Italy Loving has run in the state cross country meet three times. But, she hasn’t come away with a state meet medal.
The Crest High senior is determined to run well Saturday in the Kansas Class 1A girls’ 4K race. Loving is the only girl from CHS in the state meet.
Loving is not the only repeat runner from the area in the state cross country meet. The 2010 Kansas Class 4-3-2-1A State Cross Country Meet is Saturday with eight races on the Wamego Country Club golf course.
Iola High junior Roman Yocham and Marmaton Valley High junior Zach Louk are back for their third straight state races. Five of the Crest High boys’ team ran in the meet a year ago.
Only Marmaton Valley High’s Ryan Smith, a sophomore, is new to the state meet scene.
Yocham is running in the Class 4A boys’ 5K race. He claimed the ninth-place medal a year ago.
Louk captured the 19th-place medal in the Class 2A boys’ race last year. He and Smith will run in that race Saturday.
The Crest Lancers qualified as a team for the second straight year. Dustin Davis-Jones and Trevor Holman, both juniors, are the top runners for the Lancers. They are joined by juniors Chris Brallier and Jory Ramsey and sophomore David Womelsdorf.
Those five Lancers ran in last year’s Class 1A boys’ race and finished eighth as a team. Freshman Craig Brallier is added to the group this year.
On Saturday, Yocham runs first in the Class 4A boys’ race at 10:30 a.m. That’s followed by the Class 1A girls’ race with Loving.
Louk and Smith are in the Class 2A boys’ race at 11:30 a.m. Then comes the Class 1A boys’ race with the Lancers at noon.
There will be admission charged to the state cross country meet. It is $7 for adults and $6 for students (K-12).
