Who doesn't like bragging rights?🏆
after last weekend, we've already shifted into the postseason
Topeka City Championships🧹🧹
If you aren’t from Topeka, there’s a decent chance you may have not known that this meet was even a thing, and that’s what I’m here for. I don’t know when it first started, but for a while, all of the high schools in Topeka have used the week before league to jockey for the title of “top dog” in the capital. This year was no different, as bragging rights were up for grabs again, and there were plenty who were in it to do the taking.
Call me a proud alumni, but the city championship on Saturday saw quite a bit of black and blue. You could argue that’s because Washburn Rural was the host, or you could credit the nine Jr. Blue medalists in the girls’ race. Led by sophomore Payton Fink and a huge PR (18:29→18:10), Matt Swedlund’s crew extended their city streak to four in a row, as they defeated Seaman 21-35. Half of a minute back of Fink was standout Viking freshman, Ryin Miller, who also helped herself to a new PR of 18:40. Rounding out the top five finishers were Rural’s two and three, as Rylee Ismert and Maddie Carter (two-time defending champ) were the last two under nineteen, crossing the line in 18:54 and 18:55. Seaman senior Bethany Druse took 5th, as she is coming into form heading into the postseason. The rest of the medalists were made up of six more Jr. Blues and six more Vikings, along with one from Hayden, Shawnee Heights, and Topeka West. This is the last time during the Kansas season that a lot of these teams will face one another, as the eight high schools will go their separate ways to four different league championships.
After having to sit out last season due to an injury sustained in club soccer, Topeka West senior Lenny Njoroge left no doubt that he was the”King of Topeka.” For the fifth time this season, Njoroge was the first person across the line, winning his second city title, with his other coming in the 3200m on the track in the spring. With his second fastest time of the year, his 15:30 was enough to distance himself from runner-up Jackson Esquibel (15:48) of Shawnee Heights. Giving the Thunderbirds a 2-3 finish was fellow senior Kory Sutton in 15:54. Taking 4th, 5th, and 6th was the Jr. Blue trio of Davin Johnson (16:01), Easton Dial (16:30), and Grayson Fink (16:36). In addition to their front three, Rural put five more in the top twenty. Shawnee Heights had four medalists, while Seaman and Hayden had three apiece, with Topeka West and Topeka High having one.
The last time that the boys of Washburn Rural were not city champs, the first iPhone had yet to be released, and the song at the top of the charts was SexyBack by Justin Timberlake. Since 2007, the Jr. Blues have won sixteen straight city titles, and have done so under two different coaches, and a whole lot of athletes. Keep in mind, I graduated from Washburn Rural, so I’m relatively proud to say that I was a part of the streak in ‘15, ‘16, and ‘17. I should have been a part of it in ‘14, but I was a fool and didn’t run cross country my freshman year. Their wins bring a lot of pride in the program and have held a lot of importance to runners in the program.
In my extremely “unbiased” opinion, the photo above may picture the greatest Jr. Blue team ever assembled. Fans of the sport will argue that the state championship team just two years later was better, but I’ll leave that up for debate.
Like I mentioned, the boys went into the meet as fifteen-time defending team champions, and they added another tally to their total. They edged out Shawnee Heights, who made it very interesting with their upperclassmen duo up front. In the end, the hosts defended their turf, winning 38-53, as Seaman took 3rd with 75 points. The Topeka schools will reconvene again on the track in May, where it’ll be a little more than just distance running.
Saint Mary x Firestarter🔥
The Spires of Saint Mary came out swinging at the Firestarter Classic in Iola over the weekend. Starting with the women, who had eight runners under twenty ~and four under nineteen, with their top two both under eighteen. Led by sophomore Riley Hiebert (17:47), the #3 team in the country swept the top seven spots, earning a perfect score as they beat Dodge City CC and Neosho County CC, 15-50-84. The women rode their momentum to their second straight win, after taking down a competitive field in the 6k at the Gans Creek Classic the previous weekend. Here’s what their top seven looked like on Saturday.
