The postseason begins in just a matter of hours for Kansas
cross country teams and some would say this is about as important a week as it gets.
This is "bragging rights" week, an avalanche of league
championships. There are 39 leagues in the state of Kansas, which means that 78
individual and team champions will be crowned by week's end.
In many cases, league titles rank pretty darn close to a
state title. Winning regionals...nah, not a big deal, just survive and advance.
But a league title is a win against your biggest rivals, against the kids in
the next town or county - and sometimes the same town - and maybe against the
kids that you'll see next summer at the pool or the mall.
Schools hang banners for league championships. Some leagues
build points from each teams' finishes at league events and crown an
all-sports champion at the end of the school year.
Only about 12 percent of schools with cross ...