By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Ryin Miller's biggest cross country meet of the season is obviously next Saturday -- the Class 5A championships at Rim Rock Farm -- but she had definite goals in mind for the 5A regional at Kanza Park.
Seaman junior Ryin Miller remained undefeated on the season in Saturday's Class 5A regional while the Vikings earned a team berth with a second-place finish. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Seaman junior star then went out and checked all of those items off the list as the Vikings punched their ticket to state with a solid regional performance on Saturday.
Miller ran away with the individual title in a five-kilometer time of 17 minutes, 6 seconds while Seaman qualified for state as a team with a second-place finish behind defending state champion St. James Academy.
"I wanted to have a good time so it gave me confidence going into state, but the main goal was just to get our team through because it's way more fun with the team obviously,'' Miller said. "I'm happy we were able to do that.
"I know what I had to do to make that happen. I had to get first, which I had full confidence in myself to do that. I'm happy with how I raced, happy with the time, considering that they extended the course, so I'll take that.''
Seaman sophomore Brynn Spencer (19:26.4) and senior Stella Appelhanz (19:33.9) finished eighth and ninth for the Vikings while sophomore Kinley Robinson placed 16th (20:39.2) and freshman Avery Villines was 22nd (21:16.6) to round out Seaman's top five.
"I thought we ran well,'' Seaman coach Rick Brading said. "You just hope nobody will crash on a day like today and we were able to avoid that and our No. 4, Kinley Robinson, had a super good day. It was a good day for her and everybody else was solid.''
St. James placed all of its top five in the top 10 spots on the way to a 30-56 team win over the Vikings.
Seaman's boys also turned in a solid performance, earning a state team berth with a third-place team finish.
Seaman junior Brody Anderson finished second in Saturday's Class 5A regional cross county meet and the Vikings qualified as a team with a third-place finish. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Junior Brody Anderson led the Vikings with a runnerup individual finish in 15:42.2 while Seaman also got an 18th-place showing from senior Alex Newell (17:18.9), a 20th-place finish from sophomore Conner Bloom (17:23.3), a 23rd from senior Corbin Murrow (17:36.1) and a 25th-place finish from junior Drake Spurlock (17:43.3).
St. James Academy (42 points) and De Soto (52) swept the top two spots in the team standings while Seaman grabbed the final team berth with 88 points. Basehor-Linwood was fourth with 108 points, one point ahead of Topeka West.
Seaman coach Luke Wiens said he knew the battle for a team berth was going to be tough.
"We expected that, especially coming off city, where West was ahead of us, and then the (United Kansas Conference),'' Wiens said. "We knew West and Basehor were really good teams so we anticipated it was going to be close.
"What I liked was we were really poised early and we were patient with it and we moved up over the course of the race and they took care of business.''
Topeka West senior Adrian Lehman qualified for the Class 5A state cross country meet with a third-place finish in Saturday's 5A regional at Kanza Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Topeka West qualified seniors Adrian Lehman and Mark Wilkie for state as individuals.
Lehman finished third in 16:16.0 while Wilkie placed 12th in 16:52.0.
The 5A girls race is scheduled for a 10 a.m. start next Saturday at Rim Rock while the boys race is set for 11:45 a.m.
CLASS 5A REGIONAL CROSS COUNTRY
At Kanza Park
GIRLS
Team scores
St. James Academy 30, Seaman 56, De Soto 82, Basehor-Linwood 109, Piper 150, Leavenworth 164, Lansing 166, Bonner Springs 196.
Individual results
1. Ryin Miller, Seaman, 17:06.0; 2. Quinn Hays, St. James Academy, 18:36.8; 3. Kelsie Kudzia, Leavenworth, 18:45.0; 4. Brooke Bundt, De Soto, 19:05.9; 5. Abby Loos, St. James Academy, 19:17.9; 6. Allie Morfeld, St. James Academy, 19:23.7; 7. Katelyn Menghini, St. James Academy, 19:24.5; 8. Brynn Spencer, Seaman, 19:26.4; 9. Stella Appelhanz, Seaman, 19:33.9; 10. Annie Wilken, St. James Academy, 19:53.4; 11. Cora Dow, Bonner Springs, 19:58.0; 12. Elizabeth Arenas, Piper, 20:02.5; 13. Henley Erickson, Basehor-Linwood, 20:20.3; 14. Elli Wurtenberger, St. James Academy, 20:21.6; 15. Addison Gillespie, De Soto, 20:28.6.
Other Seaman -- 16. Kinley Robinson, 20:39.2; 22. Avery Villines, 21:16.6; 27. Hannah Wempe, 21:37.8; 46. Emma Gonzalez, 23:43.8.
Topeka West -- 25. Chloe Phelps, 21:30.3; 42. Jordyn McKinzie, 23:02.9.
BOYS
Team scores
St. James Academy 42, De Soto 52, Seaman 88, Basehor-Linwood 108, Topeka West 109, Leavenworth 151, Piper 156, Lansing 246, Bonner Springs 257.
Individual results
1. Vance Krudwig, De Soto, 15:20.8; 2. Brody Anderson, Seaman, 15:42.2; 3. Adrian Lehman, Topeka West, 16:16.0; 4. Dylan Zeller, St. James Academy, 16:31.7; 5. Max Brown, St. James Academy, 16:34.5; 6. Henry Dickey, Leavenworth, 16:42.2; 7. Quinn Hanson, Piper, 16:44.0; 8. Luke Vogt, De Soto, 16:48.5; 9. Brock Wondra, St. James Academy, 16:49.9; 10. Zach Arensberg, St. James Academy, 16:50.0; 11. Beau Kalkman, De Soto, 16:51.8; 12. Mark Wilkie, Topeka West, 16:52.0; 13. Cole Hubbard, Basehor-Linwood, 16:52.6; 14. Avery Moos, St. James Academy, 16:55.8; 15. Devin Murrell, De Soto, 17:09.2.
Other Seaman -- 18. Alex Newell, 17:18.9; 20. Conner Bloom, 17:23.3; 23. Corbin Murrow, 17:36.1; 25. Drake Spurlock, 17:43.3; 42. Maddox Moore, 19:01.4; 46. Caleb King, 19:21.9.
Other Topeka West -- 26. Tony Lloyd, 17:58.6; 32. Jayden Sigle, 18:15.9; 36. Ezra Phelps, 18:25.5; 37. Matius Bledsoe, 18:34.6; 44. Collette, 19:05.6.
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