Week 5 of the XC season typically coincides with the first weekend of fall-feeling weather. In 2023? Not so much. Summer weather chugs along with relatively hot & humid conditions in Kansas and beyond. Regardless of the temperatures, though, runners are ready to race. With several meets submitting results from Thursday afternoon and another bunch rolling in Saturday morning, this was a busy week for XC!
Leading things off was a major 1A tilt at Ness City. With Quinter & Kiowa County coming to town, we got a little more clarity in the state's smallest class. In short, Quinter is better. Scott City edged the Bulldog girls by 1 point, but Quinter sill hammered Ness City, averaging over 90 seconds faster. In the boys race, Quinter stomped everyone, including 4A contender Scott City. Ness City, undermanned without their top runner, finished 7th, behind another 1A school in Kiowa County. Individually, Samuel Martinez (Kiowa County) showed that Evan Pearce (Wallace County) isn't alone atop 1A. Pearce still won the race, but the 2-second margin of victory is much different than we've seen so far against 1A competition.
1A Team Rankings | 1A Individual Rankings
The nail-biter of the week came out in Pratt, though, where Natanael Chavez won it for the Greenbacks by just 0.3 seconds over Davis Miltner of Medicine Lodge.
At Central Heights, the home-team boys looked good, taking 3 of the top-4 spots. Colony-Crest impressed with their girls, but with only 4 runners, they'll have to wait until 1A regionals to score. Instead West Franklin took the team title. Individually, Bree Allen looked strong, brushing off a challenge from Eureka's Rose Buck.
Southeast of Saline crushed the 16-team field at Halstead, scoring just 25 points on a 1-2-3-5 finish. Hutchinson-Trinity looked good, too, but stood no chance against the juggernaut. The Trojan girls also put 5 in the top-10 to win, but Circle's Brett Jacobson took the individual victory by a minute.
At the Council Grove Invitational, Ellei McCrory (Northern Heights) continued her winning streak with a 99-second victory over Emory Speece (Osage City). Hanna Keltner finished third to lead Eudora to the team title. The boys race had a big lead pack deep into the race before Eudora's Zachary Arnold pulled away to win by 11 seconds over Lakoddah Downes and Drew Elliott. Elliott's Chapman team brought home the winning trophy.
Council Grove Invitational Results | Maple Leaf Classic Results
On Saturday, a handful of high-caliber meets went down. The KC XC Classic will get its own recap article soon, but that wasn't the only meet in the Kansas City area. Baldwin hosted the Maple Leaf Classic, where Brock Olsen (Blue Valley West) beat out Lucas Holdren (Manhattan) for the gold medal. Manhattan managed a 6-point win over BV Northwest, though. The girls' race saw Irelyn Kennedy take down the whole field and lead her Baldwin team to a 19-point win over Haley Henningson & Manhattan.
In Centralia, Payton Wurtz (Wabaunsee) showed that she's ready to roll again with a victory of over a minute and a half. Her Chargers won the girls team title. For the boys, Nemaha Central continues to make some noise. John Langill won individually and the Thunder beat out Axtell for the team trophy.
The Newton Invitational had some fireworks down the homestretch of the boys race, with Liberal's Cesar Pavia outkicking a trio of runners from McPherson, Wamego, & Campus. Madelyn Wallace of Andover had a dominating 72-second victory in the girls race.
Week 4 Coaches Poll | 5A Girls Individual Rankings
Bishop Carroll's boys defended their home turf, beating cross-town rival Kapaun Mt. Carmel 37-45. Maize senior Kaleb Glazier was the individual winner. The Great Bend girls had another solid outing, winning handily over the home team.
Topeka Seaman hosted their annual meet, with their girls dominating the race behind Ryin Miller. The Viking boys put two in the top five, but Washburn Rural put all 7 between Seaman's #2 and #3 runners to win. Jackson Esquibel added another gold medal to his collection in the individual scene.
Lastly, Junction City hosted their annual Bob Schmoekel Invitational, where the girls' race looked a lot like Rim Rock up front. Katelyn Rupe & Kaylie Shultz went 1-2 for Salina Central, and Lorna Rae Pierce brought home 3rd. BlueJay freshman Anna Fontaine looked strong, just 7 seconds behind Pierce. Despite having two in the top five, Junction City fell to Clay Center by just 1 point in a very tight team race. The boys would avenge that loss, putting together a 33-second pack time and taking half of the top-10 spots in a thorough dismantling of the 8-team field.