The Saint Thomas Aquinas Saints won both the girls and boys cross country 5A state championships this past Saturday at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence. Senior PJ Greer was the individual champion on the boys side with a time of 16:03, and junior Ashley Washburn placed second in the girls race (15:33).

The boys faced strong competition from Bishop Carroll, but they prevailed with 71 points, compared to Carroll's 81. The Saints got strong races from Greer and fellow seniors Ben Grace (eighth) and Kyle Hanson (13th). Sophomore Craig Meixelsperger ran possibly the best race of his young career, finishing in 28th. Senior Danny Linder placed 39th to wrap up the Saints top 5 runners. Juniors David Glenski and Alex Hanson placed 44th and 81st, respectively, but only because they were coming back from injuries.

The girls won a dogfight with Kapaun Mt. Carmel, 74 points to 84 points. Junior Amanda Pigott ran a strong race, placing 17th. The Saints had the rest of their top 5 place in the top 30. Sophomore Betsy Donahue and senior Jenna Bellinder placed 24th and 25th. Junior Morgan Commodore, who battled an early season injury, returned to pre-injury form and placed 29th. Juniors Sarah Moore and Emily DeLong placed 46th and 61st. I still stand behind my statement in my previous blog that DeLong, Pigott and Bellinder have top 5 talent. Greer, Grace, Hanson, Washburn and Pigott earned all-state honors for their performances.

Possibly the funniest moment of the whole day was when the girls scores were finalized, and Saints coach Justin Wrigley came running down from the scoring table (or whatever they call it), going crazy and yelling "We won! We won!". It was classic Wrigley.

Also, despite the Saints having won 16 state titles during my tenure before Saturday, I had never been there to see it myself. Being there on Saturday to see two was fantastic. Although I was out on the course when Wrigley and the boys found out they won and subsequently missed their celebration, I was there when the girls found out they had won. It was incredible watching their celebration and display of emotion and joy. They, and us fans, were going crazy. If your school is ever playing in a state final, I highly recommend attending. The celebration (if you win) is not something you want to miss. Congratulations to both the boys and the girls, and congratulations to the Saints volleyball team, who placed second at state on Saturday.