Two area standout cross country runners can add “regional champions” to their respective resumes.
Crest High junior Ursula Billings topped all runners in the girls 5K at the Class 1A Regional Meet in Hutchinson. Billings crossed the line more than a minute ahead of her competitors at 21 minutes, 2 seconds at the Prairie Ridge Cross Country Park.
Billings will head to Victoria on Saturday for the Class 1A Cross Country Meet.
Meanwhile, Humboldt junior Drew Wilhite won a thrilling three-way battle down the stretch to claim gold in the Class 2A regional event at Greenbush.
Wilhite finished in 17:02.71, or a scant 1.5 seconds ahead of Yates Center senior Austin Moffet (17:04.21). And just behind him was Gavin Rhodes of Jayhawk-Linn, 17:06.37.
On the girls side, Humboldt’s Lulu Melendez, a sophomore, qualified for state with her ninth-place finish, with a personal-best time of 22:14.
But with those thrills came heartache.
Both Humboldt’s boys and girls teams placed third in their respective divisions, which normally would qualify the teams for state.
However, this year’s Class 2A field was split into six regionals instead of the typical four, which meant only the top two teams from each regional advanced to the state meet.
“We thought we had a good chance to qualify” in both divisions, Humboldt head coach Eric Carlson said.
It was doubly cruel for Sam Neeley, who finished 11th at 18:34 — nearly 2 minutes faster than any other meet he’s run, but 1 second out of the 10th and final qualifying spot.
“Sam ran like a man on a mission,” Carlson said.
It was a common theme for both teams, Carlson noted, with each runner aside from Wilhite setting either a personal or season-best time.
“The girls did exactly what we asked them to do and they all ran hard,” Carlson said.
Also setting personal records were Leah Mueller in 14th, Zoey Wilson in 16th, Madi White in 18th, Taylor Korte in 23rd and Danica Modlin in 24th. Melina Hess, who placed 22nd, ran her best time of the season.
