XC recap: KC teams compete all around Midwest
By Jimmy Gillispie
It was a busy weekend of cross country meets all around the region as runners enjoyed true fall temperatures for the first time this year.
Teams from the Kansas City area competed in various meets, including the Kansas City XC Classic, Maple Leaf XC Classic, Chili Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and even the Nike XC Town Twilight Invitational in Terre Haute, Indiana.
KC XC Classic
The Mill Valley girls won the KC XC Classic by a narrow margin Saturday morning in Peculiar, MO. The Jaguars scored 67 points, beating St. James Academy by just two points in the 16-team race.
Leading the way for Mill Valley was senior Audrey Howard. She finished runner-up, finishing the 5K course in a time of 18:22.7. Freshman Hailey Hanna also finished fifth in the race to help the Jaguars win the team title. The other scoring runners from Mill Valley were senior Kate Culbertson (12), junior Lexi Lamberson (25) and freshman Addi Fulps (27).
St. James’ top five runners all finished in the top 21, and they had a 1-5 split of just 29 seconds. Freshman Savy Moos and junior Greta Gund led the way, placing ninth and 10th, respectively. Rounding out the top five was senior Allison Meyer (13), junior Lexie Quinn (20) and junior Keira Riordan (21).
Liberty North junior Lucy Wright was the individual champion of the KC XC Classic. Her winning time was 18:15.6 – seven seconds ahead of Howard. She helped her team to a fourth-place finish.
St. Teresa’s Academy junior Caroline Bowen led the Stars to a third-place team finish. She placed third overall in the race, with freshman Lola Esslinger also placing in the top 10 with a seventh-place finish.
Other top 10 individuals included Buhler senior Corbin Starkweather (4), Gardner-Edgerton sophomore Emily Karlin (6) and Notre Dame de Sion junior Kelly Frank (8).
The boys race was dominated by Ray-Pec, despite three Liberty North runners finishing in the top seven individually. Ray-Pec won the team title with 56 points on its home course. Liberty North placed runner-up, scoring 76 team points.
Ray-Pec’s top four runners were packed up with a split of 19 seconds. The Panthers were led by senior Isaac Ungeheier and Leeann Meyer, who finished less than two seconds apart and placed eighth and ninth, respectively. Junior Cooper Blevins (10) and sophomore Parker Zaner (13) were the next two Panthers to cross the finish line. Sophomore Nathan Larsen (34) was the final scoring runner for the Panthers.
Liberty North senior Nathaniel Haberlach took home the victory Saturday, winning by 16 seconds over his teammate, junior Joseph DeRouchie.
Fellow junior Beckett Andreasen placed seventh for the Eagles. Rounding out the Eagles’ scoring were senior John Gray (35) and junior Caden Moore (44).
Other top individuals in the race were Centralia junior Nolan Spickert (3), Mill Valley senior Graham Anderson (4), Summit Christian junior Leo Butler (5) and Glendale senior Maxwell Carroll (6).
Maple Leaf XC Classic
The top three schools were the same for the boys and girls races Saturday morning in Baldwin City, Kansas. Manhattan swept both titles, while Blue Valley West and Free State finished second and third, respectively.
The Manhattan girls scored a very low score of 28 points after all of its top five runners finished in the top 11, and top sever finished in the top 14. Manhattan’s Gabrielle Converse cruised to victory in a time of 17:57 – 23 seconds ahead of her teammate Zara Koehn. The next five runners for Manhattan were Andie Strathman (8), Allison Knopp (9), Lauren Perry (11), Isla Spreer (12) and Franci Irvine (14).
Three Blue Valley West runners finished in the top 10 individually. Leading the way once again was Kate Larson, who placed third overall. Bentley Blunck and Brooke Carter also finished fifth and 10th, respectively, for the Jaguars.
Free State’s top runner was Taylor Hulcher. She finished seventh overall Saturday. Nadia Karapuda and Allie Gates placed 13th and 16th, respectively, for the Firebirds.
