By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights senior cross country star Jackson Esquibel had a couple of goals in mind when he took the starting line for Saturday's Topeka West Joe Schrag Invitational at Kanza Park.
Shawnee Heights senior Jackson Esquibel set a personal record and set the Heights school record with his win in Saturday's Joe Schrag Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The two-time Class 5A state placer in cross country and a state champion in track accomplished both of them in convincing fashion, setting a personal-best by about 20 seconds while also setting the Shawnee Heights school record by 13 seconds with his winning five-kilometer effort of 15 minutes, 28.20 seconds.
Esquibel broke the previous school record of 15:41 set by his former teammate,Kory Sutton, who was on hand to cheer on his close friend.
"I ran a summer race here and ran pretty well,'' Esquibel said. "I ran under 16, 15:59, and I knew after last week's meet where I ran 40 seconds faster than I did the year before at that course (Wyandotte County Park), I just came into this meet telling myself that this is a race where you could really work on your front-running and you've run this course enough to know when you want to push it and when you feel like you're letting off the gas.''
Esquibel went out hard at the start of the race to take the lead en route to a win by nearly 28 seconds over Leavenworth senior Jonathan Purvis (15:56.07).
"I've worked really hard this summer and put in a lot of consistent weeks and I've been bringing my teammates along,'' Esquibel said. "I think a couple of them also got PRs (personal records) in that race. We're just trying to continue to build off what we already have and continue to gain that confidence. Tell yourself you can do it, believe it, and then there's a possibility you can do it.
"Kory's been a strong leader the last couple of years and I've been trying to learn from him as much as I can. Now it's my turn and when the big meets come around, be ready.''
Seaman put four runners in the top 11 places individually to take the team championship by a 38-44 margin over Leavenworth.
Viking sophomore Brody Anderson finished third in 16:31.57 while sophomore Jack Walker finished sixth (17:11.54), senior Anthony Del Zio 10th (17:43.57) and senior Jack Pekarek 11th (17:51,87).
Topeka West finished third in the team standings (67 points), led by senior Elijah Phelps (17:11.60) and junior Adrian Lehman (17:14.38), who placed seventh and eighth individually.
Shawnee Heights junior Evan Carter backed Esquibel with a strong fifth-place finish (17:10.10).
Topeka High finished fifth as a team (102 points), led by freshman Levi McGee, who placed 14th (18:13.49).
JOE SCHRAG INVITATIONAL
At Kanza Park
BOYS
Team scores
Seaman 38, Leavenworth 44, Topeka West 67, Lansing 86, Topeka High 102.
Individual results
1. Jackson Esquibel, Shawnee Heights, 15:28.20; 2. Jonathan Purvis, Leavenworth, 15:56.07; 3. Brody Anderson, Seaman, 16:31.57; 4. Shawn Sullivan, Leavenworth, 16:42.98; 5. Evan Carter, Shawnee Heights, 17:10.10; 6. Jack Walker, Seaman, 17:11.54; 7. Elijah Phelps, Topeka West, 17:11.60; 8. Adrian Lehman, Topeka West, 17:14.38; 9. Jeremiah Purvis, Leavenworth, 17:14.51; 10. Anthony Del Zio, Seaman, 17:43.51.
Other Seaman -- 11. Jack Pekarek, 17:51.87; 18. Joseph Yorkey, 18:29.34; 22. Drake Spurlock, 18:41.37; 33. Corbin Murrow, 19:31.83; 34. Tristan Vila, 19:48.40.
Other Topeka West -- 17. Mark Wilkie, 18:28.79; 19. Jayden Sigle, 18:32.00; 29. Maxwell Cook, 19:17.54; 31. Ezra Phelps, 19:22.51; 32. Tony Lloyd, 19:31.73.
Topeka High -- 14. Levi McGee, 18:13.49; 21. Stuart Campbell, 18:38.13; 24. Caleb Brown, 18:45.64; 27. Rigoberto Carlos Solis, 19:09.47; 30. Will Toland, 19:20.23; 41. Nathan Kandagaye, 22:01.78; 42. Tayleon Flores, 23:39.98.
