2009 3A Cross Country Preview

The 3A Boys field lost more to graduation than any other class (boys or girls), 41 runners, including 12 state medalists.  It should be a really great opportunity for some new blood to make it to state, medal, or grab a team trophy. Enrique Sanchez of Southwestern Heights is the clear favorite heading into the season.  There are a few guys that could challenge him, but I’m going to pull out a dark horse pick that I think could be up there in the mix. Adam Larson of Riley County who was 40^th last year, improved a ton from XC to track. Considering the program he runs for I would be surprised if his track success doesn’t translate over to the XC course.

 

5 – Kansas City Christian – They return a very tight pack of 5 (18 second spread at State) and benefit a lot from the huge number of guys that graduated. They’ll have to develop some front runners or get that pack to all move up in order to have any chance at the top 3.

4 – Southeast of Saline only returns 3, but they are a very solid 3. Their 4^th and 5^th could finish dead last at state and they would still be a virtual lock for top 5. So if they can find a decent 4^th and 5^th they’ll be in pretty good shape.

3 – Riley County brings back 6, including a very good 1-2 (Grady Goff & Adam Larson). With Larson’s apparent drastic improvement, they should at least be a lock for top 3. They will have to get their 4^th and 5^th to move up if they want any drastic improvement in points though.

2 – Ellsworth returns a solid 5 from their team that placed 4^th last year.   Talon Rice, Carver Moon, and Josh Rankin could all place in the top 20 this year, and should give them an excellent shot at a trophy.

1 – Holcomb – The defending champs bring back 6 and it would take a huge upset to beat them this year. Their top 4 are all among the top 15 returners, and their 5^th is the 31^st returner.   Mike Wolf ran great in track and could be a threat for the individual title as well.

 

 

Remember this number: 53.8. I’ll explain why later. Much like the boys there should be a great chance for new stars to emerge in 3A this year as the top 3 finishers, and 13 of the top 30 from last year graduated. Northern Heights continues their great 3A historical prominence with Kimberly Smith as yet another threat for the individual title.  Rebecca Strecker of Ellinwood was 2^nd to Amanda Callaway in the 3200 at State though, and I think she would have to be the favorite if she runs XC.

 

5 – Kansas City Christian – I think it’s really close between them and Medicine Lodge who returns all 7. But KC Christian has a solid 4 returning and should be able to find a 5^th.   They will have their work cut out for them in order to place any higher though.

4 – Belle Plaine – The defending champ’s lost individual champ Amanda Callaway and 9^th placer Shelbi Smithhisler, but still return 3 very solid runners. That returning core is good enough that they could still snag a trophy even if their 4-5 score about 100 points total.

3 – Remington is led by the 2^nd fastest returner in Morgan Tribe.  They return a solid group of 5 from their team that placed 4^th last year.  They’ll have to improve their depth in order to have a shot at a higher finish.

2 – Southeast of Saline is bringing back a deep squad of sophomores and juniors.   Their top 5 is very good, but they will have to bring the heat in order to beat the girls in blue.

1 – Riley County is a perennial 3A power when it comes to girls XC and distance. Since they joined 3A back in 1992 they’ve averaged just 100 points at state, and won 6 state titles.  They’ve been on a roll over the past 5 years, winning 3 titles and placing 2^nd twice.   Over those 5 years the average winning score was 53.8. So just based off that, I’d say if you want to beat them you will probably need to score around 50 points (Belle Plaine beat them 50-52 last year). Want further proof? If you score just the returners, Riley scores 53.  They are led by the talented sophomore trio of Karly Ruggle, Emily Collins, and Kelly Thomson.