HUTCHINSON — Vince DeGrado knew that within the first 20 meters that Danae McGee’s race was, for all intents and purposes, already decided. HIGHLIGHTING the Allen men was sophomore Ryan Pulsifer, who finished sixth overall in the men’s 8k with a time of 26:35.8. The time was easily the fastest among Jayhawk East runners, 21 seconds faster than teammate and runner-up Brandon Bernal’s 26:56.8. Bernall took 12th in Region VI. A pair of Allen freshmen were fourth and fifth in the conference race, Angel Vasquez and Dallas Snider. Vasquez’s time of 27:04.3 was good for 15th among Region VI runners. DEGRADO reflected on Allen’s rapid ascension to be listed among the elite cross country programs in the nation.
“She was the favorite,” the Allen Community College cross country coach said. “I told her that. I told her the race was going to go two ways. She was going to leave everybody behind, or somebody was going to run with her,” at which point it would be a matter of who would have the stronger kick down the stretch.
Sure enough, as Monday’s Region VI/Jayhawk Conference women’s race began, McGee zipped to the front.
Nobody pursued.
“I knew then it was over,” DeGrado said.
McGee, as her coach forecast, was crowned Region VI and Jayhawk Conference women’s champion — the first individual champion in Allen Community College.
She did so in dominating fashion, completing the 5k course in 19 minutes, 38 seconds, a full 34 seconds faster than her nearest pursuer.
McGee’s trophy highlighted another successful day on the course for ACC athletes.
The Red Devil men claimed their second consecutive Jayhawk Conference championship as well, with the top two individuals and four of the top five marks in the conference race.
Monday’s meet, hosted by Hutchinson Community College, is unique in that one race serves as both the conference and regional meet.
Thus, one brass ring remained just out of reach for the Red Devil men.
While they easily won the conference title, they came up one spot short in the Region VI race, behind Colby.
“It was a deceptively tough course,” DeGrado said. “And give Colby credit. They brought it.
“Sometimes it’s human nature to look at the things you couldn’t quite reach, but it’s important to take a step back and look at the things we’ve accomplished,” DeGrado said. “I was pleased across the board. These athletes competed well.
“We have an individual Region VI champion and a two-time conference champion,” he continued. “That’s something that may never happen again, or it may happen next year. That’s the exciting part.”
The top 15 overall earned all-region recognition; the top seven Jayhawk East runners earned all-conference status.
“Ryan stepped up and showed us the type of runner we knew he could be all season,” DeGrado said. “Brandon had an off day. This was the first time he wasn’t our number one runner, but he still did well.”
“We’ve taken a team essentially from scratch and have a program going after regional and national championships,” he said. “That’s a helluva trend.”
The Red Devil women wound up second in the conference tally and fifth in Region VI.
The Allen runners will head to Fort Dodge, Iowa, Nov. 9 for the NJCAA National Championships.
The runners’ times, plus their respective finishes in region and conference standings, follow.
Region VI/KJCCC Championships
at Hutchinson
Women (4k) time Region VI Jayhawk East
Danae McGee 19:38.0 1 1
Tirzah Soap 22:21.4 36 14
Alisn Stevens 22:24.8 37 15
Mahalia Soap 22:38.0 43 18
Caitlin Boeckman 23:08.6 50 22
Men (8k) time Region VI Jayhawk East
Ryan Pulsifer 26:35.8 6 1
Brandon Bernal 26:56.8 12 2
Angel Vasquez 27:04.3 15 4
Dallas Snider 27:16.4 16 5
Trail Spears 27:47.0 24 9
Kyle Schauvliege 27:54.9 27 10
Salvador Medrano 28:12.8 33 16
Patrick Rachford 28:35.2 38 21
Tucker Morgan 28:39.4 39 22
Jacob Spence 29:37.7 61 31
Allen’s McGee brings home Region VI title
