubel to win easily by 12 seconds, with a time of 16:12. Nixa (MO) senior Marcus Johnson finished right after Straubel in 16:26.6, followed by the top Kansas finisher, senior Aaron Taylor of Olathe Northwest (16:26.8). In the team race, Webb City (MO) won with 178 points, led by freshman Ryan Riddle’s 17th place finish (17:03), while Har-Ber, led by Sugg, finished second with 194 points.
GIRLS CRIMSON
This was one of the closer races of the day, and it needed until near the end to play out. It was Andover’s sophomore Carly Flake who ran away after the 3k mark to win in 15:48. Kapaun Mt. Carmel sophomore Kelsi Andrews held off Hannah Holbert (Blue Valley Northwest) for second place with a time of 15:54.9 to Holbert’s 15:55.3. Wichita Northwest sophomore Gabriela Reyna was the only other runner under 16:00, finishing in 15:58. In the team race, junior Judy Jones led St. James Academy to a 5-6-8 finish, but that could not overcome the tight pack of Rogers (AR). With a spread of only 18 seconds between their 1st and 5th runners, Rogers took the title with 76 points, 16 ahead of St. James Academy’s 92. Valley Center took third with 106 points.
BOYS GOLD
In arguably the most-anticipated race, with the #18- and #20-ranked runners racing, along with defending Kansas 6A Champ Stuart McNutt, it was Colorado’s senior Zachary Alhamra (#20) of Pine Creek who came away with the minor upset. Alhamra pulled away from Blue Springs (MO) senior Stephen Mugeche (#18) shortly before the 4k mark and kicked it in for a 15:20 victory, 7 seconds ahead of Mugeche. McNutt held on for third in 15:43. Lafayette Wildwood from Missouri took the team title with 123 points. Led by the 5-6 finish from juniors Dylan Quisenberry (15:58) and Alec Haines (16:08), Lafayette defeated the runner-up team from Rogers (AR) by 47 points. St. Thomas Aquinas finished as the top Kansas team in 3rd with 210 points.
GIRLS GOLD
Senior Emmie Skopec from Iowa City West pulled away from freshman teammate Bailey Nock to win by 8 seconds in 15:32. Senior Emily Sechrist of Hillsboro, the Kansas 3A State champion last year, was the first Kansas finisher, running a 15:57. Iowa City West put their five scorers in the top 12 to win easily with 22 points. Shawnee Mission West was a distant second with 76 points, led by sophomore Riley Kaiser’s 8th place finish, while Bishop Carroll took third place by virtue of having a better 6th runner than Blue Valley West, as both teams scored 124 points.