Riley Hiebert (17:47)
Alyssa Armendariz (17:59)
Reagan Hiebert (18:24)
Maddy Walter-Sherretts (18:47)
Kate Madsen (19:00)
Mallory Gallet (19:03)
Yesenia Flores (19:24)
The men did something very similar, and that was putting the nation on notice of both their depth and their ability to pack run at the highest level. As they went 1-2-3-4-6-7, and then 9-18. Led by senior Brendan Erwin and junior Brig Merritt, who ran 24:46 and 24:52, the Spires put a pair under 25:00, four more under 25:30, six more under 26:00 and another four under 26:25.👀 The men are currently sitting at the #6 spot in the nation, and personally I ~think that they didn’t get enough respect for their showing in Iola. Here’s how the men looked through their top sixteen.
Brendan Erwin (24:46)
Brig Merritt (24:52)
Luis Perez (25:02)
Liam Neidig (25:04)
Elvis Rojas-King (25:10)
Ryan Heline (25:17)
Kaden Cooley (25:32)
Dylan Stoltzfus (25:32)
Tommy Baker (25:35)
Dawson Adams (25:43)
Austin O’Dwyer (25:48)
Michael Howell (25:58)
Chris Metz (26:10)
Dominick Beine (26:16)
Michael Gallegos (26:17)
Brayden Myers (26:22)
Their pack time from their 1-5 is just twenty-four seconds, and their 1-7 split is only forty-six seconds. All I’m trying to say is, if you are for some reason not paying any attention to the Alstin Benton’s team, then you need to change that up.
Sterling, KS: Home of PR’s⏱
I’ve got a friend from Sterling, and from everything he’s told me, there is very little elevation in the area, meaning it’s the perfect setting for a flat and fast cross country course.
It seems that running on your home course may play as an advantage every once a while, and that was no different for Sterling freshman Julia Kilgore, who won the Sterling Invitational with a new PR of 20:17. It was her first win of her young career, and has yet to finish outside of the top three finishers so far this season. Thirty seconds back was another freshman, but this time a Hillsboro Trojan. Quinlyn Funk followed suit, also running a PR last weekend, as she broke the twenty-one minute barrier for the first time in her career. Filling out the top five finishers in the field were Buhler’s Lindsay Warner (20:55), Lyons’ Yamyle Ramirez (21:04), and Pratt’s Kamryn Deucy (21:06). In the team race, it was 4A Buhler, taking down Hillsboro and Sterling comfortably, 40-82-93.
Similar to the girls, the boys’ race was full of fast times and PR’s! The fastest time of the day though belonged to Berean Academy senior Andrew Harder, setting a thirty-two second PR, lowering his down to 16:08 in the win. The next two finishers were Buhler’s junior duo of Kaden Lohrentz and Layne Whisler, running 16:11 and 16:24, bumping them both up into the top five fastest times in 4A. Harder’s teammate Zach Briscoe took 4th, also notching a new PR of 16:29. Rounding out the top five was Pratt’s Nathan Chavez, crossing the line as the clock hit 16:47. Winning the team title was 4A contender Buhler, over 2A competitors Berean Academy and Trinity Catholic. The final score was 33-46-73.
Wild Wind XC Festival💨
Just as Njoroge did in Topeka, Trotter accomplished the same feat in Wichita, winning her fifth race of the season and, again, in dominant fashion. Trotter finished sixty-three seconds ahead of the runner-up, as her 18:53 was quite enough to distance herself from the field. Behind her was Trinity Academy freshman Brecken Howell, who sneaked in under twenty in 19:56. This was Howell’s third time breaking twenty and also her third time finishing in the top five. Bishop Carrol’s Brooke Martin claimed the third place spot, finishing in 20:03. Hannah Grover and Ashtyn Koeppen of Valley Center and Eisenhower finished 4th and 5th, running 20:19 and 20:37 respectively. Martin’s 3rd place finish helped lead Bishop Carroll to a team victory over Arkansas City and Eisenhower, as they edged out the competition 61-67-79.
Another week of competition and another week that the boys of Trinity Academy continue to bring their top five closer together, while keeping their top three all under sixteen. For the first time this year, Trinity junior Clay Shively picked up the win, doing so by running the second fastest time of his career as well. Shively clocked a 15:31, which was a course record, and helped set the pace for his Knight teammates. Sam Ferguson and Jacob Hobson made it a 1-2-3 finish for Trinity, as they both also broke sixteen, running 15:42 and 15:48. Gabe Onelio of Arkansas City broke up what would have been a 1-4 Trinity sweep, taking 4th in 16:07. The 5th place finisher made it four Knights in the top five, as Wes Ferguson had a big day, lowering his PR to 16:18, which was a seventeen second improvement. The team scores ended with Trinity Academy winning gold at their home meet, and Arkansas City and Bishop Carroll taking 2nd and 3rd respectively. Trinity Academy nearly had a perfect score, totaling just 18 points, along with a 15:59 average and a sixty-five second pack time. The Bulldogs and Golden Eagles scored 68 and 117 on the day as well.
