Complete Chieftain control
Christy Weller already had the hat trick.
The THS senior set her sights on her fourth consecutive victory at Thursday’s Tonganoxie home quadrangular at the district’s 80 acres on Washington Street. Weller dominated the race — she won by 34 seconds — and captured the individual 4K title with a time of 17:11.
Weller has now won the meet four times — every year of her high school career. She beat her time from last year by 23 seconds.
“I did have the mindset to win more than usual,” Weller said. “I really wanted to get that fourth year in a row.”
As a team, the Chieftains were so dominant that their score of 16 was one point away from a perfect score.
The 16 represented the lowest point total in Tonganoxie girls cross country history.
Tonganoxie finished with the Top 4 spots and also claimed No. 6. Andie Jeannin placed second, Alex Hauk third and Addy Phelps fourth. Lauren Himpel rounded out the Chieftains with her sixth-place finish.
As a team, Kansas City Christian finished second with 45, while Basehor-Linwood tallied 85. Lansing participated, but did not field a full girls squad.
“I thought we might have an outside chance at a perfect score, which almost never happens in a varsity race,” THS coach Phil Williams said. “I told them before that our goal should be at least under 25, if not under 20, and we certainly made that.”
After the race, Weller’s left calf tightened up. She said it bothered her a few days before the race, but it did not affect her performance Thursday. Weller applied ice and stimulated the calf Friday. She shouldn’t miss any time.
The Chieftains boys cross country team completed the day with a victory of its own about 30 minutes after the girls finished.
Tonganoxie’s 26 points were enough to hold off KC Christian’s 37. KC Christian won the Kansas Class 3A state meet last year. The Panthers had defeated the Chieftains two straight years before Thursday.
“We’re serious and we want to take it this year,” junior Matt Brock said. “We want a state title.”
Lansing finished in third with 77 points, while Basehor-Linwood placed fourth with 104.
Brock didn’t win the individual title, but placed second in the 5K with a time of 17:57. Kansas City Christian’s Nick Anning won the individual meet with a time of 17:28.
“Matt’s ability is more in his toughness than it is in just his natural running ability, although he has a lot of that,” Williams said of Brock. “I’ve never had a kid any more intense, as far as competitiveness.”
Tonganoxie ran consistently. Aside from Brock, David Powell finished fourth and Justin Soetaert finished fifth. Thursday represented the first high school race for Soetaert, a freshman.
The Chieftains have a short break before returning to action Sept. 13 at McLouth.