By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
The United Kansas Conference Cross Country meet took place on a windy and cool Thursday afternoon with local teams Seaman, Shawnee Heights, and Topeka West competing at Pierson Park in Kansas City, Kan.
Seaman junior Ryin Miller won the girls individual title in Thursday's UKC cross country meet, leading the Vikings to the team championship. [File photo/TSN]
Girls Varsity
After finishing in second place behind the De Soto Wildcats last year, the Seaman Vikings flipped the result this year and are the United Kansas Conference champions.
Junior Ryin Miller continued her excellent season by winning the individual title with a time of 17 minutes, 58.96 seconcs. Miller commented on winning the team title and the difficulty of the course, saying, “The main goal today was to have our team win, which we did and I’m proud of that. The course was very hard, so I knew my time wouldn’t be great. I heard my two-mile time and it wasn’t normal. I still feel that I ran well and happy with how I pushed through the hills.”
Coach Rick Brading commented on the race, “The course was rough, but our kids competed well. Ryin ran the course well and everybody right down the line did what they were supposed to do and we got a little extra out of freshman Avery Villines today.”
The Lady Vikings finished with four girls in the top 10. Senior Stella Applehanz finished fourth in 20:56.52, sophomore Brynn Spencer was fifth in 21:54.43 and Villines 10th with a time of 22:58.87.
Topeka West’s only runner, senior Chloe Phelps, placed 14th in a time of 23:25.72. Sophomore Abigal Lewis was the top finisher for Shawnee Heights, in 26th place.
United Kansas Conference All-Conference Awards
First Team: Ryin Miller, Stella Applehanz and Brynn Spencer (Seaman).
Second Team: Avery Villines and Kinley Robinson (Seaman); Chloe Phelps (Topeka West).
Honorable Mention: Hannah Wempe (Seaman).
Final Team Standings: Seaman 33, De Soto 68, Basehor-Linwood 77, Lansing 95, Piper 105, Leavenworth 130.
Seaman : Ryin Miller (17:58.96, 1st); Stella Applehanz (20:56.52, 4th); Brynn Spencer (21:54.43, 5th); Avery Villines (22:58.87, 10th); Kinley Robinson (23:22.18, 13th); Hannah Wempe (23:45.90, 20th); Emma Gonzalez (24:41.12; 30th); Abigail Cooper (25:16.58, 32nd); Kennedy Gatewood (28:07.51, 45th).
Shawnee Heights: Abigail Lewis (24:17.30, 26th); Adelaide Davis (26:38.25, 42nd); Kinsley Mohan (26:53.83, 43rd); Elizabeth Hogan (30:07.10, 48th).
Topeka West: Chloe Phelps (23:25.72, 14th).
Seaman junior Brody Anderson won the boys individual title in Thursday's UKC cross country meet, leading the Vikings to a runnerup team finish. [File photo/TSN]
Boys Varsity
In the boys race, junior Brody Anderson of Seaman won the individual title in a time of 16:21.42 and the Vikings finished second as a team behind conference champion De Soto.
Senior Adrian Lehman of Topeka West finished third with a time of 16:52.72 and Shawnee Heights senior Evan Carter rounded out the top five in a time of 17:49.56.
On his fifth win of the season, Anderson shared his thoughts on the race, “It was really difficult and the first mile hill was tough. I had really good guys to race against, which was good. I was able to push through and was able to come home with the conference win.”
Seaman coach Luke Wiens commented on his team’s second place finish, “I really liked the team’s tactics and toughness. We knew that the course would be challenging and we have been a little over-aggressive in races earlier in the season, so we made an effort to pack together. They responded very well and I loved the way they approached the hills in later portions of the course. It was awesome to be right with De Soto, that is a really great program.”
Seaman finished with four in the top 15 -- senior Alex Newell in 13th (18:21.71), senior Corbin Murrow in 14th (18:25.57) and sophomore Conner Bloom in 15th (18:26.92).
Shawnee Heights placed one other runner in the top 15 -- junior Max Esquibel finished in 11th with a time of 18:18.11.