Cheyenne Brunker led the hometown Bulldogs at the meet. She finished 20th in the meet that featured larger schools. Rachel Watkins also placed 23rd for Baldwin.
The boys race was much closer, but Manhattan won the title with 38 points. Blue Valley West was the runner-up with 46 team points. Free State took third, scoring 115.
Five Manhattan runners finished in the top 11, led by Jaxon Wheeler’s runner-up finish in a time of 16:16.2. Following him were Benjamin Huser (6), Brecken Fabrizius (9), Levi Gurgel (10) and Kyler Grogg (11).
Four BVW boys found themselves in the top eight individually. The top Jaguar was Caleb Cloud, who placed third overall. The next three Jaguars were Austin Bellquist (5), Mehul Pemmasani (7) and Christian Jordan (8).
Free State’s top runner was Anderson Bateman, who finished 16th overall. Isaac Horner (21) and Joseph Clossen (26) were the next two Firebirds across the finish line.
Chili Pepper Festival
A few KC area teams headed south to the University of Arkansas to compete in the prestigious Chili Pepper Festival.
The Blue Valley girls had a great meet and finished second out of 49 teams. The Tigers scored 264 points, finishing second to Bentonville (Arkansas), who won with 182 team points.
Leading the way for Blue Valley was sophomore Kylie Page. She finished 20th overall, running the 5K course in a time of 17:50.4. Senior Paige Faulkner placed 45th in the field of 367 runners.
The Shawnee Mission East girls finished sixth as a team. The Lancers were once again led by senior Charlotte Hardy, the Northwestern commit. She finished seventh in a time of 17:24.7 as the top local runner.
Liberty senior Lily Hurt also competed well at the meet. She placed 15th overall to lead the Blue Jays. Her teammate, sophomore Tessa Perdue also placed 22nd.
Lexington’s top three runners were also among the top local runners at the Arkansas meet. Leading the way sophomore Ellie Lichte, who finished 19th in a time of 17:49.5. Senior Addison Smith (30) and junior Phoebe Engelbrecht (47).
On the boys side, Lee’s Summit West and Blue Springs South led the way in the team standings, placing fifth and sixth, respectively. Senior Klayton Hayes (28) was the Jaguars’ top runner, while senior Parker Williams (16) and Jack McCrea (21) led the Titans.
The top KC area runner was Blue Valley senior Carter Moser. He finished seventh overall, completing the course in a time of 14:53.3.
Blue Valley Southwest junior Andrew Claar was another top individual at the meet. He placed 18th overall.
Nike XC Town Twilight Invitational
For the second-straight week, Rockhurst junior Jack McGovern set a course record and proved why he’s one of the top distance runners in the country.
McGovern raced to victory in Terre Haute, Indiana, on the same course that will host the NCAA Div. I Championships next month. He won the meet Saturday night, beating 422 runners.
He separated himself from the lead pack during the 1,000 meters of the 5K race. His winning time of 14:38.5 set a new course record.
That came a week after McGovern set the Gans Creek course record in Columbia, MO, becoming the fastest runner in state history.
Rockhurst finished sixth out of 44 teams at the prestigious meet. Three more Hawklets finished in the top 100. Junior Jack Morrison and sophomore Charles Sullivan placed 46th and 49th, respectively. Sophomore Tyler Bell also finished 97th for the Hawklets. Junior Abram Bland was the final scoring running for Rockhurst, placing 133rd.
Olathe West also traveled to Indiana and competed at the meet. Two Owls finished in the top 100 individually. Leading the way was senior Archer Brewer, who placed 32nd in a time of 15:27.6. Junior Lincoln Allen also placed 87th for the Owls.
A pair of Olathe West girls finished in the top 33 at the meet Saturday night. The top Owl was sophomore Molly DeGregorio. She finished 24th, running the 5K course in a time of 18:13.7. Junior Adyson Burton also placed 33rd, finishing 19 seconds behind her teammate.
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