WAMEGO — A historic day on the cross country course was of little solace to Yates Center High’s Hadley Splechter Saturday.
Splechter took second in the boys Class 2A State Cross Country Meet to lead a trio of Wilcat runners who finished in the top seven.
The unprecedented level of success gave the Wildcat boys third overall as a team. Both are firsts in YCHS cross country history, head coach Rex McVey said.
But it mattered little to the spindly sophomore Splechter, who finished two-tenths of a second behind individual champion Frank Cuevas of Kiowa County.
Cuevas led virtually from start to finish, but Splechter put up a blistering sprint at the finish.
Splechter finished in 16 minutes, 41.40 seconds, or about two strides behind Cuevas.
“I knew I was catching him,” Splechter said, “but I only had so much room. In another race, it might have been a whole different story.
“I didn’t come to lose,” he continued. “But sometimes what happens, happens. I can’t change it.”
Not far off the winners’ pace were Splechter’s teammates, juniors Colin Bedell and Jordan Smith, who finished in fourth and seventh, respectively.
Bedell finished in 17:30, Smith in 17:52.
Yates Center head coach Rex McVey was a bit more enthusiastic about the Wildcats’ results on a treacherous, hilly course, amid warm, windy conditions.
“It was a total team effort to try and win this thing,” McVey said. “I’m really proud of these kids. I know they’re proud of themselves.”
Cuevas got the early jump as the race started on a 300-yard hill before circling back down the same path. A series of steep turns and curves followed.
Splechter, Bedell and Smith led the chase pack until about midway, when Splechter forged ahead, a few yards behind Cuevas for the duration.
“Hadley’s goal was to beat the state champ,” McVey said. “It was close; just a couple of strides short.
“Colin ran a whale of a race,” McVey said of his junior runner. “Probably, as far as dedication to finishing as strong as he could, this was probably his best finish ever.”
Bedell overtook a Valley Heights runner down the final stretch to take fourth.
“You could see the determination on his face,” McVey said. “Some races have been tough for him this season, but he just turned and ran.”
McVey was equally as effusive in praising Yates Center’s other junior in Smith.
“For his first year out in cross country, his performance this season was amazing,” McVey said.
Two freshmen, Enrique Rodriguez and Asher Sievers, finished 42nd and 59th, respectively.
“I know the freshmen were definitely unfamiliar with a lot hills,” McVey said. “They both worked hard to pass runners going up hills. It may have hurt them on the downhill side, but they ran hard the entire race.”
“It was definitely a tough course,” Splechter agreed. “It’s hard to prepare for something like this when you’re in a relatively flat town.”
“We try to practice with our smaller hills,” McVey said. “We just have to run them more. That’s about all we can do.”
Yates Center narrowly missed out on taking home gold.
