Last-Chance Battles, City Bragging Rights Highlight Week 6

Two athletes fight to reach the line first at the Independence Invitational
(Photo by Brandon Ngo)

Week six is a unique stretch of the season. What it means is vastly different depending on where your school allegiance lies. For most larger schools, this week is more of a varsity 'bye' week. For most small schools, it's the last chance to see your competition before championship meets begin. Lastly, for the Topeka and Northwest Kansas schools, championship season has already begun.

The Topeka City Championship meet may seem strange to some, since it is the only true City championship meet in Kansas. Despite being splintered among three leagues, the 8 schools come together prior to their respective league championships for good, old fashioned, cross-town bragging rights. For the girls, it was Washburn Rural sophomore Payton Fink who took home the gold, defeating Seaman freshman Ryin Miller by 30 seconds. Fink's 18:10 was a 19-second PR and good for her first victory in cross country. Her teammates Rylee Ismert and Madeline Carter (last year's champ) took 3rd and 4th to seal a dominant team victory for the Jr Blues.

On the boys side, this was a headline battle between West's Lenny Njoroge and Shawnee Heights' Kory Sutton and Jackson Esquibel. The Heights duo was 2nd and 3rd last year, while Njoroge was out with injury. The senior Charger has had a dream of a season this year, though, and continued that with an individual title. Lenny's time of 15:30 was an 18-second victory over Esquibel. The latter was one of just two juniors in the top twelve spots, so his time for dominance may come soon enough. On the team side, Washburn Rural's depth proved to be key, as they posted a 15-point win over Shawnee Heights. The Thunderbirds could hang through three runners, but 4-7 just couldn't compete with the Jr Blues.

Across the state in Sharon Springs, the first of the state's league championships was held. Quinter is a 1A power this year, and they claimed both the girls and boys crowns in the Northwest Kansas League with ease. Emma Weiner, defending 1A champ, claimed her third league title and extended her winning streak. Wallace County's Evan Pearce claimed his first XC victory on his home course, winning the boys race by 52 seconds.

Elsewhere around the state, Brady Stegman and Wamego's boys took care of business at El Dorado. Freshman sensation Brett Jacobson of Circle won the girls race in 19:26.

Lakin sophomore Austin Ritsema won his home invite with a 16:22. After an under-the-radar start to the season, he's tossed his name into a stiff 3A field. Additionally, we got the first results of the year from Deerfield 8th-grader Cristian Botello, who clocked an 11:34 to defeat a massive Western-Kansas field of runners. Look for Botello to be a factor in 1A competition next year. On the girls side, Chesney Peterson continued her dominance with a 17:45 to win her race and lead her team to victory as well. Meade's Madison Sutterfield was second in a respectable 19:22.

At Cheney State Park, the home team Cardinals took home the girls title, while the Campus Colts emerged victorious on the boys side. At Bethel College in a meet hosted by Goessel, Addison Wills of Halstead won a freshman-dominated girls race in 19:10. Gavin Wasmuth and the Marion boys continued to look strong as well.

In Sabetha, we saw a long-awaited matchup between Marysville's Silas Miller and Nemaha Central's John Langill. Miller has been the dominant force in northern Kansas for a while now, but Langill's performances this year have challenged that. Miller kept the hammer down and claimed victory, though, coming through in 16:40, and leading his Bulldogs to a team victory over Nemaha as well. Baldwin freshman Irelyn Kennedy won a relatively competitive girls race in 21:31.

Speaking of competitive girls races, Osage City hosted a fun one. Emory Speece was able to sneak away from the field, and Emma Bailey returned to form in 2nd. Behind them, however, was a 7-way battle for third that lasted a full 5000 meters. Team points were critical among the pack, where just 9 seconds separated third and ninth. Amelia Foster, a senior from Rossville, found her stride at the right time to take third. West Franklin would claim the girls team title, and about 30 minutes later they grabbed the boys trophy as well.

Looking ahead, championship season is all that's left. One league has crowned their champions, but 38 more remain. The next chapter in record books across the state is about to be written.