Wedge leads Lawrence boys to 6A cross country title

Source: The Star

ALLISON LONG | the Kansas City Star

Roy Wedge was the Lions’ king when he went to pick up his Kansas 6A first-place award Saturday in Lawrence.

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LAWRENCE | Roy Wedge could see the finish line in the distance. But as he roared down the home stretch, closer to his first state title, he also listened for footsteps.

Much to his relief, he heard nothing. Wedge, a senior at Lawrence, was the runner-up at state last year, losing by less than a second. But Wedge made sure it wouldn’t be close this time around, as he pulled away from the pack over the last mile to win the Kansas 6A cross country state championship on Saturday at Rim Rock Farm.

“People have been telling me all year that they thought I could do it, so it’s nice to prove them right,” said Wedge, who finished the 5-kilometer race in 15 minutes, 43 seconds.

Wedge finished roughly 26 seconds ahead of Shawnee Mission South senior Andrew Stevens, who had to hold off a late charge by Washburn Rural senior Alex Mahaffey to take second. But afterward, Wedge was far more concerned with whether Lawrence had successfully defended its team title. Moments later, he found out that it had.

The Lions, who had a team score of 71 to finish ahead of second-place Washburn Rural by 32 points, received strong performances from senior Calvin Morgan (10th place) and junior Joseph Springer (14th), while junior Nicolas Shump (28th) and sophomore Zach Andregg (30th) rounded out the scoring. Sophomore Simon Fangman (50th) and sophomore Nathan Stringer (70th) also ran for the Lions.

Aquinas girls win 5ASt. Thomas Aquinas coach Justin Wrigley had a feeling his girls cross country team was going to have a special day at the Kansas 5A state meet at Rim Rock Farm.

Given the Saints’ recent performances — they won both the East Kansas League and regional meets — Wrigley certainly had reason to believe a second straight state championship was possible. Problem was, he also knew that a talented Bishop Carroll squad was capable of stealing it away.

But while Bishop Carroll went on to place four girls in the top 20 and finish with a team score of 54, the Golden Eagles were still no match for Aquinas, which had five girls medal and edged them out for first with a score of 44.

The Saints had five girls finish in the top 20, including senior Ashley Washburn, who took third after finishing second the previous three years. Senior Morgan Commodore (seventh), freshman Libby Reazin (10th), senior Meagan Wilderson (11th) and freshman Jennifer Angles (17th) all medaled. Junior Betsy Donahue (25th) and senior Amanda Pigott (26th) also ran for the Saints.

Olathe East takes 6AThe last time Olathe East’s girls cross country team won a state title, coach Tony Bozarth knew his team had it wrapped up toward the end of the race.

He would have no such luck this time around. By the end of the 6A girls race at Rim Rock, Bozarth was confident the Hawks would place high, but he also knew there were five other teams in the mix for the title.

“I thought we were ahead,” Bozarth said. “But when you have six teams within 30 points of each other, there’s no guarantee.”

Turns out Bozarth didn’t have much to worry about. Olathe East won with a team score of 103, while Blue Valley West edged out Shawnee Mission West for second by one point with a score of 122. Shawnee Mission Northwest was in the mix as well, finishing fourth with a score of 126.

The Hawks were led by freshman Brenna McDannold, who finished seventh and was the second-highest local placer behind Shawnee Mission West freshman Alli Cash, who took third. Sophomore Brooklyn Ellis (12th), sophomore Whitney Ashlock (40th), junior Jessica Thomas (41st) and senior Darci Miller (42nd) rounded out the scoring for Olathe East, while freshman Riley Gay (53rd) and senior Brenda Ellis (60th) also ran for the Hawks.

De Soto second in 4AThe De Soto girls finished second at the 4A state meet for the second consecutive year at Wamego Country Club. De Soto’s boys took third with a score of 120.

“The girls ran about as well as I think we could,” said De Soto coach Chris McAfee. “On the guys’ side, even though this isn’t necessarily the finish they wanted, they still got a state trophy.”

•The Maranatha girls placed second at the Kansas 2A state meet, also in Wamego. The Eagles were led by senior Bethany Zarda, who finished fifth.

•Other top-five finishers from local schools were Gardner Edgerton senior Clarissa Johnson (fifth in 5A girls) and Olathe East senior Ryan Hocker (fifth in 6A boys).

submitted by TEREZ A. PAYLOR - 2009-10-31 21:54:02