Cross country runners from Iola High School, Humboldt High School, Marmaton Valley High School, Crest High School and Yates Center High School are ready to compete in 2010 regional races Saturday. On the line are berths — individual and team — in the Kansas state high school cross country meet.
Iola High’s Roman Yocham is out to qualify for his third straight Class 4A state cross country meet. A year ago as a sophomore, Yocham was fifth at the regional meet and the only Mustang runner to qualify for the state meet, where he placed ninth.
Yocham has been leading the Iola varsity boys all season. Running right behind Yocham for the Mustangs have been two freshmen, Trent Latta and Tyler Powelson. Junior Christian Kauth and senior Dylan Lower had strong races a week ago at the Southeast Kansas League meet.
The Mustangs and Iola High’s Fillies are in the Class 4A regional meet at Garnett Saturday hosted by Anderson County High School. The 4K girls’ race starts at 2 p.m. followed by the 5K boys’ race at 2:30 on the Garnett Golf Course.
Junior Sydney Owens ran alone for the Fillies in last year’s regional race because Leah Weir was ill. Owens and Weir, a senior, have been leading the girls’ team all season. They both earned SEK honorable mention, finishing in the top 20 last week at the league meet.
Seniors Kristen Linn, Jamie Spears and Abby Works and junior Briann Burris are expected to help the Fillies get a team score this season.
Joining Iola and Anderson County teams at the regional in Garnett are teams from Labette County, Baxter Springs, Santa Fe Trail, Chanute, Fort Scott, Girard, Independence, Prairie View, Louisburg, Osawatomie, Ottawa, Paola and Parsons.
All of the other area schools will be at the Sugar Valley Golf Course near Mound City Saturday. Both the Class 2A and Class 1A regional races will be contested on the golf course.
The Class 1A girls’ race is slated for 2 p.m. followed by the 1A boys at 2:30. The Class 2A girls’ race is at 3 o’clock followed by the 2A boys at 3:30.
Yates Center High’s two runners — senior Paul Stockebrand and sophomore Sam Agurrie — are back in Class 2A regional competition. Yates Center ran in Class 1A regional and state races last year.
Yates Center, Marmaton Valley and Humboldt are in the Class 2A regional hosted by Jayhawk-Linn. Other schools are Northern Heights, Central-Burden, Burlingame, Chase County, Berean Academy, Mission Valley, Lyndon, Peabody-Burns, Pittsburg-St. Mary’s-Colgan and Marantha Academy.
A year ago Marmaton Valley’s Zach Louk, a junior, was eighth at the regional to qualify for his second state 2A race, where he placed 19th for a state medal and state honors. Ryan Smith, a sophomore, is out to improve his regional performance from last year and nab a state trip.
Humboldt senior Raquel Hill sets out to qualify for her fourth consecutive 2A state meet. Hill ended up 21st at the state meet last year, one place out of the medals. Humboldt’s boys were seventh as a team in last year’s regional on the same course and senior Reece Criger and sophomores Nick Keazer and Dylan Greve have run well for the Cubs during the 2010 season.
Crest High’s Lancers are out to make it two years in a row to qualify as a team for the Class 1A boys’ state meet. They were second in the 2009 regional. The Lancers repeated this year as Three Rivers League champions led by juniors Dustin Davis-Jones and Trevor Holman. They are joined by juniors Chris Brallier, Jory Ramsey and Cole Bowen and sophomore David Womelsdorf.
Crest senior Italy Loving looks to earn her fourth consecutive trip to the state meet. She was ninth in last year’s regional and she was 29th at the state meet. The Lancers took eighth as a team in the boys’ state race.
A top-10 finish puts individuals in state meet slots and a top-three finish by a team earns it a trip to the Kansas Class 4-3-2-1A State Cross Country Meet. The state meet is next Saturday in Wamego.
Cross country teams ready for regionals
