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Posted on Sun, Nov. 01, 2009

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Carroll boys, Maki win titles

BY PATRICK SHELTRA

Eagle correspondent

LAWRENCE — Bishop Carroll boys cross country coach Cory Swords stresses the third mile of each race.

"A race is like life," Swords said. "The prize is at the end, not at the beginning. A lot of people start strong, but we talk about finishing strong so we can claim that prize."

Saturday at Rim Rock Farm, that third mile was covered in green and gold. As a result, the Golden Eagles are bringing back another Class 5A state championship.

Sophomore David Thor finished fourth in the 5K race in 16 minutes, 40 seconds, and Carroll placed five runners in the top 19 as the Eagles ran away with the team title, outdistancing McPherson by 41 points. McPherson's Adam Porter won the 5A race.

Judging by Carroll's roster, it likely won't relinquish its title anytime soon. In addition to Thor, the top sophomore finisher, Carroll had a pair of freshmen contribute to the scoring in James Hampton (eighth overall, 16:52.1) and Gage Garcia (16th, 17:18.6).

A third freshman, Logan Sageser, just missed counting toward Carroll's team score but finished 27th overall.

Senior Cliff Kissling (ninth, 16:52.9) and junior Andy Schepis (19th, 17:22.5) and rounded out the scoring to deliver Carroll its sixth state title and fourth in this decade. It finished second last year.

"Universally, they all had great races," Swords said.

The greatest race, however, belonged to Porter, who held a commanding lead over the final mile to defeat Hutchinson's Cameron Sprague by 17 seconds. Porter, who finished seventh in this race last year, finished in 16:07.

"The goal coming in was to win the race," Porter said. "My time wasn't important, so I took off my watch before the race so I wouldn't have any distractions."

In Class 6A, Campus senior Brock Mooney set a personal best by 10 seconds in taking fourth in 16:13.2. Derby's Neil Metler finished sixth in 16:17.2.

Northwest's Robbie Martinez-Garcia finished 15th in 16:34.22.

Maki wins 5A title — Kapaun Mt. Carmel's MacKenzie Maki in Class 5A and Washburn Rural's Avery Clifton in Class 6A had convincing victories in the 4K girls races, winning by 28 and 33 seconds, respectively.

Maki, a junior, has won back-to-back titles. She isn't planning on taking a rest anytime soon.

"I'm going to try and run in some national meets later this year," Maki said. "Maybe I'll take a day off before I get back to work."

That might be the same approach for the Bishop Carroll girls, who finished second to St. Thomas Aquinas. The Golden Eagle girls' five scoring runners all earned medalist honors. But the Saints, as they were all season long, were just a little better, winning 44-54.

And that was fine by Carroll head coach Ran Nielsen.

"St. Thomas was going to be a very good team," Nielsen said. "We would just have to run really well and maybe them have a slip-up and we could've gotten it. But we ran well and I'm happy with how the girls came out."

Freshman Kaelyn Balch placed second in 15:29.62.

"Kaelyn had a little stumble in the first half-mile and it knocked her back a bit," Nielsen said. "She got up and went ahead and kept on competing... and was able to bounce back and get after it."

After Maki and Carroll's top five, Newton's Erin Loeffler (12th) and Andover Central's Kenzie Wills (19th) also earned medalist honors.

In Class 6A, Maize senior Dani Walker finished second to Clifton in 15:34.31.

"My goal was to stick with (Clifton) as much as I could," Walker said. "Just get out there knowing this is the last race of my high school career and give it my all and do my best. Taking second was pretty good."

Goddard sophomore Megan Ballinger and senior Courtney Maddux (fifth and 19th, respectively), Derby sophomores Amber Green and Emily Hornbeck (eighth and 10th) and East junior Cate Dunn (13th) also earned medalist honors.

Boys

Class 6A

Team scores — Lawrence 71, Washburn Rural 103, Shawnee Mission Northwest 105, Campus 115, SM South 130, Blue Valley West 176, Lawrence-Free State 186, SM West 206, Derby 210, Northwest 213, East 217, Maize 232.

Top 20 finishers — 1. Roy Wedge, Lawrence, 15:43.8, 2. Andrew Stevens, Shawnee Mission South, 16:09.01, 3. Alex Mahaffey, Washburn Rural, 16:09.55, 4. Brock Nooney, Campus, 16:13.27, 5. Ryan Hocker, Olathe East, 16:15.75, 6. Neil Metler, Derby, 16:17.2, 7. Aaron Thornburg, Shawnee Mission NW 16:19.59, 8. Logan Sloan, Lawrence-Free State, 16:21.4, 9. Jacob Morgan, Washburn Rural, 16:23.98, 10. Calvin Morgan, Lawrence, 16:25.55, 11. Sterling Spencer, Shawnee Mission NW 16:26.49, 12. Justin Scott, Blue Valley West, 16:26.83, 13. Aaron Pope, Washburn Rural, 16:27.15, 14. Joseph Springer, Lawrence, 16:31.31, 15. Robbie Martinez-Garcia, Northwest, 16:34.22, 16. Kain Anderson, Lawrence-Free State, 16:35.43, 17. Ben Anstaett, Olathe North, 16:37.89, 18. Jonah Heng, Shawnee Mission West, 16:39, 19. Kidus Bekele, Olathe North, 16:40.45, 20. Reid Buchanan, Manhattan, 16:41.22.

