Reynolds shines in star-packed race
By Michael Ashford
Originally published 01:44 p.m., October 1, 2007
Updated 01:44 p.m., October 1, 2007
With a power-packed field in Saturday’s girls 4-kilometer race at the Rim Rock Classic in Lawrence, Emporia High’s Michaela Reynolds didn’t just prove she deserved to be mentioned with the stars — she nearly beat them.
Reynolds took second in the Gold Division race, the top high school race of the day, out of a field that featured four past individual State champions: Laura Roxberg of Blue Valley Northwest (6A), Reynolds (5A), Heather Garcia of Baldwin (4A) and Annie Martin of Riley County (3A).
Roxberg denied Reynolds of the title by out-kicking Reynolds over the final 200 meters to defeat the EHS senior by less than two seconds. Roxberg finished in a time of 14 minutes, 46.10 seconds while Reynolds came across the line in 14:47.50.
“Laura Roxberg showed why she is a three-time State cross country champion,” EHS coach Mark Stanbrough said. “Michaela Reynolds ran a very smart race and made all the right moves. She moved to the lead late in the race, but got out-kicked by one of the greatest cross country runners in Kansas high school history.”
Though she didn’t take the individual title, Reynolds could take some comfort in the fact that she finished ahead of Centennial League foe Marley Crusch of Manhattan, who had beaten Reynolds in two previous 4K races this season. Crusch finished in a time of 15:19.60.
“Crusch made a big move up the Billy Mills ascent with 800 meters to go,” Stanbrough said, “but couldn’t hold the lead as Michaela took over and built a 10-meter lead into the final homestretch.”
The EHS girls finished 17th in the Gold Division, however, they defeated two top-ranked teams: St. Thomas Aquinas in Class 5A and Riley County in Class 3A.
Abby Lake finished 69th (17:00.80), Jenna Stanbrough came in 84th (17:12.60), Liliana Morales was 110th (17:56.10) and Joslyn Barton placed 118th (18:10.5) to round out Emporia’s scoring. Caesie Reynolds (122, 18:14.50) and Tanya Morales (126, 18:22.60) also competed for EHS.
As for the EHS boys, they continued their impressive season with a second-place team finish in the Gold Division, totaling 141 team points to finish behind champion St. Louis University High School (77), which is ranked second in the seven-state Heartland Region.
Jacob Davies earned top individual honors for EHS, placing 10th in a time of 17:07.20.
Asher Delmott was next with a 15th-place finish in a time of 17:11.50. Also scoring points for EHS was Mike Robinson in 29th (17:31.00), Tyler Anliker in 32nd (17:32.70) and Lance Sadler in 57th (17:57.60). Andrew Wayman came in 66th (18:04.80).
“The Rim Rock Classic is always a great meet with some of the best teams from the Midwest,” Stanbrough said. “To finish second in the Gold Division is a nice achievement for our team.”
Also of note, the Spartans, ranked second in Class 5A, finished ahead of No. 1-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas in the team standings for the third time this season. Aquinas came in fifth with 192 points.
Emporia has just one more meet — next Saturday at El Dorado — before the postseason races begin, starting with the Centennial League meet Oct. 13 in Topeka.