2009 4A Cross Country Preview

The 4A Girls division lost hardly anyone to graduation, and 16 of the top 20 from last year are back.   The 2^nd and 3^rd place finishers Breanna Briggs, and Corinna Papps did graduate though, which may give El Dorado’s Molly Milbourn an easy road to winning another state title.

 

5 – Clearwater brings back 6 from their team that placed 6^th last year.   Michelle Babb leads the way for them as the 5th overall returner.   They drop off a lot after her though, and will need to get the rest of the pack to move up to have a chance at a trophy.

4 – Wamego returns a solid 4 from last year’s 3^rd place squad.   They were very deep last year, having the 2^nd best 6^th, and 7^th runners in the field. So don’t count them out on reloading with a top JV runner from last year.

3 – Buhler lost their 2^nd and 6^th runners from last year’s 4^th place team. They had the fastest 7^th runner in the field last year, and look to be positioned well to grab a trophy this year.   They will be dangerous if they can get their 2-5 to all move up just a little.

2 – Desoto has an excellent shot to win 4A this year as they bring back 6 (with only 1 senior in the group) from last year’s runner-up team. Their top 3 are very good and could all place in the top 20. Lacey Erickson leads them as the 4^th overall returner.

1 – Baldwin dominated 4A last year, and has won 5 out of the last 7 State championships. They were 2^nd the other two times.   You would have to go all the way back to 1999 to find the last time they didn’t finish in the top 3.   They are led by Connor Twombly who is the 2^nd fastest returner & have 3 more girls among the top 25 returners. I think the only way they lose it this year is if someone is deeper than them at 4-5 on Oct 31^st.

 

 

15 of the top 34 runners from last year graduated, including former champions David Roberts (2007) and Tom O’Connell (2008). Expect to see the medal stand dominated by runners from the top 3 teams.   Tony Weiss of Baldwin is the top returner, but he has several guys on his heels. His teammate Brian Wright ran one of the fastest 1600’s ever (if not the fastest) for a Kansas freshman (4:25), and should be up there in the mix. Other contenders are Riley Woodward & Philip Hudson of Wamego, Nikki Trooien-Smith of Mulvane, and James Wilson of Abilene.

Top 5 returning teams

5 – Iola brings back a team of 4 seniors and a very talented sophomore (Roman Yocham who was 20^th last year). They are very competitive at 1-3, but drop off at 4-5.

4 – Desoto also brings back 4 seniors and a freshman. They aren’t as strong up front as Iola, but make up the difference with their depth.

3 – Baldwin – Question…. Have the Baldwin brothers ever been to Baldwin? Please post a comment on here if you know the answer.   Baldwin has a young, talented team of juniors and sophomores. They have the top individual returner in Tony Weiss, and the very talented up and comer Brian Wright.

2 – Wamego has the best returning 1-3 in 4A (Riley Woodward, Philip Hudson, Kevin White). They will need to somehow find a 4-5 that can get in the top 20 (maybe 15) though in order to take down Mulvane.

1 – Mulvane was arguably the best boys team in Kansas last year. They were the top KS team at Rim Rock in 2008 (with their first appearance on the course), and didn’t even have their 3^rd or 4^th in Evan Landes.   Then they went on to just absolutely dominate at state, putting 6 in the top 17. Their returning top 5 are all among the top 10 4A returners and should be one intimidating pack.  If they’re firing on all cylinders on race day they could score under 40 points.