Regionals weekend is upon us! Athletes across Kansas will be vying for a shot at the State meet in their respective classes with only a select few making it to the exclusive meet held either in Wamego or Lawrence.
Athletes will have to finish in the top 15 individually or be a part of a team which finishes in the top 3 overall, except for in 1A. In 1A, the top 4 teams from each regional qualify as well as the top 15 individuals. The 1A races will also be scored with the top 4 athletes on each team instead of 5.
We have several incredible races on tap in what is sure to be the second most exciting weekend of the season. So buckle in and get ready for an amazing day of individual and team performances on Saturday. And don't miss out on all the Virtual Meets for each Regional - they can be found on Page 2.
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Photo Credit: Maxx Bradley
1. How Low Can Washburn Rural, Shawnee Mission East Go in Their Regionals?
The Washburn Rural girls are heading into a tight matchup with Shawnee Mission East in two weeks, but on Saturday, they will have an opportunity to make a major statement at the 6A Regional 4 Meet in Topeka West.
Led now by Rylee Ismert, though it had been Payton Fink until a major breakthrough race from Ismert at the Centennial League meet, Washburn Rural has a chance to put their top 5 girls in the top 10 on Saturday and send a message to the Lancers. Ismert and Fink are not only the top 2 ranked girls in their Regional meet, but also the entirety of 6A.
Washburn has three girls sub-19:00 with Emily Graf at 18:52.60 and two more under 19:45. Where they will stumble is if any of those top five experience a hiccup. At the 6A State meet, they will need all five hands on deck, but this weekend, they should sail through their Regional meet and into their matchup with SME.
Speaking of Shawnee Mission East, they look poised to score low in Regional 3 at Olathe North. With six girls under 19:45, their depth is the strongest in 6A by far and their pack is tight. Charlotte Hardy and Ella Ash lead the way with their sub-19:00 season best marks with their next three within 10 seconds of each other from 19:15-19:25. Blue Valley West is their nearest challenger and should be a dark-horse top 4 contender at 6A State.
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Photo Credit: Maxx Bradley
2. Mill Valley, Olathe West Duke it Out in Regional 2, Garden City Looks to Sail Through Regional 1
Much like the afore-mentioned teams in the 6A girls race, the Garden City and Mill Valley boys are on a crash course to a hotly-contested race at the 6A State Championships. Currently, the virtual team scores feature has them separated by one solitary point, with Garden City getting the slight advantage.
There is very little to separate the two teams, but they do have their specific strengths. Mill Valley has top overall Kansan Carter Cline carrying the torch with his 14:55.80 personal best and undefeated record against Kansans this season. Number two man Dalamar Read also sits ahead of Garden City's top man Hayden Nemechek, but only by four seconds. Garden City puts their tight-knit top three ahead of Mill Valley's three, with each other's fourth men within a second of each other, and the biggest difference lying in their fifth men. Luckily for Garden City, at least at the moment, the difference between each other's third men seems to make up for the gap between their fifth men, which is in Mill Valley's advantage.
Either way, both teams appear poised to secure the victory in their respective regional meets, though Mill Valley's path to glory in Regional 2 will be much more difficult than Garden City's in Regional 1. Olathe West is not too far back led by Braxton Theel and Gunnar Hornung. Both are battle tested and looking to pull off a major upset against Mill Valley on Saturday. One other major storyline in Regional 2 will be: Will it take a sub-16:00 to qualify individually?
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Photo Credit: Maxx Bradley
3. Can Ryin Miller, Seaman Upset St. James in 5A Regional 4? Mt. Carmel, Bishop Carroll Square Off in Regional 1
Ryin Miller has set the Sunflower State ablaze this fall, running a state record 16:32.62 in September and continuing to march through every meet this season, averaging 17:10 in her 7-race undefeated season. On Saturday, she is seeded over two minutes ahead of St. James Academy's Quinn Hays and looking to lead her team to a major upset again one of the top 5A squads.
On paper, Seaman's 4:47 1-5 split appears too large to be competitive, but Miller's 16:32 drags it down quite a bit. They tend to run in small packs, with Stella Appelhanz and Brynn Spencer coming in at 19:26 and 19:32 and their next two scorers at 21:18 and 21:20. With big days from those fourth and fifth ladies, Seaman could make a huge leap in the 5A rankings.
Hays leads the way for her Thunder squad with her 18:39.50 personal best. Katelyn Menghini and Abby Loos sit in the low 19s with their next two teammates in the low 20s, giving them a major edge against a team whose fourth and fifth girls are in the mid 21s. St. James should be able to hold off the Vikings as long as they run the race they have run all season, but Seaman is lurking.
Overall, 5A is dominated by Kapaun Mt. Carmel, who will have to do battle with second-ranked Bishop Carroll. The race at Regional 1 should be fun to watch and should be a 5A State preview. Andover's Madelyn Wallace is the top-ranked individual with her impressive 17:54.71 best, but Mt. Carmel's Amelia Hermann and Bishop Carroll's Gwen Sattler are both not far behind with personal bests under 18:25. Whomever comes out on top in this one should be situated well to win it all in two weeks.
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Photo Credit: Maxx Bradley
4. Can Anyone Close the Gap on Madison Howland in 2A?
Smith Center's Madison Howland is rolling once again in 2024, distancing herself from the rest of the 2A field as she seeks out another State title this November. After winning the 2A Cross Country title in her freshman year, she went on to finish 2nd, 1st, and 1st in the 800, 1600, and 3200 this past spring.
Howland ran 18:00.50 at the Beloit Invitational earlier this month, a 2A No. 1 by 55 seconds. This weekend, she will be running in the Regional 3 meet and is seeded a whopping 2:35 ahead of her next closest competitor. She should keep her 10-race winning streak alive and head into the State meet as the heavy favorite.
Wabaunsee's Payton Wurtz has an opportunity to close the 55-second gap some this weekend in Regional 1, but she won't have much competition in her race, either, as she sits 1:13 ahead of her next closest competitor. With only three more girls in 2A under 20:00 and none of them under 19:30, Wurtz may be the only one who could keep Howland off the top of the podium, but she will need to close that gap this weekend.
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Photo Credit: J Hobson
5. Clarity Needed in Boys 1A
In looking at the Boys 1A rankings, the only thing we know for certain is that nothing is for certain. Heading into Regionals weekend, the top five boys are within 13 seconds of each other. When the dust settles on Saturday, we may see someone emerge as a front-runner for the 1A individual title, but at this moment, more clarity is needed.
Starting with 2023 all-stater from Meade, Ryker Vieux, and 1A defending champion Caleb Durst (Lebo), these are the only two guys sitting at 16:30 or better heading into this eventful weekend. Durst is still looking to get back down to his 16:14 personal best from the 2023 season, but may only need to run his 16:30 season's best to win the state title again, like he did when he ran 16:29 in 2023. Vieux is running well and boasts a 16:28.50 season/personal best so far. With both boys in their own respective Regionals on Saturday, we will have to wait until November to see them truly duke it out for the individual title, but they surely will not be alone.
Ethan Robinson (Pratt-Skyline) and Broxton Gall (Ness City) both head into this weekend at 16:37 and 16:38, respectively, and are not too far off the individual state title themselves. Robinson's 16:37 personal best is a bit of an outlier compared to the rest of his 2024 stats, but shows that he has the capacity to get to where he needs to be. Gall, on the other hand, has been the most consistent of the crew with seven marks between 16:43-17:18 and a personal best at 16:38.11. Joshua MacKinney (South Barber) is at 16:41.40 and posted a 16:48 in his latest race. These five will be on the radar as we look for someone to create separation on Saturday.