Great at State
The Boys’ 4A State Cross Country Meet followed a familiar trend Saturday near Wamego.
Baldwin’s Matt Noonan won his third straight State title and BHS won its third straight team title. Tonganoxie, meanwhile, wasn’t far behind. The Chieftains took second, just eight points behind the Bulldogs. THS, which took first or second in all but one meet this year, finished sixth at State last year.
“I’m really satisfied,” THS coach Phil Williams said. “I think it’s the best team race we’ve run all year.”
Tonganoxie finished with 68 points, while third-place Clearwater had 128 on the 3.1-mile course.
Junior Kyle Norris led the Chieftains with an eighth-place finish and a time of 16 minutes, 48.25 seconds, roughly 64 seconds behind Noonan.
Norris took second at the Kaw Valley League Meet on Oct. 11 behind Mill Valley’s Griffin Lee. The Tonganoxie junior had hoped to pull ahead of Lee at State, but the Jaguars’ top runner finished in fourth place.
“We were close most of the way,” Norris said. “You never know where to start kicking it in.”
Norris’ performance earned him a medal, as did senior Alan Davis’ run. Competing in his last meet at THS, Davis finished 13th with a 17:03.3 time. Last year, Norris finished 13th, while Davis took eighth.
For Davis, the effort finished a high school career that included numerous top-place finishes. His career also included a leg injury last spring. Although he was disappointed in the lower finish this year, Davis was satisfied with his high school career.
“I’m gonna miss these guys,” Davis said about his teammates.
Davis plans to run in college, and Baker University in Baldwin is at the top of Davis’ list. He plans to major in electrical engineering wherever he goes.
Other Chieftains placing were Nathan Bailey (21st), Tommy Powell (30), Tony Aligo (32), Bryan Gurss (77) and David Saultz (95).
Davis, Bailey, Gurss and Saultz ran in their final meets at THS.
Korb just misses medal at State
Tonganoxie junior Laura Korb, who finished 24th at last year’s State Meet, was 22nd this year (13:00), missing the top 20 and a medal by two spots on the two-mile course.
Korb said she would have been happier with a medal, but something else did bring a smile.
“I think that was the warmest State I’ve ever been to,” Korb said.
Last year’s meet was overcast and rainy and in 1999 runners had to deal with frigid conditions. This year, sunshine greeted the runners at the Wamego Golf Course.
Senior Alicia Stauch, the only other THS girls’ runner, was 62nd with a 13:50 time.