By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Lenny Njoroge has posted some big wins in his high school cross country career and there definitely could still be more to come.
But Saturday's city boys championship at Washburn Rural was special not only for the Topeka West senior, but for his school as well.
Topeka West senior Lenny Njoroge won his first city cross country title and the Chargers' first since 1993 in Saturday's city meet at Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Njoroge, who posted his fourth straight individual win, clocked a winning five-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 30 seconds en route to becoming the first Topeka West boys runner to win a city championship since former Charger great Winston Tidwell in 1993.
"City titles are nice, I'm telling you,'' Njoroge said. "They're fun and you're representing your school and especially because we haven't won one in a lot of years, it feels special.''
Njoroge won by 18 seconds over Shawnee Heights junior Jackson Esquibel (15:48.1), with T-Bird senior Kory Sutton third in 15:54.1.
For the second straight week, Esquibel pushed Njoroge early in the race, which the West star said was a benefit.
"It helps a lot so I don't have to run by myself the first mile,'' Njoroge said. "I like him pushing me.''
Washburn Rural runners nailed down the next three spots and placed all of their top five in the top 14 individually as the Junior Blues topped Shawnee Heights for the team championship by a 38-53 margin.
Washburn Rural boys cross country poses with the championship trophy after winning the city team title Saturday at Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The top 20 medalists in Saturday's city boys cross country championships at Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Senior Davin Johnson finished a team-high fourth (16:01.6) for the Junior Blues while senior Easton Dial was fifth (16:30.8) and senior Grayson Fink sixth (16:36.4).
Junior Hayden Keller placed ninth for Rural (17:03.3) while senior Trevor Cain (17:18.9) rounded out the Junior Blues' top five with a 14th-place finish.
"Similar to the girls, the boys were mostly where we wanted them to be, where we knew they could be,'' Washburn Rural coach Matt Swedlund said. "We just needed to come out and do it.
"We knew Shawnee Heights is a good team this year and their front end is really fast, so we knew through the middle we had to be better.''
Runner-up Shawnee Heights also got an eighth-place individual finish from sennior Andrew Emerson (16:57.4).
Seaman finished third as a team with 75 points, led by seniors Zach Jowers (16:49.2) and Landon Stuke (17:10.2), who placed seventh and 10th, respectively.
Topeka High senior Michael Christopher narrowly missed a top-10 individual finish, placing 11th (17:12.8), while fourth-place Hayden got a 12th-place finish from Jake Muller (17:15.5) and a 13th from junior Aiden Amis (17:17.6).
Shawnee Heights sophomore Evan Carter rounded out the top 15 (17:18.9).
CITY BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
Team scores
Washburn Rural 38, Shawnee Heights 53, Seaman 75, Hayden 106, Topeka West 121, Topeka High 127.
Individual results
1. Lenny Njoroge, Topeka West, 15:30.0; 2. Jackson Esquibel, Shawnee Heights, 15:48.1; 3. Kory Sutton, Shawnee Heights, 15:54.1; 4. Davin Johnson, Washburn Rural, 16:01.6; 5. Easton Dial, Washburn Rural, 16:30.8; 6. Grayson Fink, Washburn Rural, 16:36.4; 7. Zach Jowers, Seaman, 16:49.2; 8. Andrew Emerson, Shawnee Heights, 16:57.4; 9. Hayden Keller, Washburn Rural, 17:03.3; 10. Landon Stuke, Seaman, 17:10.2; 11. Michael Christopher, Topeka High, 17:12.8; 12. Jake Muller, Hayden, 17:15.5; 13. Aiden Amis, Hayden, 17:17.6; 14. Trevor Cain, Washburn Rural, 17:18.9; 15. Evan Carter, Shawnee Heights, 17:18.9; 16. Connor Olsen, Washburn Rural, 17:27.1; 17. Branen Moore, Seaman, 17:27.4; 18. Nick Lloyd, Hayden, 17:39.5; 19. Max Gutierrez, Washburn Rural, 17:46.3; 20. Anders Leinwetter, Washburn Rural, 17:49.3.
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