Area teams compete well over the weekend at various meets

By Jimmy Gillispie

Blue Springs South nearly came away with a sweep of Lee’s Summit North Solsberg Invitational last Saturday.

The Jaguars won the girls race, but narrowly lost the boys race to Rockhurst. Blue Springs South took the girls crown with a very low score of 36 points – 13 ahead of St. Teresa’s Academy. On the boys side, Rockhurst won the title with 68 points, just 11 ahead of the Jaguars.

Mya Trober led the Blue Springs South girls with a runner-up finish in a time of 18:39.6. St. Teresa’s Academy’s Amelia Arrieta won the race in commanding fashion, in a time of 18:14.6.

Alex Jackson was the first Jaguar across the finish line in the boys race. He finished fourth, one spot ahead of Rockhurst’s top runner, Brian Humphrey.

Staley’s Andrew Atkins won the boys race in a time of 15:51.5. Grain Valley’s Carson Hill was the runner-up – just five seconds behind Atkins but just two seconds ahead of Warrensburg’s Drew Belardo.

Missouri Southern Stampede

Down in Joplin, Missouri, a handful of KC area teams competed in the Missouri Southern Stampede, and came away with some positive results.

The Smithville boys won the Gold Division with a team score of 45 points. Eudora placed fourth in the race, scoring 123 team points.

In the boys Green Division, Liberty North finished runner-up to Kickapoo, which won the meet with 61 points – 17 ahead of Liberty North. 

Liberty North was led by sophomore Sage Wilde, who finished second, and senior Ethan Lee, who played sixth overall. El Dorado Springs’ Daelen Ackley won the race in a time of 15:10.67.

Gardner-Edgerton placed seventh as a team, while Kearney finished 28th in the team race. 

Liberty North also had a solid showing in the girls Green Division. Liberty North finished seventh, one spot behind Eudora and one spot ahead of Kearney. Gardner-Edgerton placed 19th in the race.

In the girls Gold Division, Smithville had a big showing with a runner-up finish with 108 points. Lexington also finished 10th in the standings. 

Bonner Springs Invitational

At a smaller meet last weekend, a handful of KC area teams were present and placed high in the standings. 

Blue Valley swept the team titles, scoring just 29 points in the girls race and 51 to win the boys meet. Blue Valley had the top three finishers in the girls race. They were, in order, Tori Wingrove, Ellie Graham and Eleanor Warren. 

Lansing’s Kenneth Howell ran away with the boys individual championship, winning it by 19 seconds over a pair of Bishop Miege runners – Zoran Rodriguez and Colin Batliner. Noahs Summers led Blue Valley with a fifth-place finish.