By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee County boys cross country teams, representing four county schools, garnered 12 state team titles over a period of 51 seasons.
But the program that laid the foundation for that strong tradition -- Joe Schrag's Topeka West Chargers -- sits atop TopSports.news' Best of the Best list.
Joe Schrag's 1974 Topeka West cross country team was tapped for the No. 1 spot on the TopSports.news Best of the Best Top 10. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Schrag's 1974 team, his second of four championship teams at West, earned the No. 1 position on the Best of the Best Top 10 after completing an undefeated season with a dominating 47-78 win over Leavenworth in the Class 4A state meet.
Brent Swanson, Bill Myers and Tim Powell are members of the Topeka West Hall of Fame, as is the '74 team.
Bob Karr's 1979 championship Seaman cross country team was picked No. 2 on the TopSports.news Best of the Best. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Another highly-respected team -- Bob Karr's 1979 Seaman team -- is No. 2 on the Top 10 after winning the 6A state championship by a 77-83 margin over Shawnee Mission South, which entered the '79 meet as the defending champ and a five-time champ overall.
South went one-two individually but fourth-place Kevin Miller and seventh-place Tim Siemmons led the balanced Vikings to the title.
Hayden's 1992 boys cross country team swept the individual and team Class 4A titles. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Topeka West, which was the first Shawnee County team to win a state boys cross country title in 1968, is No. 4 on the Best of the Best list. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Jim Casper coached Hayden to its first of the school's six state boys cross county championships in 1975. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Hayden's 1992 team is ranked No. 3, while West's '68 title team and Hayden's '75 squad round out the top five.
Individual champion Matt Peacock led the way as Hayden's '92 won the 4A title by a 42-91 margin over Wamego while West's '68 team earned the county's first state crown and Hayden captured the first of its six state titles in 75.
Hayden's '90 and '81 championship teams earned the sixth and seventh spots on the Top 10, followed by Washburn Rural's '19 championship team, Hayden's '82 team and Topeka West's '85 squad.
Meseke's 90 team won the 4A title by an 11-point margin over Tonganoxie while the '81 team won 4A by 18 points over Abilene as Tom Silovsky captured the individual crown.
Washburn Rural's boys cross country team won its first Class 6A state championship in 2019. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Seniors Caleb Wright and Rylan Brown finished in the top eight individually as Washburn Rural won its first boys state title by an 86-99 margin over Olathe South.
Hayden's '82 won 4A by a 70-114 margin over Hoisington while West won its fourth state championship in '85 by a 75-86 margin over Shawnee Mission South.
Rural's '19 team also earned the No. 1 spot in Reader's Choice balloting by more than 100 votes, followed by Hayden's '92 team and West's '74 squad, which tied for the second position.
Here's a look at the Top 10 and Reader's Choice Awards:
TSN TOP 10 BEST OF THE BEST BOYS CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS
1. Topeka West (1974) -- Hall of Fame coach Joe Schrag coached the Chargers to an undefeated record on the season on the way to West's second Class 4A state championship, capped by a 47-78 win over Leavenworth. Brent Swanson, Bill Myers and Tim Powell are members of the Topeka West Hall of Fame, as is the '74 team.
2. Seaman (1979) -- Bob Karr's Seaman team won the Class 6A state championship by a 77-83 margin over Shawnee Mission South, which entered the '79 meet as the defending champ and a five-time champ overall. South went one-two individually but fourth-place Kevin Miller and seventh-place Tim Siemmons led the balanced Vikings to the title.
3. Hayden (1992) -- Individual champion Matt Peacock led the way and Kelly Boyle added a 10th-place finish as Ben Meseke's Wildcats rolled to the Class 4A team title by a 42-91 margin over Wamego.
4. Topeka West (1968) -- Joe Schrag's Chargers garnered the first boys state team cross country team title in Shawnee County history. Topeka West's '68 team is enshrined in the school's athletic hall of fame.
5. Hayden (1975) -- Jim Casper coached Hayden to the Class 3A team title by a 28-80 margin over Goddard, the first of six state boys championships in school history.
6. Hayden (1990) -- Roman McCaffrey finished seventh and David Tuttle eighth to pace the Wildcats to a 56-67 win over Tonganoxie in the 1990 Class 4A state meet7. Hayden (1981) -- Ben Meseke coached Hayden to his first of five Class 4A boys state cross championships as individual champion Tom Silovsky led the Wildcats to a 79-97 win over Abilene.
8. Washburn Rural (2019) -- Caleb Wright and Rylan Brown recorded top-10 finishes to lead Matt Swedlund's Junior Blues to the school's first Class 6A boys state cross country title by an 86-99 margin over Olathe South. Wright placed sixth and Brown eighth.
9. Hayden (1982) -- Hayden posted a 70-114 win over Hoisington to win its second straight Class 4A state title. Rob Reilly helped lead the Wildcats to the championship after also running on the Wildcats' '81 title team.
10. Topeka West (1985) -- Joe Schrag coached Topeka West to its fourth state crown and first Class 6A title by a 75-86 margin over Shawnee Mission South. The '85 Charger team is a member of the Topeka West Hall of Fame.
READER'S CHOICE BOYS CROSS COUNTRY AWARDS
1. Washburn Rural (2019) -- No. 8 on Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
2. (tie) Hayden (1992) -- No. 3 on Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
2. (tie) Topeka West (1974) -- No. 1 on Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
4. (tie) Hayden (1975) -- No. 5 on Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
4. (tie) Seaman (1979) -- No. 2 on Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
4. (tie) Topeka West (1985) -- No. 10 on Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
7. (tie) Hayden (1981) -- No. 7 on Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
7. (tie) Hayden (1982) -- No. 9 on Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
7. (tie) Topeka West (1968) -- No. 4 on Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
7. (tie) Washburn Rural (1982) -- Washburn Rural finished second in Class 5A, led by individual champ Chris Currie.
Next up: Football Best of the Best Top 10 teams and Reader's Choice awards.
