State, Individual Titles in reach for EHS Cross Country Teams
By Michael Ashford
Friday, October 26, 2007
The Emporia High boys cross country team has yet to lose to another team from Kansas this season.
So far this year, the No. 1-ranked Spartans (Class 5A) have simply dominated every team from inside the state, only finishing behind two teams from Missouri and a team from Arkansas in races this season. That includes beating out defending State champion St. Thomas Aquinas three separate times, as well as numerous other ranked teams in several classifications.
So winning the Class 5A title at the State meet on Saturday is a foregone conclusion, right?
Not so fast, senior Mike Robinson said.
“You’ve still got to earn it,” Robinson said last Saturday after the Spartans won the Regional title. “We’ve done a good job as a team, but we still have to go out there and take care of business.”
Taking care of business at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, the site of the State meet, will be the Spartans’ most difficult task this season. Not only does Emporia have to contend with a St. Thomas Aquinas team that compiled a perfect score at Regionals last weekend (15 points), as well as a host of other contenders, namely Bishop Carroll, Kapaun Mt. Carmel and Shawnee Heights, but the pressure also is squarely on their shoulders.
Along with having not lost to a team from Kansas this season is the fact that the Spartans have finished second at the State meet four years in a row.
But coach Mark Stanbrough said he had no reason to think his boys squad could not handle the task ahead of it.
“This is a very motivated boys group,” Stanbrough said. “I don’t have to do much motivating with this boys group. I’m not going to say anything about their talent, because it’s probably not the most talented team we’ve had here at Emporia High, but it’s been one of the most dedicated and committed groups.”
Not only will the Spartan boys be aiming for a breakthrough State title — it would be the school’s first since 1993 and fifth overall — there is the potential that EHS could sweep the meet. Those hopes seem to rest on senior Jacob Davies, who has been unbeatable over the past three races.
Davies has won three races in a row heading into the State meet and in considered among the favorite to with the individual title, along with Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s Colin Hagan, Aquinas’ Kyle Hanson, Hays’ Josh Munsch and Bishop Carroll’s Bryce Volz.
“Jacob’s getting better every week,” Stanbrough said. “He’s beginning to get some confidence that he can run well.”
For as much attention as the EHS boys will be getting Saturday, there could be an even bigger spotlight on Emporia senior Michaela Reynolds in the girls race.
The 2005 State champion, Reynolds has displayed dominant form this season after a junior season filled with illness. She has been particularly strong in the races headed into State, prompting Stanbrough to call her “the favorite to win it” on Saturday.
Since finishing second to Blue Valley Northwest’s Laura Roxberg, who many consider to be one of the best runners in state history, at the Rim Rock Classic on Sept. 29, Reynolds has been untouchable.
She won at the El Dorado Invitational by 30 seconds, took the Centennial League title by 14 seconds and cruised to the Regional championship by 40 seconds. No runner’s time from the other two Regionals this past Saturday came within 1 minute, 2 seconds of Reynolds’ time.
“I feel like I’m in better shape than my sophomore year when I won it,” Reynolds said. “I’m really excited, but I’m also really nervous. I just need to keep my head straight and stay relaxed and confident.”
Saturday, the Emporia High cross country team could be experiencing one of the best day’s in the programs history. While the outcome must be decided by the runners, one thing is for sure, Stanbrough said.
“It’s going to be exciting,” he said.