WAMEGO — Some days, a cross country runner can “own” or “defeat” a particular course, Iola coach Marv Smith said.
On Saturday, “the Wamego course defeated us,” the long-time coach said.
Iola’s runners, battling steep hills, nearly 80-degree heat and a blustery wind most evident at the hilltops, failed to place a single runner in the top 30 at Saturday’s Class 4A State Cross Country meet.
“If you didn’t know better, you would think you were watching a replay of last year’s state meet,” Smith said.
While Iola’s Colby Works still sparkled in 2015, he had graduated and was not a part of this year’s team.
The remaining Mustang and Filly runners struggled on the day.
On the boys side, Iola’s Kendall Jay earned the Mustangs’ best mark of the day, finishing the 5K course in 18 minutes, 32 seconds, good for 47th overall (31st among those running with full teams.)
The other runners — Braden Plumlee, Isaiah Fawson, Cole Regehr, Eli Fawson, Royce Smith and Bryce Andres — finished 81st through 99th overall.
As they had done a year Iola, Iola’s boys were in the middle chute, faced with a brutal, 300-yard ascent to start the race, followed by a tight U-turn and return down the same hill.
Even though Smith was have preferred Iola start from the outside, and avoiding the early mob of runners, he was optimistic.
“We blazed up the hill,” Smith noted, with Jay in 23rd, and within reach of the leaders.
But trouble loomed.
“I expected trouble with the steep hills ahead,” Smith said. “By 1 1/2 miles, we were toast.”
Plumlee, for example, suffering the dreaded “side stitch” had to slow his pace, Smith noted.
By the end of the race, “It was just a matter of staying on our feet until the finish line,” Smith said. “It is easy to see when a runner is in trouble. “On the downhill run, those whose legs ‘have held together’ can pick up their speed and still have some recovery. Those whose legs are shot actually have slowed and our using their legs to ‘block their downhill motion’ while losing ground to others.”
Their times were radically different than when Iola took third in their regional meet one week earlier.
Jay’s time at Wamego was 77 seconds slower than his regional mark in Burlington (on a signficantly flatter terrain.)
Plumlee’s time of 19:36 was more than 2 minutes slower.
“We were not the only ones who struggled on the hills,” Smith noted.
Dylan Brenneman, the top-ranked 4A runner from Spring Hill — last year’s runner-up — mustered only a 22nd place finish Saturday. Ryan Hughes, who placed second at Regionals, wound up in 69th at state.
Iola placed 12th as a team. Maize South earned the team title with 67 points, followed by Smokey Valley at 72 and Andover Central at 87.
“We made a lot of improvement during the season,” Smith said. “I know that our our boys would like to rry it again with a different ‘mile 1’ strategy, but we are not conditioned for that type of hilly course.”
The Mustangs will bid adieu to seniors Jay, Plumlee and Isaiah Fawson.
ON THE GIRLS’ side, Iola freshman Kelsey Morrison was undone after she got stepped on and stumbled on the first downhill portion of the race.
“She stayed on her feet and continued to move up,” Smith noted. “However, by the 2-mile mark, she was just trying to hang on and finish.
Morrison finished 83rd in 23:13.
“She was very disappointed and had hoped for much better,” Smith said. “It may have helped her a little when I reminded her her tha tlast year at this time, she thought the eighth-grade race in Eureka was big deal.
“Dana (Daugharthy, assistant coach) and I are very proud of Kelsey and the season she has had.,” Smith said.
The Fillies lose Megan Klubek to graduation this year.
Class 4A State CC
Wamego
Boys
47 (31 among team scorers) — Kendall Jay, 18:32
81 (62) — Braden Plumlee, 19:36
85 (66) — Isaiah Fawson, 19:43
87 (67) — Cole Regehr, 19:50
94 (75) — Eli Fawson, 20:41
97 (77) — Royce Smith, 21:17
99 (79) — Bryce Andres, 21:34
Girls
83 — Kelsey Morrison, 23:13