Riley County Invitational
One of the bigger meets of the less busy weekend brought in twenty-three different high schools from different parts of the state to convene at the Leonardville Golf Course, the venue for the Riley County Invitational. Another week for Wabaunsee’s Payton Wurtz meant another W in the win column, as she picked up her sixth victory of her sophomore season. Wurtz had a relatively comfortable gap between her and everybody else. Wurtz ran 19:51, which was her second fastest time this season (until yesterday), and her fifth time under twenty. Leading the chase pack was Clay Center’s Lauren Smith, followed by the Southeast of Saline trio of Abby Commerford, Breckyn Alderson, and Ashley Prochazka. Smith ran 20:08, which was a lifetime PR, while the three Trojans ran 20:15, 20:59 and 21:07. Southeast of Saline ran away with the team title, knocking out Clay Center by a margin of twenty points, 44-64. Sacred Heart took 3rd with 83 points.
On the boys’ side, Southeast of Saline went 1-2-3-4 for the third week in a row, and put their top four in the top ten for the sixth time this season. Led by Levi Allen in 16:36, Damion Jackson, Brayden Walker, and Cayden Walker ran 16:47, 16:49, and 16:55, helping the Trojans average just over 17:00 for their top five. Taking 5th was Grant Smith of Clay Center, who made it a great day for the Smith family, as both he and his sister walked away with a medal. He ran 17:01, which made last week his second second consecutive week running that time. The team race was all Southeast of Saline, as they scored 20 points, enough for an eighty-four point margin over Beloit-St. John and Clay Center, as the final score was 20-104-105.
The Winner Board🥇
Northwest Kansas League
Evan Pearce — Wallace County
Emma Weiner — Golden Plains
Eureka Invitational
Kaleb Arnold — Olpe
Britta Mongeau — Eureka
Ellsworth Invitational
Drew Elliott — Chapman
Eden Bathurst — Abilene
Bird-Dog Invite
Brenden Ellis — Ingalls
Janae Fugitt — Cimarron
Mark Chipman Cat Classic
AJ Vega — Mill Valley
Charlotte Caldwell — Mill Valley
Sabetha Invitational
Silas Miller — School
Irelyn Kennedy — Baldwin
Pleasanton Invitational
Tanner Ulbrich — Girard
Josie Walter — Colony Crest
Osage City Invitational
Kodi Downes — Council Grove
Emory Speece — Osage City
Louisburg Invitational
Logan Beckman — Spring Hill
Grace Hanson — Kansas City-Piper
Goessel XC Invitational
Gavin Wasmuth — Marion
Addisen Wills — Halstead
Cheney Invitational
Brody Bloom — Campus
Abbye Hudson — Cheney
Wild Wind XC Festival
Clay Shively — Wichita-Trinity Academy
Hayley Trotter — Clearwater
Topeka City Championships
Lenny Njoroge — Topeka West
Payton Fink — Washburn Rural
Carl Owczarzak Classic
Shawn Sullivan — Leavenworth
Hannah Thong — Olathe-Heritage Christian
Salina Invitational
David Ultreras — Dodge City
Lorna Rae Pierce — Junction City
Riley County Invitational
Levi Allen — Southeast of Saline
Payton Wurtz — Wabaunsee
Pleasant Ridge Invitational
Eli Gilmore — Tonganoxie
Hanna Keltner — Eudora
Lakin Invitational
Austin Ritsema — Lakin
Chesney Peterson — Stanton County
El Dorado Invitational
Brady Stegman — Wamego
Brett Jacobson — Towanda-Circle
Sterling Invitational
Andrew Harder — Berean Academy
Julia Kilgore — Sterling
Haskell Invite
Jake Loos — Lawrence Free State
Brylee Burns (2) — Lawrence Free State
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