Topeka West had one other runner finish in the top 15 -- sophomore Tony Lloyd finished in ninth with a time of 18:16.83.
United Kansas Conference All-Conference Awards
First Team: Brody Anderson (Seaman); Adrian Lehman (Topeka West); Evan Carter (Shawnee Heights).
Second Team: Tony Lloyd (Topeka West); Max Esquibel (Shawnee Heights); Alex Newell and Corbin Morrow (Seaman).
Honorable Mention: Conner Bloom and Drake Spurlock (Seaman); Mark Wilkie (Topeka West).
Final Team Standings: DeSoto 47, Seaman 62, Leavenworth 88, Topeka West 103, Basehor-Linwood 109, Shawnee Heights 123, Piper 159.
Seaman: Brody Anderson (16:21.42, 1st); Alex Newell (18:21.71, 13th); Corbin Morrow (18:25.57, 14th); Connor Bloom (18:26.92, 15th); Drake Spurlock (18:38.29, 19th); Maddox Moore (19:51.44, 38th); Caleb King (20:23.67, 48th); Manny Armstead (20:54.11, 55th).
Shawnee Heights: Evan Carter (17:49.56, 5th); Max Esquibel (18:18.11, 11th); Isaac Song (19:41.52, 33rd); Andrew Schulte (19:42.97, 34th); Cash Reitcheck (20:13.16, 43rd); Carter Vincent (20:48.58, 53rd); Deyton Coufal (20:54.33, 56th); Carson Anderson (21:45.01, 58th); Conner Knernschield (22:17.74, 62nd); Landon Patrick (22:23.83, 64th).
Topeka West: Adrian Lehman (16:52.72, 3rd); Tony Lloyd (18:16.83, 9th); Mark Wilkie (18:31.64, 17th); Jayden Sigle (19:44.72, 36th); Ezra Phelps (19:52.05, 39th); Matias Bledsoe (20:10.47, 42nd); Peyton Collette (20:20.23, 46th); Rhys Green (21:32.86, 57th).
Girls Junior Varsity Results
Final Team Results: Turner 28, Basehor-Linwood 50, DeSoto 68, Lansing 113, Shawnee Heights 117, Seaman 146, Piper 192
Seaman : Jaydin Frickey (26:25.82, 6th); Bailey Martin (29:31.61, 22nd); Kelsey Woolery (33:33.98, 39th); Catie Gould (35:26.81, 43rd); Sophie Reffett (35:28.80, 44th).
Shawnee Heights: Reese Perkins (27:59.37, 15th); Alison Fulghum (29:49.03, 23rd); Natalia Venegas (30:01.81, 24th); Piper Geil (30:05.55, 27th); Mya Hall (30:25.98, 29th); Brooklyn Binkley (31:53.35, 34th); Allison Frieson (32:22.47, 37th); Emily Richardson (41:23.60, 50th).
Boys Junior Varsity Results
Final Team Results : Basehor-Linwood 49, Seaman 53, Piper 66, DeSoto 79, Leavenworth 128, Shawnee Heights 133, Turner 194.
Seaman: Cody Moses (20:31.84, 1st); Stephen Miano (21:14.64, 4th); Trace Brungardt (21:40.73, 7th); Trace La Row (22:24.20, 20th); Camden Dutton (22:33.00, 23rd); Max Roark (23:03.55, 28th); Brady Marteney (23:13.71, 33rd); Easton Murrow (24:05.73, 41st); Aaron Haynes (24:14.02, 44th); Nick Horton (24:20.23; 46th); John Holloway (24:39.38, 50th); Spencer Archer (32:44.80, 76th); Andrew Yorkey (33:34.50, 77th).
Shawnee Heights: Ronin Wiggs (21:31.28, 6th); Gavin Rose (23:03.80, 29th); Boston Valdivia (23:03.96, 30th); Theron Rose (24:06.19, 42nd); Kellem Mohan (25:03.01, 51st); William Gray (26:17.82, 62nd).
Topeka West: Colton Langley (22:11.77, 16th); Finn Lappin (25:27.26, 53rd); Julian Ramcharan (25:36.01, 54th); Wyatt Jones (27:34.21, 67th).