Class 5A

Team scores — Bishop Carroll 42, McPherson 83, Hutchinson 94, St. Thomas Aquinas 119, Liberal 146, Kapaun Mount Carmel 173, Newton 208, Topeka West 208, Gardner-Edgerton 214, Shawnee Mill Valley 223, KC Turner 232, Topeka Seaman 281.

Top 20 finishers — 1. Adam Porter, McPherson, 16:07.97, 2. Cameron Sprague, Hutchinson, 16:24.83, 3. Josh Munsch, Hays, 16:34.05, 4. David Thor, Bishop Carroll, 16:40.07, 5. Javier Segura, Topeka West, 16:44.01, 6. Chris Wise, Hutchinson, 16:49.06, 7. Seth Tophoj, Hays, 16:50.78, 8. James Hampton, Bishop Carroll, 16:52.1, 9. Cliff Kissling, Bishop Carroll, 16:52.59, 10. Morgan Riggs, Liberal, 16:53.91, 11. Brooks Ballou, Bonner Springs, 16:57.41, 12. Laban Lalouette, Newton, 17:01.53, 13. Tegan Michael, Topeka West, 17:01.74. 14. Tyler Tilton, Emporia, 17:04.91, 15. Morgan Peterson, McPherson, 17:16.37, 16. Gage Garcia, Bishop Carroll, 17:18.62, 17. Pete LaMoe, Lansing, 17:19.31, 18. Caleb Porter, McPherson, 17:20.16, 19. Andy Schepis, Bishop Carroll, 17:22.54. 20. Edward Reed, KC Turner, 17:25.52.

Girls

Class 6A

Team standings — Olathe East 103, Blue Valley West 122, Shawnee Mission West, 123, SM Northwest 126, Washburn Rural 132, SM South 135, Manhattan 171, Derby 193, Goddard 193, Olathe South 199, Maize 199, Dodge City 304.

Top 20 finishers — 1. Avery Clifton, Washburn Rural, 15:01.16, 2. Dani Walker, Maize, 15:34.31, 3. Alli Cash, Shawnee Mission West, 15:41.65, 4. Triana Thompson, Junction City, 15:45, 5. Megan Ballinger, Goddard, 15:45.7, 6. Lisa Imgrund, Shawnee Mission NW, 15:46.22, 7. Brenna McDannold, Olathe East, 15:49.45, 8. Amber Green, Derby, 15:50.67, 9. Mandy Hollis, Junction City, 15:53, 10. Emily Hornbeck, Derby, 15:54.71, 11. Christine Nelson, Shawnee Mission NW, 15:58.22, 12. Brooklyn Ellis, Olathe East, 16:01.48, 13. Cate Dunn, East, 16:03.38, 14. Billie Lubis, Shawnee Mission North, 16:04.22, 15. Hayley Francis, Lawrence-Free State, 16.05.13, 16. Catie Miller, Blue Valley NW, 16:05.63, 17. Hayley Cline, Shawnee Mission South, 16:06.56, 18. Christina Smith, Manhattan, 16:10.70, 19. Courtney Maddux, Goddard, 16:11.32, 20. Alyssa Luker, Blue Valley, 16:11.77.

Class 5A

Team standings — St. Thomas Aquinas 44, Bishop Carroll 54, Newton 137, Gardner-Edgerton 164, Lansing 167, Kapaun Mount Carmel 170, Great Bend 171, Pittsburg 182, Hutchinson 198, McPherson 225, Bishop Miege 253, Topeka Seaman 267.

Top 20 finishers — 1. MacKenzie Maki, Kapaun Mt. Carmel, 15:01.52, 2. Kaelyn Balch, Bishop Carroll, 15:29.62, 3. Ashley Washburn, St. Thomas Aquinas, 16:09.88, 4. Page Miller, Pittsburg, 16:11.89, 5. Clarissa Johnson, Gardner-Edgerton, 16:12.56, 6. Anastasiya Menestrina, Bishop Carroll, 16:13.37, 7. Megan Commodore, St. Thomas Aquinas, 16:13.97, 8. Rubi Torres, Great Bend, 16:15.25, 9. Madeline Kasra, Hays, 16:19.66, 10. Libby Reazin, St. Thomas Aquinas, 16:21.76, 11. Meagan Wilderson, St. Thomas Aquinas, 16:28.16, 12. Erin Loeffler, Newton, 16:28.16, 13. Jenna Stanbrough, Emporia, 16:30.06, 14. Lauren Jaqua, Lansing, 16:32.66, 15. Chrstian McCaulley, Bishop Carroll, 16:33.4, 16. Brandy Tholstrup, Bishop Carroll, 16:33.6, 17. Jennifer Angles, St. Thomas Aquinas, 16:35.87, 18. Ramsey McCarter, Topeka Seaman, 16:36.18, 19. Kenzie Wills, Andover Central, 16:39.77, 20. Dana Goodwin, Gardner-Edgerton, 16:41.56.