Nearly half
of the class 2A girls state cross country championships since 2007 have been
won by Bennington, including the past two. Bennington has had three individual
state champions during that time, as well.
Suffice it
to say that Bennington has built some equity in Wamego over the past dozen
years.
Bad puns
aside, the Bulldogs have a good shot to make it three in a row when the state
championships take place Saturday at the famed Wamego course. Bennington touts
a familiar formula as it tries to retain the state title: strong front runners
and state-meet experience.
But they'll
face an Ellinwood team that is nearly a mirror-image. Ellinwood sophomore Erin Hammeke has the No. 2 time in class 2A this season, heading a squad that could
have three girls in the top 10 at state, including sophomore Ashtin Klepper and
senior Sarah Hammeke.
Bennington
sophomore Peyton Piepho (fourth at state last year) and freshman Ashlyn Harbaugh (season PR of 20:00) lead the way for the defending champs. The duo posted a 1-2 finish at regionals this past weekend. The
Bulldogs also have 2015 state champion Kya Johnson, now a senior who has run
20:27 this year and was fourth at regionals.
Interestingly,
the fourth and fifth runners from Bennington have season PR's that are within
seconds of the fourth and fifth runners from Ellinwood. The girls' title, then,
likely comes down to which team can get its fourth and fifth runners to the
finish line first.
Not many folks
doubt which boy will get to the finish line first in class 2A, however. That
would be Yates Center superstar Hadley Splechter, who has dominated distance
running in the division to the tune of six state titles since the 2017 track
and field season.
Splechter
also has the state's fastest time this cross country season, clocking 15:18.7
to finish third at the Rim Rock Classic in September. He is widely considered
the best runner in Kansas right now, regardless of classification.
But you
can't tell that to Ethan Thompson of Meade, who has been a worthy competitor
for Splechter the past two seasons. Thompson has been the runner-up to
Splechter the last three times they have matched up at a state meet, including
last year's 2A cross country championships in Wamego. Thompson also has a
season- and career-best time of 15:40, so he's certainly capable of winning
this meet.
The two are
expected to make quick work of the rest of the field on Saturday, then fight it
out for class 2A supremacy. Henry Nelson of Bishop-Seabury - fourth at state
last year - is probably the best of the rest, though he could also make things
interesting with Splechter and Thompson.
Splechter
led Yates Center to its first-ever state championship in cross country last
year, but the Wildcats didn't even get a full team to state this year. Central
Heights seems to have the inside track to the boys' team title. The squad has
posted a pack time around 1:00 for most of the season, nearly 30 seconds better
than any other team has managed this year. They also won their regional meet last weekend by a whopping 77 points, placing three runners in the top five (Alex Cannady, Tyler Stevenson, and Caleb Meyer).
Stanton
County and Lakin are the other top contenders in the boys' division. Central
Heights' girls may also find the podium and on a good day could make Bennington
and Ellinwood nervous. Helen Giefer of Trego Community, the class 2A two-mile
champion last spring, has run nearly a minute faster than any other class 2A
girl and is a strong favorite to win her first state cross country title.
Class 2A Snapshot
Saturday, October 27 at the
Wamego Country Club
Boys Start: 10 a.m.
Girls Start: 11:45 a.m.
Defending team champions:
Yates Center (boys); Bennington (girls)
2018 Kansas MileSplit Predictions:
Boys individual champion:
Hadley Splechter, Yates Center
Girls individual champion:
Helen Giefer, Trego Community
Boys team champion: Central
Heights
Girls team champion: Bennington